Seven-week search for remains of RAF gunner who disappeared in September 2016 fails to find any trace of him

The search of a landfill for the remains of the missing RAF gunner Corrie McKeague has concluded without finding any trace of him.

A 20-week search of the site at Milton, near Cambridge, finished earlier this year and a second search, lasting seven weeks, finished on Monday.

More than 2,800 tonnes of waste was searched during the second phase. Suffolk police said the investigation into McKeague’s disappearance would remain open.

McKeague, then 23, was last seen walking through Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, after a night out with friends in September 2016. It is thought he may have climbed into a waste bin that was then taken away by a bin lorry, prompting the landfill search.

A Suffolk police spokesman said: “Police are content Corrie is not in the landfill areas which have now been searched. The inquiry team has identified all the other possible locations where waste has been deposited from the area in Bury St Edmunds known as the Horseshoe and there are no further realistic search opportunities at this time.

“As previously stated, the nature of waste disposal and its movement is not an exact science.”

A review of the investigation to date agreed that it was most likely that McKeague ended up in the waste disposal process.

Det Supt Katie Elliott said: “We are still committed to continuing with the inquiry. There are a number of other theories about what could have happened to Corrie and we are continuing to test the evidence to help us understand what happened to Corrie, which will assist in providing answers to his family.

“We are acutely aware of the immense strain the last 15 months has placed upon Corrie’s loved ones. We want them to be confident we are doing everything that it is practical for us to do as we strive to find Corrie.”