THE mother of missing airman Corrie McKeague has said that a traumatic moment in her son's past convinced him to be a risk-taker who didn't want to waste his life.
Sunday marks a year to the day since Mr McKeague went missing after a night out in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.
Speaking ahead of the anniversary of his disappearance, Nicola Urquhart, 48, said that the serviceman witnessed a close friend's death when he was a teenager, and the event changed his outlook on life.
Her son he had been invited to a friend’s birthday party in Springfield, a few miles from Cupar, Fife, where the family lived.
Things got out of hand and police were called, and the group decided to continue the party in nearby woods on the other side of a railway track where they would not disturb anyone.
Teenager Natalie Mulholland was struck by a train as she crossed, and the young Mr McKeague was the first of her friends to find her body.
"That changed him so much," his mother said. "He really did then have the attitude of ‘I won’t waste my life. If I want to do something fun, I will do it.
"I will take chances because you don’t know what’s around the corner tomorrow'."
In July, police ended a five-month search of a landfill site for the serviceman - who was 23-years-old when he vanished.
Detectives investigating his have identified a group of four men who joked with him on the night he vanished.
Police had released CCTV images of people they believed may have had some interaction with Mr McKeague on the night he went missing in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.
The appeal was made on Thursday, and later that day a man from the group of four identified himself to officers.
The man, who appeared on CCTV in the entrance to Flex nightclub, also gave the names of the three friends he was with on the night and whose images were also released.
A Suffolk Police spokesman said there was a "brief interaction ending on friendly terms with Corrie", and as there was no further contact the group are not considered to be significant to the investigation.
"The group of four knew Corrie and joked with him before they went their separate ways," the spokesman said.
Police said they would speak to the three other men in due course, along with two other people - a man and woman - who were in CCTV images and have identified themselves.
Mr McKeague was 23 years old when he disappeared after a night out with friends on September 24 last year.
Police also released the CCTV images of people they believe may have had some interaction with Mr McKeague on the night he went missing.
Officers stressed the people are not suspects, they are not key witnesses and have no direct link with Mr McKeague, but may have information that could help them understand what happened to him.
Suffolk Police said there would be a police pod in Bury St Edmunds this weekend for people to speak to officers with new information.
The pod would be in Brentgovel Street, where Mr McKeague was last seen at 3.25am.
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