Animal Remains Discovered in Hunt for Child Who Vanished Fifty-Five Years Ago
A specific zone flagged in a community-driven investigation for the body of a English girl who vanished in Australia fifty-five years ago has proven to be a false alarm, local authorities confirmed.
A group of searchers who used cadaver detection dogs in the quest for the missing child had believed their finding 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 found in the area are from an animal, police said in reply to queries, noting that the operation had "concluded."
Investigators believe Cheryl, who had emigrated from Bristol with her relatives, was abducted from a coastal area in the city in the start of 1970.
Recent Search Efforts
Thursday's search happened in Balgownie, on a tiny section of woodland mentioned in a confession made by a young male.
In the year 2019, a trial of the suspect, known only by a codename, the pseudonym, who'd been charged with Cheryl's abduction and murder, ended abruptly. The man, in his sixties then, had denied any involvement.
Prosecutors later withdrew charges against him as a judge disallowed the confession he made as a minor.
Unsolved Case
Authorities have carried out many searches in the decades since Cheryl disappeared, but have found limited leads as to what occurred to her.
Local officials have announced a A$1m incentive for information on Cheryl's abduction and suspected murder.
Family's Perspective
Cheryl's brother Ricki Nash, sixty-two, has openly discussed what he believes are mistakes in the police investigation going back to the day she disappeared.
Mr Nash was seven then. He last saw his sister in the changing rooms at the beach on the day she vanished.
Public Response
A formal request asking the state parliament to establish an inquiry into cases of disappeared individuals overseen by the police force, such as this one, gathered more than 10,000 supporters this season.
It was debated in parliament, but in a letter addressing those who signed, officials made no promise to conducting an inquiry.
