Bones found in bags not missing airman Corrie McKeague

Bones found inside two bin bags in a Suffolk river are not those of missing Scots airman Corrie McKeague, his mother has said.

Nicola Urquhart said she had been “trying to keep a sensible head on” while police were unable to reassure her that human remains found in the River Stour in Sudbury last Thursday were not her son.

But she said Suffolk Police have since contacted her to say that the remains are not Mr McKeague.

Ms Urquhart, writing on the Find Corrie Facebook page, said: “We don’t know who this person is, but we do know it’s someone’s son or daughter and they will be devastated.

“I hope and pray that Suffolk MIT are able to identify who this person is for the family that have been left behind.

“Please remember though that although I am writing this as Corrie’s mum, and I now know this is not my son, it is a murder investigation, if anybody knows anything, was in the area at the time, has CCTV or dash cam footage please contact Suffolk MIT.”

Mr McKeague, of Dunfermline, Fife, was 23 when he vanished on a night out in Bury St Edmunds, around 16 miles north of Sudbury, on September 24, 2016.

He was stationed at RAF Honington and no trace of him has been found.

Suffolk Police said that a post-mortem examination of the bones found in Sudbury was completed on Sunday but “was not able to establish any form of identification or cause of death”.

The force said further tests are now taking place, adding that this will be a “lengthy process”.

Expert analysis of the remains is continuing and some initial forensic results have been received, the force said.

Detective Chief Inspector Mike Brown, the senior investigating officer in the Sudbury case, said: “Detailed forensic investigations on the remains are continuing and, although progress is being made every day, as we have said previously, this will be a long and painstaking process to complete, as we strive to establish the identity of the victim.”

Officers completing house-to-house inquiries have spoken to the residents of more than 100 properties so far and more than 140 witnesses have come forward to help.

The investigation into Mr McKeague’s disappearance was passed to cold case detectives in 2018.

Suffolk Police said the “most likely scenario” is that Corrie went into a bin which was emptied into a lorry and ended up in the waste process.