Missing RAF airman's devastated girlfriend reveals he is due to become a father
AN RAF serviceman who went missing in September is due to become a father, his girlfriend has revealed.
Missing airman Corrie Mckeague due to become a father
Corrie Mckeague, of Dungermline, Fife, has been missing since he disappeared after a night out in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk on September 24.
The 23-year-old's girlfriend, April Oliver, 21, of Norfolk, revealed she found out she was expecting his child two weeks after he vanished near RAF Honington where he has been based for three years while training to be a gunner and a medic.
She told the BBC: "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."
I was hoping and praying that he'd come back so we could make the decision together
The couple met on a dating site and had been together for about five months before he went missing.
Miss Oliver said he was an "absolute gentleman".
Corrie Mckeague went missing after a night out in Suffolk in September
She added: "He's just the sweetest and most outgoing person I've ever know.
"There is nothing I would love more than for him to walk through the door and say 'I'm back'."
She revealed she was in America on holiday when Mr Mckeague went missing, but rushed back to the UK when she heard the news.
Miss Oliver (r) was joined by Mr Mckeague's mother, Nicola Urquhart at her first baby scan
Miss Oliver added: "I was concerned. I knew it was out of character. I was quite worried."
She said she is speaking out about her pregnancy so she can concentrate on looking after herself and her baby without any intrusion.
She added: "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."
Corrie McKeague's mother tells GMB she believes her son is still alive
Mr Mckeague's mother, Nicola Urquhart, said she went with her son's girlfriend for her first scan and admitted it was a very difficult position to be in.
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."
The last CCTV footage of Mr Mckeague showed him walking alone in Bury St Edmunds at 3.24am BST.
April Oliver revealed Corrie Mckeague is due to become a father
Suffolk Police have been leading an investigation into his disappearance and a team of private investigators joined the search for Mr Mckeague on Friday after a crowd-funding appeal raised £51,000 to pay for them.
Mr Mckeague's uncle, Tony Wringe, who has a counter-terrorism background, said McKenzie Intelligence Services (MIS) provide intelligence services to government agencies and Fortune 500 clients.
And just before Christmas, the RAF gunner's Scottish police officer mother led a search for her son in a remote woodland area outside Bury St Edmunds.
Mr Mckeague was last seen on CCTV footage in Bury St Edmunds in the early hours of September 24
In liaison with the police and search agencies, she arranged for a group of 70 people to scour the woodland after saying he probably would have taken a route through it.
Her ex-husband, Corrie's father, Martin Mckeague, has also been handing out leaflets in Bury St Edmunds offering a five-figure reward.
A mystery business couple have put up £50,000 for information leading to the RAF gunner being found while Martin's parents, Mary and Oliver put up the reward money.