Animal Bones Discovered in Hunt for Girl Who Vanished Fifty-Five Years Ago

The "area of interest" identified in a community-driven investigation for the body of a British girl who went missing in the land down under 55 years ago has turned out to be a false alarm, local authorities confirmed.

A volunteer team who used specialized canines in the quest for Cheryl Grimmer had hoped their discovery would mark a breakthrough in the case, which has stayed a mystery since she disappeared in 1970, when she was three.

But bones that were found in the area are from an non-human creature, law enforcement said in reply to queries, noting that the operation had "ended."

Authorities believe Cheryl, who had emigrated from her UK hometown with her family, was abducted from Fairy Meadow beach in Wollongong in the start of 1970.

Recent Search Efforts

Thursday's search happened in Balgownie, on a small pocket of forest referenced in a admission made by a teenage boy.

In the year 2019, a trial of the accused, known only by a codename, the pseudonym, who'd been indicted with the crimes against Cheryl, ended abruptly. The man, in his sixties then, had denied any involvement.

Prosecutors later dropped charges against him as a court official disallowed the statement he made as a juvenile.

Unsolved Case

Authorities have conducted numerous searches in the years since she went missing, but have found few leads as to what occurred to her.

NSW authorities have offered a one million Australian dollar incentive for information on the case of Cheryl's disappearance and presumed death.

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 time she disappeared.

He was seven then. He last saw his sibling in the changing rooms at Fairy Meadow on the date she vanished.

Public Response

A petition asking the local government to establish an inquiry into cases of disappeared individuals handled by the police force, such as this one, gathered more than 10,000 signatures this summer.

It was debated in the legislature, but in a response responding to those who signed, officials made no commitment to conducting an inquiry.