A five-figure reward has been offered for information which helps to find missing RAF gunner Corrie McKeague.
The 23-year-old’s grandparents have travelled down from Scotland to make the announcement today.
Corrie, who is based at RAF Honington, has not been seen since disappearing on the morning of September 24 after a night out with friends in Bury St Edmunds.
A huge police operation has been underway since then to try and find him, which has involved scouring CCTV footage of the town and trying to identify anyone seen in it who may have met him that night.
Mary and Oliver McKeague, from Cupar in Fife, believe his disappearance may involve a third party that he may have gone with.
Oliver said: “Corrie’s base at RAF Honington is near two other military bases, RAF Marham to the north, and Aldershot Camp to the south, and each recently reported suspected kidnapping attempts of military servicemen.
“You could draw a near straight line on a map and connect all three. Corrie’s base is right in the middle.”
He added:“Since Corrie disappeared I have been sick to the stomach with worry – I can’t sleep.
“Corrie made plans to see us at Halloween. But after 10 weeks of searching we know nothing. I don’t know that I am ever going to see Corrie, my grandson, again.”
Today will see Mary and Oliver retrace Corrie’s last known steps along Brentgovel Street and into a loading area behind shops near Cornhill Walk Shopping Centre off Short Brackland.
Oliver continued: “We are 10 weeks down the line, I believe something sinister has happened to Corrie and somebody knows something. We are hoping this reward will make somebody come forward – then this torture and torment can end.
“No one in the world deserves to go through this pain. If you know anything, then do the right thing and pick the phone up. Lets get Corrie back to his family.”
Mary added: “We’ve pledged this reward in hopes that it will motivate someone to come forward and help us find my beautiful grandson, Corrie, who went missing the day of his stepmother’s birthday.
“We’re heartbroken, but we’re not giving up. Corrie would expect us to stay strong.
“I can’t describe how empty and helpless you feel when a family member goes missing. This is what has happened to us. This is why we’re here. To ask for your help.
“We have pledged this reward following the now ten-week search involving local Suffolk police and military, The Suffolk Lowland Search and Rescue organisation and masses of volunteers from in and around Bury St Edmunds. Their support has been incredible. Now we need someone to come forward.”
Corrie went out with friends in Bury St Edmunds on the evening of September 23, but was separated early the following morning while leaving the Flex nightclub on St Andrews Street South.
He was last seen in the town centre on CCTV at 3.25am wearing a light pink Ralph Lauren shirt, white jeans and brown suede timberland boots with light soles.
Corrie’s last sighting shows the young squaddie walking from a shop doorway and walking into a horseshoe-shaped area at 3.25am in Brentgovel Street and no sighting of him emerging.
Oliver said: “The CCTV cameras show him walking in but not coming out. He seems to have just vanished. But people don’t just vanish; they leave or they get taken away.”
“We think Corrie arranged to meet someone that night but we don’t know who, and then got into a car and disappeared.
“We know he didn’t just run away; he loved his fellow squaddies, his life and the career direction he had chosen.
“He was so proud the day he passed out and joined 2 Squadron RAF Regiment three years ago, and so were we.”
The McKeague family are asking for any information from anyone who may have been in the town that evening or who may know of Corrie’s whereabouts.
The family stressed Corrie has not decided to run away.
Martin, 47, said the five-figure sum of money has been provided by several members of the family who are all desperate to see Corrie again.
He said: “I would sell my house if the money would bring my son home. We want to know what has happened, and it is not just us, everyone at home in Cupar, everyone here in Bury and thousands of people across the country are desperate for Corrie to be found.”
He also spoke of the “incredible” strength shown by Corrie’s mother, Nicola Urquhart, who over the course of the past 10 weeks has worked tirelessly to keep Corrie’s face in the news.
Supported by his wife Trisha, Martin plans to stay in Bury over Christmas and has been handing out leaflets and talking to people in Bury on dozens of nights since the disappearance.
Mary added: “We are not celebrating Christmas – we just can’t do it without Corrie here with us.”
There are a number of ways to make contact if you think you may have seen Corrie or have information about his whereabouts, including the Suffolk police incident room on 01473 782019 or if you are not happy to talk to the police, you can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
For anyone who would like to make a donation to support the efforts of the Suffolk Lowland Search & Rescue (SULSAR) team, which is assisting in the search to find Corrie, you can do so at the crowdfunding site Just Giving here.
Who is Corrie and when was he last seen?
Corrie McKeague is white, 5ft 10ins tall, of medium build, with short light brown hair.
On Friday, September 23, he drove to Bury for a night out with friends. He was wearing a distinctive pink Ralph Lauren shirt, with white trousers and brown Timberland boots.
Corrie separated from his friends in the early hours of Saturday, September 24, after leaving Flex nightclub in St Andrews Street South.
He had a kebab at around 1am from Pizza Mamma Mia, on St Andrews Street North.
At around 1.20am he passed a CCTV camera opposite The Grapes Pub on Brentgovel Street/St Andrews Street. CCTV footage of him eating his food as he passed this camera was later released by Suffolk police. He took a nap for around two hours in the doorway to Hughes Electrical Store on the Brentgovel Street/St Johns Street junction.
At 3.08am Corrie responded to a message from a friend. This is last time Corrie used his mobile phone, a black Nokia Lumia which was traced to a cell phone mast in Barton Mills at around 4am on September 24. His phone has not been found.
Just before 3.24am Corrie headed past the junction of St Johns Street and down a pathway towards Cornhill Walk shopping centre to a loading area behind the Greggs shop. This is the last confirmed sighting of Corrie.
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