Dad of missing RAF man Corrie McKeague has flogged his beloved Harley Davidson to help fund the hunt for his son
THE DAD of missing airman Corrie McKeague has sold his beloved Harley Davidson to help fund the search for his son.
Martin McKeague, 48, sold the motorbike and his 4x4 car to help pay for a camper van so he can travel from Scotland to Suffolk, where Corrie was last seen.
Martin is also considering selling his home in Cupar, Fife, to help fund the search.
Corrie, 23, went missing six months ago after a night out with friends in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, ten miles from his RAF base.
Police are sifting through tons of rubbish at a landfill site in the county in the hope of finding his body.
Martin has previously said he does not wish to pay for his travel and accommodation with money from public donations.
The former oil worker and his second wife, Trisha, made their third visit to the landfill site last week.
He has said it was like staring into a “piece of hell.”
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Posting on the Discussion and Theories Corrie McKeague Facebook page, a woman who identified herself as Martin's sister-in-law wrote: "I was sent a message about a suggested fundraising for Corrie's grandparents and his father, Martin.
“I would like to say that this is a very kind gesture and extremely thoughtful but I know that the McKeague family in Scotland do not endorse any public funding in Corrie's name.
“They rallied together to create the reward and can't thank everyone enough for their emotional support."
She added: “I will clarify that Martin did sell his 4x4 in order to buy a camper van so that he can continue to travel back and forth to Bury St Edmonds.
“He also recently sold his Harley and sidecar but has not sold his house yet. If need be, this would be the next step but fortunately that is not required yet.
“He is the type of guy that would sell the shirt of his back before taking public funds, but thank you so much for thinking of Martin and his family."
Earlier this week Martin slammed plans for a charity concert in his son's name as in "bad taste".
He said: "It's a disgrace that plans are being made to hold 'Corrie's Concert' when we have not even found our son."
He was commenting on reports Corrie's mum Nicola Urquhart hopes the event will raise funds for the charities that have joined the hunt including Suffolk Lowland Search and Rescue.
Ex-cop Nicola posted on the Find Corrie Facebook group: "I've said from the start I will always try to find ways of raising funds for SULSAR and the charities that's have helped to support us to find Corrie.
"But I also want to find a way of showing the amazing community spirit, the kindness and love that has been shown to myself, Makeyan, Darroch and our families.
"So plans are underway to have CORRIE'S CONCERT this summer."
The RAF gunner, from Dunfermline, disappeared on September 24 and was last spotted on CCTV footage walking into a refuse loading bay at 3.25am.
Detectives now believe he could have climbed into or been placed in a bin that was collected from the loading bay by a Biffa lorry shortly after he vanished.
Officers are currently searching through 8,000 tons of waste at a 10,000 sq ft landfill site, in Cambridgeshire.
They have said they are “confident” they will find Corrie's body at the site.
Yesterday Corrie's uncle Tony Wringe blasted police for not searching there when the family asked them to five months ago.
Police knew a waste collection was made from the area hours after he was last seen but had initially believed the weight of the bin meant he could not have been inside.
It has since emerged that the weight of the bin was calculated incorrectly.
The landfill site is also close to where the RAF airman’s phone was last tracked six months ago.
Anyone with information about Corrie's disappearance is asked to call the incident room at Suffolk Police on 01473 782019.