Thursday February 2nd –
Police are renewing appeals to trace three people captured on CCTV around the time of the last confirmed sighting of missing Corrie McKeague.
Following previous appeals, police still need to trace two individuals shown on CCTV â a cyclist and an older gentleman â as potential witnesses. A name had been given for the older gentleman but the named individual has been traced and was found not to be the man pictured. Work continues to positively identify the cyclist too, and police are renewing appeals for either of these men to come forward or anyone who can help to get in touch.
Police are now releasing a further image of a person who also needs to be identified.
On December 8 police released some CCTV images of figures seen in the vicinity of the âhorseshoeâ between 3.15am and 5.20am on Saturday 24 September. Police have been trying to find better images of these individuals, leading to the release of the further images on January 13. Now a better image of one person, believed to feature in the images released on December 8 as being in the area around 5.15 â 5.20am, has been obtained and this is also being released to see if the person can be identified.
These are the last of the individuals seen on foot in the area between these times that have yet to be traced.
All of those featured in the CCTV images issued are potential witnesses who could have information that might assist and detectives are asking them or anyone who knows who they are to get in touch.
Detective Superintendent Katie Elliott said that work to locate Corrie continues to be a priority.
“This case has been managed in the same way as any other major investigation undertaken by the Joint Norfolk and Suffolk Major Investigations Team. This means that all information is managed on the computer system used to assist major investigations, that those people involved in the investigation have the correct level of training and the investigation has been overseen and resourced in accordance with national guidance on major investigations.
“We have had to work through the information provided in a logical way and follow systematic processes to ensure everything is looked at in detail. This has involved re-visiting and going over much of the work we have carried out too.
“Our aim from the outset has been to find Corrie. To that end we have searched extensively the places where he was likely to be found. Some locations have been searched more than once using specially trained officers, dogs and technical equipment, and this is normal practice in searches of this kind. The initial most likely scenario was that Corrie had tried somehow to get home from Bury St Edmunds and had come to harm and to that end searches focussed on the areas where he may have been had he tried to get back to RAF Honington.
“Later in the investigation more detailed searches have been carried out and some places have been re-visited. Our search strategy has been reviewed by peers, by another force and advice has been sought from the police national search advisor. As in any major investigation the search strategy remains under review as the case progresses and different scenarios become more or less likely or new information becomes available.
“We have also prioritised the viewing of CCTV for the places where Corrie was most likely to be seen and then worked out from there. A systematic approach gives assurance that he has not been missed on CCTV as some of the images are not clear and need to be viewed multiple times and by trained operatives to gain this level of assurance. We have tested the CCTV to see whether there is any way that he could have left the horseshoe area without being seen. We have identified nearly all of the people who were in the horseshoe area either shortly before or after Corrie went in there. As other locations have come into the investigation we have reviewed CCTV from these places to see if it assists the case.
“Over £300,000 has so far been spent on the investigation and we are putting every effort into finding Corrie. We have drawn on local and national experts and have been open to review by other forces and have continued to resource the search to find Corrie. The activities we have undertaken to date have been based on information and facts and not on assumptions.
“Although at this stage we have not received any information from the company employed by Nicola Urquhart, as soon as we receive any information that the company chooses to pass to the police this will be considered as part of the ongoing enquiry. Â
“What is crucially important is that the public provide any information they have about Corrieâs disappearance directly to the police in order that it can be properly recorded and investigated. The police donât want to miss that vital piece of information that may help them to find Corrie.â
Any information relating to Corrieâs disappearance or about the potential witnesses should be passed to the incident room on 01473 782019. Alternatively you can call 101 and ask to speak to the team.
Monday 16th Jan –
Police are now only looking to trace the person seen in the blue coat.
The other people have all been identified and are assisting police.
Friday 13th Jan 2017 -Â
New CCTV appeal on Corrie McKeague enquiry
Police are renewing appeals to trace the small number of people seen on CCTV on the morning of Corrie McKeagueâs disappearance who have not yet been identified.
Officers combing through CCTV have located images of individuals, who are believed to potentially be the same people shown in the grainy images previously released, who are still to be identified.
As before all of the images show individuals in Bury St Edmunds town centre between 3.15am and 5.20am, close to the time of the last confirmed sighting of Corrie at 3.25am on Saturday 24 September.
