HEARTBROKEN FATHER REVEALS HE STILL HASN’T MET
The heartbroken father of Corrie McKeague has told of his devastation that he has never met the RAF gunner’s daughter… five years after his son vanished on a night out.
Devastated Martin McKeague, who was at the inquest into his son’s death last week, welcomed the ruling that Corrie, 23, was crushed to death on the day he disappeared in September 2016 after climbing into a bin that was later tipped into a waste lorry.
Corrie’s girlfriend April Oliver gave bi r th to the couple’s daughter, Ellie-Louise Corrie Oliver, eight months after the airman was last seen.
His dad has now revealed a bitter family fallout has denied him contact with his granddaughter.
He fears he will never get to meet the youngster and says not knowing his late son’s daughter – who was born on Father’s Day in 2017 and turns five in June – fills him with added grief.
Martin, 53, of Cupar, Fife, said: “The pain of losing Corrie will never change. Ellie is the only bit of Corrie we have left. It breaks my heart not to be able to see her – of course it does.
“I’ve had no contact with April or with Corrie’s daughter. I know I will probably never get to see little Ellie.
“My only hope is that when she comes of an age to make her own decisions she reaches out to me and I will reach back with open arms.”
Martin’s wife Trisha said: “We only know what Ellie looks like because we’ve seen her photograph in the papers. She’s beautiful.
“Martin finds it too difficult to even look at pictures of her – it upsets him too much. He’s asked me, ‘Does she look like Corrie?’ and I’ve said yes. She does look like Corrie. She’s gorgeous.”
Corrie, of Dunfermline, disappeared in the early hours of September 24, 2016, after being ejected from a nightclub in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.
CCTV footage captured the airman, who had drunk a significant amount of alcohol, entering a horseshoe-shaped service area behind a row of shops but he was never seen again.
Waste f i rm Bi f fa later revealed a bin they collected that morning from the service area recorded a weight of 116kg (18st 3lb) – much heav ier than the