An RAF gunner who vanished on a night out had previously slept in a bin and was a heavy sleeper when drunk, an inquest has been told.
Corrie McKeague, of Dunfermline, Fife, was 23 when he disappeared in the early hours of September 24, 2016, after a night out in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. He was last seen on CCTV at 3.25am entering a service area behind a Greggs shop and police believe he climbed into a bin which was then tipped into a waste lorry.
Chief Superintendent Marina Ericson said that officers at RAF Honington, where McKeague was stationed, reported him missing on September 26.
She said it was treated as a “high-risk” case as he was in the RAF, his disappearance was out of character and the major investigation team was investigating reports of an attempted kidnap at RAF Marham in Norfolk in July 2016, which “was later discounted”.
She said there were four overarching hypotheses when she became senior investigating officer in 2017. These were: that McKeague died after an accident; he died as a result of criminality; he remains alive but held against his will and unable to contact anyone; he remains alive and does not wish to be found.
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She told the inquest in Ipswich that officers looked at McKeague’s lifestyle and agreed with Peter Taheri, counsel to the inquest, that “Corrie stated to a colleague he had previously slept in a bin”. She said in her witness statement that McKeague “was described as being a heavy sleeper when drunk”.
Andrew Graves, of the waste vehicle manufacturing company Dennis Eagle, said the chances of someone surviving inside the back of a bin lorry were “slim”. He continued: “But if anything, suffocation is likely to be the most likely cause of death if the person isn’t immediately crushed.”
Graves said that 30 tonnes of force was exerted during each compaction cycle in the back of a bin lorry, each lasting 18 to 20 seconds.
If someone survived until the lorry reached a waste transfer station, they would have to “keep above the waste” as it was being tipped out, he said. He said there was 10.8 tonnes of waste in the lorry in question, and that it comes out “like an Oxo cube”.
Pressed to give a percentage chance of survival, Graves said: “I give a 5 per cent chance of survival.”
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The inquest, being heard with a jury, continues.
