Missing RAF airman Corrie McKeague was collected by a Biffa lorry and transported to a landfill in an “unusually heavy” bin, police have concluded.

%image(14554606, type="article-full", alt="Corrie McKeague in a picture uploaded by his mother. Picture: CONTRIBUTED")

Suffolk police said the investigation into the serviceman’s disappearance found “no other reasonable explanation” for the unusually high bin weight, following its collection from the ‘horseshoe’ area in Bury St Edmunds.

Officers met with Biffa representatives to clarify the interpretation of waste data which had been formally presented to police.

Corrie went missing on September 24, 2016, following a night out, and was last seen on CCTV entering a loading bay area behind Greggs in the town.

Police believe it is most likely that the RAF gunner climbed into the bin and was transported away.

%image(14554607, type="article-full", alt="Martin McKeague believes his son is "somewhere in the Suffolk waste disposal system" Picture: ANDY ABBOTT")

In a statement, which Corrie’s father Martin McKeague posted on Facebook, police said: “We reviewed the data for September 24 in particular and I remain confident that the bin did weigh 116kg as previously stated.

“We then went onto identify the weights of the Greggs bin which was collected each Saturday during the period of January 16 and February 17.

“Our findings were that the weights of these bins were consistently low (mostly between 20-30KG) and it was extremely unusual for the Greggs bin collection on a Saturday to be anywhere near 100KG let alone over this figure.

“In the whole of this yearly period we identified only one other occasion where the weight exceeded 100kg, other than a date where a system error had occurred which recorded a weight in excess of 1000KG which is known to be impossible.

%image(14554494, type="article-full", alt="Two years on from when her son Corrie McKeague went missing, Nicola Urquhart returns to Bury St Edmunds. Picture: NEIL DIDSBURY")

“As stated earlier, all this information has been held within this enquiry and previously reviewed. There is no new evidence that has come to light as a result of this meeting.”

Police added that they were “completely satisfied” that the Biffa data can be relied upon.

The statement added: “This investigation has found no other reasonable explanation for that unusually high bin weight, thus when this data is considered alongside the other evidence held within this enquiry it confirms and consolidates my view that the preferred outcome and finding of this investigation is that during the early hours of September 24, 2016, Corrie came to be in the bin that was collected by the Biffa lorry and was transported away from the horseshoe area to Red Lodge transfer station.”

Corrie’s father Martin McKeague said on Facebook that the family in Scotland were now planning a private memorial for him in the near future.

%image(14554608, type="article-full", alt="Specialist officers searched the Milton Landfill site in Cambridgeshire for a total of 27 weeks Pictures: GREGG BROWN")

Nicola Urquhart, corrie’s mother, believes it is possible that her son could have left the horseshoe area on foot and speaking on the two-anniversary of his disappearance, she told this newspaper she is planning further searches along the A134.

%image(14554497, type="article-full", alt="Corrie McKeague on CCTV outside The Grapes pub in Bury St Edmunds Picture: SUFFOLK CONSTABULARY")