Following previous appeals the vast majority of those in the area sought from CCTV have been identified, traced and spoken to by police officers, but there remain a small number who have not yet been identified.
All of those pictured are potential witnesses who may have information that can assist and detectives are asking them or anyone who knows who they are to get in touch.
Police are still finding people who have not be in touch even though they may have information that could help and are continuing to ask anyone who was there to come forward.
Officers would also like to thank all those who have called in or viewed images at the pod in Bury and given names, and this information continues to be followed up.
Detective Superintendent Katie Elliott said; “Our extensive enquiries are ongoing with continuing CCTV analysis, searches and background work looking into all aspects of Corrieâs life.
“As part of our ongoing work to find him, the police team have trawled through over 1,000 hours of CCTV footage to search for any images of Corrie but also to identify all of those who were in the vicinity around the time of the last confirmed sighting to see if thereâs anything they may be able to tell us that may help. It remains important that we identify everyone who was in the area of the âhorseshoeâ in the early hours of Saturday 24 September, as someone could, unknowingly, hold a clue that can help us find Corrie.
“It should be stressed that these are just potential witnesses and itâs possible they may not be aware that they may be able to assist. We need to identify all those on the released images as we are trying to rule out all possibilities and therefore we do need to speak to you.â
Anyone with information should contact the incident room on 01473 782019. Alternatively you can use the non-emergency police number 101.
Friday 9th December 2016:
Police are releasing CCTV images of potential witnesses as work continues to trace missing Corrie McKeague.
All of the images show individuals in Bury St Edmunds town centre between 3.15am and 5.20am who have not yet been traced. Police are releasing the images after carrying out work to try and identify all of those who were in the area around the crucial time that Corrie went missing, as part of ongoing enquiries to find out what happened to him.
All of those pictured are potential witnesses who may have information that can assist and police are urging them to come forward. Officers are also asking anyone with information about who they are to get in touch.
The CCTV images show;
A man in a white T-shirt and dark bottoms, with short hair, at 3.21am in Cornhill Walk â
Two figures at 3.21am in Cornhill Walk âA figure in dark clothing at 3.35am inÂ
A person on a bicycle, thought to be male with short hair, wearing dark clothing at 3.56am. He was seen on CCTV cycling around the Cornhill area and is here captured in the area of The Grapes in Brentgovel Street â
Another figure wearing dark clothing at 5.01am in Cornhill Walk â
A person wearing dark clothing possibly with a light top underneath and carrying a bag or backpack at 5.18am in Cornhill Walk â
Two people at 3.19am coming from the Cornhill market square area towards McDonalds â
Two people wearing lighter coloured clothing at 3.26am coming from the Cornhill market square area towards McDonaldsÂ
A man in lighter coloured clothing with a dark coloured backpack at 5.20am in the Cornhill market square area â
Anyone who can identify any of these individuals is asked to call the incident room on 01473 782019.
Thursday 8th December 2016:
On the day that the Crowd Funding appeal smashed itâs target of £20k in just 24 hours, Corrie McKeagues mum Nicola released details of a £50k reward being offered along with arrangements that are being put in place to investigate the disappearance of her son.
Yesterday saw the family of our missing airman Corrie McKeague make public their plans for further investigations in to his disappearance, including hiring a private investigator and a data analyst to undertake the work the Police are not capable of resourcing. Additional telephone lines have been secured with dedicated numbers that will be answered by Corries family and close friends.
The £50, 000 reward being offered for information leading to the discovery of Corrie has been donated by a local business man and his wife and comes in the same week that Corries father and paternal grandparents also offered a reward for information.
“crowd fundraising organiser Cheryl Hickman said I am truly overwhelmed and humbled by the kindness and generosity of the members of the find corrie facebook page.  â Corrie has certainly touched the hearts of the nation. Itâs so important that we keep Corrie in peopleâs minds as we approach Christmas, we need to keep the momentum up until heâs bought home to his amazing and gracious family.
If you have any information that could help in the search for Corrie you can call the new dedicated telephone number set up by his family 07379 333 024 or crimestoppers annonomously on 0800 333 111.
Wednesday 22nd Nov:
A police pod will be in place in the centre of Bury St Edmunds tomorrow and Friday, 24 and 25 November, as officers continue to investigate the disappearance of Corrie McKeague.
