Creature Bones Discovered in Search for Girl Who Vanished Fifty-Five Years Ago
A specific zone identified in a community-driven investigation for the remains 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 said.
A group of searchers who used cadaver detection dogs in the quest for the missing child had hoped their finding would represent a breakthrough in the case, which has remained a unsolved puzzle since she vanished in the year 1970, when she was just three years old.
But bones that were found in the location belong to an animal, law enforcement said in response to questions, adding that the search had "concluded."
Investigators believe the young girl, who had moved from her UK hometown with her family, was abducted from Fairy Meadow beach in the city in January 1970.
Recent Search Efforts
Thursday's search happened in Balgownie, on a tiny section of woodland mentioned in a admission made by a young male.
In 2019, a court case of the suspect, known only by a codename, Mercury, who'd been indicted with Cheryl's abduction and murder, collapsed. The individual, in his sixties then, had denied any involvement.
Legal authorities later withdrew charges against him as a judge disallowed the statement he made as a minor.
Unsolved Case
Authorities have carried out many searches in the decades since she went missing, but have uncovered limited clues as to what happened to her.
NSW authorities have announced a A$1m incentive for information on Cheryl's abduction and suspected murder.
Family's Perspective
Her sibling Ricki Nash, sixty-two, has publicly highlighted what he believes are errors in the official inquiry going back to the day she disappeared.
He was seven then. He final sighting of his sister in the locker area at the beach on the day she vanished.
Public Response
A petition asking the state parliament to set up an investigation into cases of disappeared individuals overseen by NSW Police, such as Cheryl's, collected more than 10,000 signatures this summer.
It was discussed in parliament, but in a letter responding to petitioners, state authorities made no commitment to holding an review.
