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The mum of missing RAF airman Corrie McKeague fears police will find his body in the search of a landfill site five months after his disappearance.

The 23-year-old vanished after partying with friends in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, on September 24 last year, in a case that's left police stumped.

After the last sightings of Corrie on CCTV, his mobile phone signal appeared to match the speed and route of a bin lorry heading to a landfill site off the A14 north of Cambridge.

As, police prepare to finally search the eight-metre deep site, Mum Nicola Urquhart says she was always desperate for detectives 'use their common sense' and start the search there.

(Image: ITV) (Image: PA)

She told ITV News: "It's just common sense. The only bit of evidence the police have ever had is Corrie's phone pinged at Barton Mills within a minute and a half of the bin lorry getting there.

"If they knew that was the route that Corrie's phone had taken, it's a logical step to think that there's a possibility Corrie has also stayed with his phone."

Suffolk Police have previously defended their decision not to search the site while other lines of enquiry were being pursued and added no new waste has been deposited there since Corrie's disappearance.

Detectives added they hadn't searched the site because they couldn't rule out another vehicle had taken the route or that his mobile phone was with Corrie at the time it was giving out the signals.

The search the search is likely to start next week and could take up to 10 weeks.

Det Supt Katie Elliott said: "There are some measures that we need to put in place before the full search work starts as, in addition to the pressing need to find Corrie, we also have to consider local residents, site workers and the officers who will be carrying out the job of going through the waste.

"We know that physically searching the site has the potential to cause an increase in odour and we hope residents will understand that we and the site owners have taken this into consideration when making a decision to go ahead with the search.

"We need to find him and discover what happened to him.

"While the search may not provide the answers as to what happened it is something we need to do as our investigation continues."

(Image: PA) (Image: Suffolk Constabulary) (Image: Deadline News)

A search of woodlands near to Barton Mills was carried out last month, near where the last recorded signal was given out from Corrie's mobile phone.

Corrie’s mum Nicola Urquhart, 48, arranged for the private search to be carried out in woodland between Barton Mills and Mildenhall in Suffolk.

Mrs Urquhart has previously revealed her son and his girlfriend April Oliver - who discovered she is expecting his child after he disappeared - were members of the Fab Swingers swinging website.

Police are investigating whether his use of sex and dating websites may be linked to his disappearance.

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The last sighting shows him walking from a shop doorway and into a horseshoe-shaped area in Brentgovel Street, with no sign of him emerging.

Mr McKeague, a gunner and team medic stationed north of Bury St Edmunds, was separated from friends while leaving the Flex nightclub in the town in the early hours of 24 September.

He was last seen on CCTV in the town centre at 3.25am wearing a light pink Ralph Lauren shirt, white jeans and brown suede Timberland boots with light soles.

Corrie used his phone to text his friend at 3.08am.

Cops were able to trace Corrie's phone from Bury to the Barton Mills area, near Mildenhall, at a speed only a vehicle could travel at. His phone was not used after this and hasn't been found since.