The pod will be open between 9am and 5pm on both days as officers work to identify individuals seen on CCTV in the Brentgovel Street and Short Brackland area of the town between 3am and 8am on Saturday 24 September, around the time of the last confirmed sighting of Corrie at 3.25am.
In the early stages of the enquiry officers worked overnight Friday nights into Saturday morning from a pod in Bury to show pub and club goers, and early morning workers, the images to see if they could help with identification. Other work has since been carried out to identify them, with continual appeals made for anyone there to come forward.
There remain a number of people who have not been identified, however in many cases there are few distinguishing characteristics to help with this process, so officers will again go out in the town, this time during the day, to see if anyone can assist.
Behind the scenes, police are continuing to work with partners to analyse CCTV footage in more detail. Â Further work is also currently being done around the footage to ensure nothing has been missed.
A lot of work continues on the enquiry and police continue to ask anyone with information that may help find Corrie to call the incident room on 01473 782019.
Tuesday 8th Nov:
Corrie McKeagues Mother has taken to west Suffolk college to appeal for information to find her son.
She pleaded for the 4,000 students enrolled at the college to come forward if they saw anything or anyone suspicious on the night corrie went missing.
It follows an assembly Nicola attended at county upper school last week where she told students there is no other way he could of left the town centre other than in a car.
Hear the recording of Nicola explaining Corries movements on the night he was last seen:
Thursday 3rd Nov:
Corrie’s Mother, Nicola Urquhart, exclusively spoke to us after the family have concluded that in their investigation there is a 3rd party involvement
The Family Statement:
Suffolk Police Major Investigation Team are searching for 23-year-old Corrie McKeague, a Team Medic and Senior Airman in the RAF Regimental Gunners 2 squadron.
Corrie who was last seen on CCTV after a night out with other serving airmen in Bury St Edmunds at 0325 on Saturday 24th September.
SULSAR, (a charity) have provided most of the search ability carrying out over 5000 hours, including a number of RAF police and specialist teams which have also been used to assist a team of Police search officers.
RAF and Military are desperate to assist in the search of one of their own, at no financial cost to the police, but must respect that this is Suffolk Police that are investigating and can only assist when requested.
Despite all the efforts of the family assisted by over 50,000 facebook followers 12,000 follows on a webpage wwwfindcorrie.co.uk and thousands on Twitter @findcorrie, door to door leaflet drops, organised leaflet drops at football matches, car boot sales firework displays, Bury St Edmunds town centre has a poster in almost every window, over 150 thousand posters and leaflets have been printed, collected and delivered by members of the public, at their own cost and in their own time. The RAF at the request of Corrieâs mother and brothers have also been out in their own time to assist the family and public with this.
The police are now printing a maximum or 1000 leaflets and asking for the assistance of the RAF in their own time. In place of carrying out door to door enquires by uniformed officers.
The police traced Corrieâs mobile phone to a micro mast in the area of Barton Mills in the early hours on Saturday September 24. A bin lorry which was in the exact area that Corrie was last seen has made the journey from Bury to Barton Mills, within a few minutes of Corrieâs phone arriving. The police have since made the decision not to search the landfill and released this back.
Police made an appeal requesting assistance to trace three people believed to be aged 16 to 18 who were spotted by the bin lorry driver on Cornhill Walk shopping centre on Short Brackland, Bury, at around 4.20am on September 24. They are described as a white female, of quite slim build, possibly with blonde hair wearing either a dark green or navy blue jumper-style top, and two males, one wearing a hooded top. These three have been identified and spoken too.
Police identified a male in a distinctive black and white t shirt be traced. This male was traced through efforts of the family.
Corrieâs family is perhaps slightly unusual in their collective knowledge and backgrounds in Police, Intelligence & Security. As a result, information has been identified or analysis conducted which the Police have not had the capacity or capability to undertake, or perhaps have, but chosen not to communicate this with the family. As a result, there is a lack of trust towards the media management approach the Police have employed to date, including coming out immediately after Corrie disappeared, emphatically claiming there was âno third party involvementâ, a message position they maintained until the family were able to demonstrate was wrong.
