Creature Bones Found in Hunt for Girl Who Vanished 55 Years Ago
A specific zone identified in a community-driven search for the remains of a English girl who went missing in Australia 55 years ago has proven to be a false alarm, New South Wales Police said.
A volunteer team who used cadaver detection dogs in the quest 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 three.
But bones that were uncovered in the location belong to an non-human creature, law enforcement stated in response to questions, noting that the search had "concluded."
Investigators suspect the young girl, 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 took place in a local suburb, on a small pocket of forest referenced in a admission made by a young male.
In the year 2019, a trial of the suspect, 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 rejected any involvement.
Legal authorities later dropped charges against him as a judge disallowed the confession he made as a juvenile.
Unsolved Case
Authorities have conducted many investigations in the years since she disappeared, but have found limited leads as to what occurred to her.
Local officials have announced a A$1m incentive for tips on Cheryl's abduction and suspected murder.
Family's Perspective
Cheryl's brother Ricki, sixty-two, has openly discussed what he thinks are mistakes in the police investigation going back to the day she disappeared.
Mr Nash was seven then. He last saw his sister in the locker area at the beach on the date she vanished.
Public Response
A formal request asking the state parliament to establish an inquiry into cases of disappeared individuals overseen by NSW Police, such as this one, collected more than 10,000 signatures this season.
It was debated in parliament, but in a response responding to petitioners, state authorities made no commitment to conducting an inquiry.
