RAF gunner who vanished on night out had 'significant binge-drinking problem' - inquest

7 March 2022, 15:48 | Updated: 7 March 2022, 15:51

An RAF gunner who vanished on a night out developed a "significant binge-drinking problem" after his friend died on a train line when he was a teenager, an inquest heard.

Corrie McKeague, from Dunfermline, was 23 when he disappeared in the early hours of September 24, 2016 after a night out in Bury St Edmunds.

Suffolk Police believe the airman, who was stationed at RAF Honington, climbed into a bin which was then tipped into a waste lorry.

His body has never been found.

READ MORE: Ukraine fightback: City and airport retaken with 'heavy losses' for Putin's forces

READ MORE: Queen holds first in-person engagement since catching Covid

Mr McKeague's father Martin McKeague, in a statement read out at the inquest, described Mr McKeague as a "happy child".

He added, however, there were "major events that shaped Corrie's life".

He said: "At the age of 15, when he was first to find the body of his friend who had just been killed on a train line, I believe Corrie developed a significant binge-drinking problem.

"In his teenage years that impacted his emotional wellbeing and mired many of his relationships."

He said the death of his son's friend "was a terrible shock for a 15-year-old boy to suffer, and one I don't think he ever truly got over".

"I don't believe Corrie was ever suicidal," he added. "This has been a heart-breaking tragedy."

Mr McKeague's mother, Nicola Urquhart, said in a statement one of her son's "very close female friends was hit by a train and killed instantly".

"This event had a huge impact on Corrie," she said.

She said Mr McKeague had started to train as a hairdresser, then as a PE teacher, before joining the RAF.

He was prescribed antidepressants in the past, but she said he was "back to his usual happy self" by 2015.

Ms Urquhart added her son "regularly lost his phone or wallet on nights out" but "was never aggressive with or without alcohol".

"There was nothing to suggest Corrie had any problems or concerns around the time of his disappearance," she said.

"Despite what's in the press, as far as I'm aware Corrie had never slept in a bin nor had he ever climbed into a bin to sleep," Ms Urquhart said.

Mr McKeague's brother Darroch McKeague said in a statement that Corrie planned to come back to Scotland for Halloween.

He said that when he spoke to his brother on September 23 he was "happy" and "looking forward to his night out".

Suffolk's senior coroner Nigel Parsley said Mr McKeague, who had served in the RAF for three years, drank a "significant amount of alcohol during the evening" of September 23.

He said Mr McKeague was asked to leave Flex nightclub and "was seen on a number of occasions on CCTV".

"He's seen to sometimes be alone, sometimes in conversation with others and seen to obtain food," Mr Parsley said.

He said that at 3.25am on September 24 CCTV captured Mr McKeague entering a horseshoe-shaped area in Brentgovel Street.

"You might find based on evidence that 3.25am is the last time Corrie was seen and known to be alive," Mr Parsley told jurors.

He said police investigations and searches failed to locate Mr McKeague, there has been no contact with family and no financial transactions that can be linked to him.

He said jurors will hear evidence about Mr McKeague's movements on September 23 and 24, his contact with any witnesses and "hypotheses and possible scenarios relating to Corrie's disappearance".

The inquest, due to last for up to four weeks, continues.