The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Missing Fife airman Corrie McKeague to become a father
pregnancy: 23-year-old did not know of the news before he went missing
Missing Fife airman Corrie McKeague is to become a father.
His girlfriend April Oliver discovered she was pregnant two weeks after he disappeared after a night out in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, on September 24.
Mr McKeague, who is originally from Dunfermline, was based at nearby RAF Honington.
Ms Oliver, 21, had been dating the 23-year-old for around five months after meeting through an online dating site.
She said: “I’ve had to make a massive decision by myself.
“I was hoping and praying that he’d come back so we could make the decision together.”
Mr McKeague did not know his girlfriend was expecting before he vanished. She discovered the news in October and is due in late spring or early summer.
She said she decided to speak about her pregnancy so that she could focus on looking after herself and her baby without any intrusion.
“Most people only tell their close friends but I’m faced with a decision where I need to tell near enough the whole UK.
“It’s hard and it’s going to add another level of stress I don’t really need but it’s something that has to be done,” said Miss Oliver.
Mr McKeague’s mother, Nicola Urquhart, went with Miss Oliver for the scan. She said: “It’s incredibly difficult to bounce my head from the excitement of a new baby to what we’re actually trying to focus on, which is finding Corrie.”
Miss Oliver was on holiday in America when Mr McKeague went missing, but returned to the UK as soon as she heard the news.
“I was concerned,” she added. “I knew it was out of character. I was quite worried.
“He’s just the sweetest and most outgoing person I’ve ever known.
“There is nothing I would love more than for him to walk through the door and say ‘I’m back’.”
A team of private investigators, paid for by online crowdfunding, began inquiries on behalf of the family to complement the Suffolk Police investigation on Friday.