Animal Remains Discovered in Hunt for Child Who Vanished Fifty-Five Years Ago
A specific zone flagged in a community-driven investigation for the body of a English girl who vanished in the land down under fifty-five years ago has turned out to be a mistaken lead, New South Wales Police said.
A volunteer team who used cadaver detection dogs in the search for Cheryl Grimmer had hoped their discovery would mark a major development in the case, which has stayed a unsolved puzzle since she disappeared in 1970, when she was just three years old.
But skeletal fragments that were found in the location are from an non-human creature, law enforcement said in response to queries, noting that the search had "concluded."
Authorities believe Cheryl, who had emigrated from her UK hometown with her family, was abducted from Fairy Meadow beach in the city in January 1970.
Recent Search Efforts
The recent operation took place in Balgownie, on a tiny section of woodland referenced in a admission made by a young male.
In 2019, a court case of the accused, known only by a codename, the pseudonym, who'd been indicted with Cheryl's abduction and murder, ended abruptly. The man, in his sixties then, had denied any involvement.
Prosecutors later withdrew accusations against him as a judge excluded the confession he made as a juvenile.
Unsolved Case
Police have carried out numerous investigations in the decades since Cheryl disappeared, but have uncovered limited leads as to what occurred to her.
Local officials have offered a one million Australian dollar reward for information on Cheryl's abduction and suspected murder.
Family's Perspective
Cheryl's brother Ricki Nash, 62, has publicly highlighted what he thinks are mistakes in the police investigation going back to the time she disappeared.
He was seven then. He last saw his sister in the locker area at the beach on the date she disappeared.
Public Response
A formal request asking the local government to set up an inquiry into cases of disappeared individuals handled by the police force, such as Cheryl's, collected more than ten thousand signatures this season.
It was debated in parliament, but in a response responding to those who signed, state authorities made no commitment to holding an inquiry.
