Creature Remains Discovered in Search for Child Who Disappeared 55 Years Ago
A specific zone flagged in a volunteer-led investigation for the body of a English child 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 specialized canines in the search for the missing child had believed their discovery would represent a major development in the case, which has stayed a mystery since she vanished in 1970, when she was three.
But skeletal fragments that were found in the location are from an animal, police stated in response to questions, noting that the search had "ended."
Authorities believe Cheryl, who had moved from Bristol with her family, was abducted from a coastal area in the city in January 1970.
Latest Investigation Steps
The recent operation happened in a local suburb, on a small pocket of woodland mentioned in a admission made by a teenage boy.
In 2019, a trial of the accused, known only by a alias, the pseudonym, who'd been charged with Cheryl's abduction and murder, ended abruptly. The man, in his sixties then, had rejected any wrongdoing.
Legal authorities later dropped charges against him as a judge disallowed the confession he made as a juvenile.
Ongoing Mystery
Authorities have carried out many searches in the decades since she disappeared, but have found few leads as to what occurred to her.
NSW authorities have announced a A$1m reward for information on the case of Cheryl's disappearance and presumed death.
Family's Perspective
Cheryl's brother Ricki Nash, 62, has publicly highlighted what he believes are mistakes in the official inquiry going back to the time she went missing.
He was seven then. He final sighting of his sister in the locker area at Fairy Meadow on the date she disappeared.
Community Action
A petition asking the local government to set up an inquiry into cases of disappeared individuals overseen by the police force, such as Cheryl's, gathered more than ten thousand signatures this season.
It was discussed in parliament, but in a letter addressing petitioners, state authorities made no commitment to conducting an inquiry.
