Corrie McKeague landfill search restarts

The £1.2 million hunt for a missing airman has restarted after a force ‘re-scrutinised’ the area it spent 20 weeks searching. Suffolk Constabulary announced it will continue looking for Corrie McKeague at a Cambridgeshire landfill three months after the investigation came to a “bitterly disappointing” close. The force believes the original search site remains the location where Mr McKeague, who vanished after a night out in 2016, was most likely to be found. However, after re-checking its information, the force believes his body may yet be discovered in an area next to where officers were looking. Detective Chief Superintendent Katie Elliott said: “As we said in July the fact that Corrie wasn’t found at the landfill site during our extensive search remains bitterly disappointing to us. “We had compelling information that directed us to this particular area of the landfill site. “The investigation has been a detailed and methodical one to date and this will continue in the weeks ahead.” Gunner McKeague was last seen in the early hours of September 24, 2016, 11 miles from his base at RAF Honington. CCTV footage showed him entering a courtyard containing several rubbish bins in Bury St Edmunds. Suffolk Constabulary believes he may have fallen asleep in one of the bins and been transported to the Milton landfill site in Cambridgeshire. Between March and July, officers trawled through 6,500 tonnes of refuse to try and find his body, risking heat exhaustion in 20-30 degree conditions. The search was called off on July 21 but the force claims the ensuing pause allowed detectives to “thoroughly scrutinise” the robustness of their data. The East Midlands Special Operations Unit is helping to review possible lines of enquiry that could lead to information about Mr McKeague’s location. Suffolk Constabulary promised to “vigorously” pursue any leads that the review produces.