It was the family which has driven all of the media engagement, in spite of the reporting restrictions that have been imposed due to the links with the other two recent abduction attempts of British Servicemen from nearby Marham and Aldershot within a matter of weeks prior to Corrieâs disappearance, which we now know involves a 3rd party. No connection to any terrorist group or individual has been confirmed or discounted yet, both remain open investigations, however there appears to be similarities in MO in all three. Clearly a D Notice would not be confirmed, or possibly even denied by the Government Media committee responsible, but it is not difficult to recognise that having Servicemen abducted on their doorstep is not good Politically as it points towards a consequence of this Governments aggressive, military Foreign policy in the Middle East, nor does it help the current failing military recruitment and retention strategy, in what is a recruiting heartland.
It is our summary that Corrie has disappeared against his will, a 3rd party is involved. There are numerous leads that have not been followed up and evidence that has not been effectively processed. The Policeâs claim that this is an Intelligence Lead operation has been a euphemism for cost constrained. Prior to the Major Investigation Team taking control of this investigation the family felt incredibly safe that everything was being done it was being treated âas a homicide, without evidence or bodyâ as police were already â99.9% certain Corrie had not left on foot, and had been unable to return of his own accordâ. This is a Major Investigation Team in name not function.
Should any member of the press wish to speak to the family, please feel free to contact Nicola Urquhart, Darroch Mckeague, Makeyan Mckeague or Tony Wringe directly.
Mon 24th Oct:
Itâs now a month since the last confirmed sighting of Corrie McKeague and work continues to find him.
Following an appeal on Friday, police now have leads to identify the man seen in Pizza Mama Mia at around 1.15am. Another person has also got in touch to say she was in the takeaway and she will be interviewed by police.
There has also been a possible sighting of Corrie heading towards Honington. Officers received a call from a man who told them he had been driving in the area around 4.20am when he saw a man dressed in light clothing walking near the Hollow Road industrial estate, at the back of the sugar beet factory.
Police are currently working to see if this can be confirmed as Corrie
Sat 22/10/16 :
As enquiries continue to trace missing Corrie McKeague, police are releasing details of a further potential witness officers would like to speak to.
Around 1.15am â 1.30am on Saturday 24 September Corrie bought takeaway food at Pizza Mama Mia in St Andrews Street North before walking off towards Brentgovel Street, as seen on the first CCTV images issued by police.
While he was in the takeaway he went to sit with a group of people who have not yet been traced. This group are sought as witnesses and police need to speak to them. The group included a man described as black, who wore a distinctive black T-shirt with âDeathâ, the Roman numerals âLXXVIIIâ and the number â78â in large white letters on the rear and a white motif on the front. He appears to be shorter than Corrie, under around 5ft 10ins tall, and had short dark hair. He leaves the takeaway with Corrie, before Corrie is seen on the CCTV walking towards Brentgovel Street on his own.
There is no suggestion that there was any contact after this, however police need to talk to anyone who spoke to Corrie in the hours before he disappeared. At this time this group are the last known to have been in conversation with Corrie.
Officers are asking the group and the man who spoke with Corrie to come forward as potential witnesses â and are asking anyone with information about who they may be to get in touch.
Anyone who may have been out in the Bury St Edmunds, Honington or Barton Mills area between 3am and 6am on Saturday 24 September or anyone with information that may help should call the incident room on 01473 782019.
Fri 21/10/16 : Police are releasing the 3.25am footage of Corrie McKeague as efforts continue to locate him.
The footage shows Corrie in Brentgovel Street in Bury St Edmunds at 3.25am on Saturday 24 September and is the last confirmed sighting of him.
Corrie McKeague CCTV from Suffolk Police on Vimeo.
https://vimeo.com/188268494?from=outro-local
Four weeks on, work is continuing to find him. Following national media appeals earlier in the week police have received a number of calls however, at this stage, no new information has been received to take this further forward, and officers continue to ask anyone who may have been in the area in the early hours of Saturday 24 September to come forward, regardless of whether you think you may have information that may assist or not.
Today further searches have been completed in the Great Livermere area, with specialist RAF search officers joining police and Suffolk Lowland Search and Rescue volunteers to comb through woodland areas. Line searches are being carried out, as part of the ongoing search strategy.
Anyone who may have been out in the Bury St Edmunds, Honington or Barton Mills area between 3am and 6am on Saturday 24 September or anyone with information that may help should call the incident room on 01473 782019.