Animal Bones Discovered in Search for Child Who Vanished Fifty-Five Years Ago
The "area of interest" identified in a volunteer-led search for the remains of a English child who vanished in Australia fifty-five years ago has proven to be a false alarm, local authorities said.
A group of searchers who used specialized canines in the search for Cheryl Grimmer had hoped their finding would represent a major development in the investigation, which has stayed a mystery since she disappeared in the year 1970, when she was three.
But bones that were found in the area belong to an animal, police stated in response to queries, noting that the search had "ended."
Investigators believe the young girl, who had moved from Bristol with her relatives, was abducted from Fairy Meadow beach in Wollongong in January 1970.
Recent Search Efforts
The recent operation took place in Balgownie, on a tiny section of woodland mentioned in a confession made by a teenage boy.
In 2019, a trial of the accused, known only by a alias, Mercury, who'd been charged with Cheryl's abduction and murder, collapsed. The man, in his sixties then, had rejected any involvement.
Legal authorities later dropped accusations against him as a judge excluded the confession he made as a minor.
Unsolved Case
Police have carried out numerous searches in the years since Cheryl disappeared, but have found limited clues as to what happened to her.
NSW authorities have offered a one million Australian dollar reward for information on the case of Cheryl's disappearance and presumed death.
Family's Perspective
Cheryl's brother Ricki Nash, sixty-two, has openly discussed what he thinks are mistakes in the police investigation going back to the time she went missing.
He was seven then. He last saw his sibling in the changing rooms at Fairy Meadow on the day she vanished.
Community Action
A formal request asking the local government to set up an investigation into cases of disappeared individuals handled by NSW Police, such as this one, collected more than ten thousand signatures this season.
It was discussed in parliament, but in a letter responding to petitioners, state authorities made no promise to conducting an inquiry.
