Creature Bones Discovered in Search for Girl Who Vanished Fifty-Five Years Ago
The "area of interest" flagged in a community-driven investigation for the remains of a British child who went missing in Australia fifty-five years ago has proven to be a mistaken lead, local authorities said.
A volunteer team who used specialized canines in the search for the missing child had believed their discovery would mark a major development in the case, which has stayed a unsolved puzzle since she vanished in the year 1970, when she was three.
But bones that were uncovered in the area are from an non-human creature, law enforcement said in reply to questions, adding that the search had "concluded."
Investigators suspect Cheryl, who had emigrated from Bristol with her family, was taken from a coastal area in the city in the start of 1970.
Recent Search Efforts
The recent operation took place in Balgownie, on a small pocket of forest mentioned in a admission made by a young male.
In 2019, a trial of the accused, known only by a alias, Mercury, who'd been charged with the crimes against Cheryl, collapsed. The individual, in his sixties then, had denied any involvement.
Legal authorities later withdrew charges against him as a court official disallowed the confession he made as a minor.
Unsolved Case
Authorities have conducted numerous searches in the decades since she disappeared, but have uncovered few clues as to what occurred to her.
Local officials have announced a A$1m incentive for tips on the case of Cheryl's disappearance and presumed death.
Family's Perspective
Cheryl's brother Ricki, 62, has openly discussed what he thinks are errors in the official inquiry going back to the day she disappeared.
Mr Nash was seven years old then. He final sighting of his sibling in the locker area at the beach on the date she vanished.
Community Action
A formal request asking the local government to establish an inquiry into missing persons investigations overseen by the police force, such as this one, collected more than ten thousand supporters this summer.
It was discussed in the legislature, but in a response responding to petitioners, state authorities made no commitment to holding an inquiry.
