Animal Remains Discovered in Search for Girl Who Vanished Fifty-Five Years Ago
A specific zone flagged in a community-driven investigation for the body of a English child who vanished in Australia fifty-five years ago has proven to be a mistaken lead, New South Wales Police said.
A group of searchers 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 remained a mystery since she vanished in 1970, when she was just three years old.
But skeletal fragments that were uncovered in the area belong to an non-human creature, police stated in response to questions, noting that the search had "concluded."
Investigators believe Cheryl, who had moved from Bristol with her relatives, was taken from a coastal area in Wollongong in the start of 1970.
Latest Investigation Steps
Thursday's search happened in a local suburb, on a small pocket of woodland referenced in a admission made by a young male.
In the year 2019, a court case of the suspect, known only by a codename, the pseudonym, who'd been charged with the crimes against Cheryl, ended abruptly. The man, in his sixties then, had denied any wrongdoing.
Legal authorities later withdrew charges against him as a court official excluded the confession he made as a juvenile.
Ongoing Mystery
Authorities have carried out many investigations in the years since Cheryl disappeared, but have found limited clues as to what happened to her.
Local officials have offered a A$1m incentive for tips on the case of Cheryl's disappearance and presumed death.
Family's Perspective
Her sibling Ricki, 62, has publicly highlighted what he thinks are errors in the official inquiry going back to the time she disappeared.
He was seven then. He last saw his sister in the changing rooms at Fairy Meadow on the day she vanished.
Community Action
A petition asking the state parliament to set up an investigation into missing persons investigations handled by the police force, such as this one, collected more than ten thousand signatures this summer.
It was debated in the legislature, but in a letter responding to those who signed, officials made no commitment to conducting an review.