A volunteer team using cadaver detection dogs to search for the body of a British child who disappeared in Australia more than 50 years ago has found an area of interest.
The group hopes their finding is a breakthrough in Cheryl Grimmer's case and have reported the location to New South Wales Police, who are now on the scene.
Authorities suspect the three-year-old, who had emigrated from Bristol with her family, was abducted from Fairy Meadow beach in Wollongong in January 1970.
A search will be conducted tomorrow with the assistance of specialist officers as part of ongoing inquiries, police told the BBC in a statement.
Today, bathed in the sun, the beach looks as idyllic as it must have been all those years ago. From the sand dunes, looking inland, the terrain gradually climbs into dense bushland.
A short drive up into the hills, there's a small pocket of woodland on the edge of an upmarket suburb that could reveal a terrible secret.
Balgownie was the location mentioned in a confession made by a teenage boy - also from England - a year after the toddler vanished. Decades later, a judge disallowed that admission.
In 2019, a trial of the suspect, known only by a codename, Mercury, who'd been charged with Cheryl Grimmer's abduction and murder, collapsed. The man, in his 60s, had denied any wrongdoing.
Cheryl's brother Ricki Nash was seven when his little sister vanished. He last saw her in the changing rooms at Fairy Meadow.
This should have been done 55 years ago, he said as the specialist team with dogs trained to detect human remains began its work. My question is, why wasn't it?
Ricki Nash stated the police have never canvassed the area in detail despite a detailed confession existing.
We always live with the hope that someone took her that couldn't have a child, raised her well... We've had people over the years knock on the door and say that they are Cheryl, Mr Nash shared.
The canine team, led by Chris D'Arcy of Search Dogs Sydney, reported a distinct change in behavior from their dog, Ruffus, in the area noted. He stated, What we believe we have located is an area of interest and will pass the information on to the authorities.
Ricki Nash said the news made him tremble. If the search leads to Cheryl, it raises painful questions of her being missing for 55 years.
Former detective Frank Sanvitale joined the family at the site, expressing deep frustrations with the investigation's past. To find something after 55 years... the chances are one in a million, he explained.
As hope continues for answers, landscape changes around Fairy Meadow demonstrate a peaceful yet haunting view of a place tied to a tragic past.
