Animal Bones Found in Hunt for Girl Who Disappeared 55 Years Ago
The "area of interest" flagged in a community-driven investigation for the body of a British child who went missing in the land down under 55 years ago has turned out to be a mistaken lead, local authorities said.
A group of searchers who used cadaver detection dogs in the search for the missing child had believed their discovery would mark a major development in the case, which has remained a mystery since she vanished in the year 1970, when she was just three years old.
But bones that were uncovered in the area belong to an non-human creature, police stated in reply to questions, adding that the operation had "ended."
Investigators suspect Cheryl, who had moved from Bristol with her relatives, was taken from a coastal area in Wollongong in January 1970.
Recent Search Efforts
The recent operation took place in Balgownie, on a tiny section of forest mentioned in a confession made by a young male.
In 2019, a trial of the accused, known only by a alias, Mercury, who'd been indicted with Cheryl's abduction and murder, ended abruptly. The individual, in his sixties then, had denied any wrongdoing.
Legal authorities later withdrew accusations against him as a judge disallowed the statement he made as a juvenile.
Unsolved Case
Authorities have conducted many investigations in the years since she disappeared, but have found few clues as to what happened to her.
NSW authorities have offered a one million Australian dollar reward for tips on the case of Cheryl's disappearance and presumed death.
Relatives' Views
Her sibling Ricki Nash, 62, has publicly highlighted what he believes are errors in the police investigation going back to the time she went missing.
He was seven years old then. He last saw his sibling in the locker area at Fairy Meadow on the date she disappeared.
Public Response
A petition asking the local government to establish an inquiry into missing persons investigations overseen by NSW Police, such as this one, collected more than 10,000 supporters this season.
It was debated in the legislature, but in a response responding to those who signed, state authorities made no promise to holding an inquiry.
