Animal Bones Discovered in Search for Girl Who Vanished Fifty-Five Years Ago
The "area of interest" flagged in a community-driven investigation for the body of a British girl who went missing in the land down under fifty-five years ago has turned out to be a mistaken lead, New South Wales Police confirmed.
A volunteer team who used cadaver detection dogs in the quest for Cheryl Grimmer had believed 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 bones that were uncovered in the location belong to an non-human creature, law enforcement said in reply to questions, adding that the operation had "concluded."
Investigators believe Cheryl, who had emigrated from her UK hometown with her relatives, was abducted from Fairy Meadow beach in Wollongong in the start of 1970.
Recent Search Efforts
Thursday's search happened in a local suburb, on a tiny section of forest mentioned in a admission made by a young male.
In the year 2019, a trial of the accused, known only by a alias, the pseudonym, who'd been charged with Cheryl's abduction and murder, collapsed. The man, in his sixties then, had rejected any involvement.
Prosecutors later dropped accusations against him as a judge disallowed the statement he made as a juvenile.
Unsolved Case
Authorities have conducted numerous searches in the decades since Cheryl disappeared, but have uncovered limited leads as to what happened to her.
NSW authorities have announced a one million Australian dollar reward for information on Cheryl's abduction and suspected murder.
Relatives' Views
Cheryl's brother Ricki, sixty-two, has openly discussed what he thinks are mistakes in the official inquiry dating back to the day she disappeared.
Mr Nash was seven years old then. He last saw his sister in the changing rooms at the beach on the date she vanished.
Community Action
A formal request asking the state parliament to establish an inquiry into cases of disappeared individuals handled by NSW Police, such as this one, collected more than ten thousand signatures this season.
It was debated in parliament, but in a letter responding to those who signed, state authorities made no promise to conducting an inquiry.
