Creature Bones Discovered in Hunt for Child Who Vanished Fifty-Five Years Ago
A specific zone identified in a volunteer-led search for the remains of a English child who went missing in the land down under 55 years ago has proven to be a mistaken lead, local authorities said.
A group of searchers who used specialized canines in the search for the missing child had believed their discovery would represent a breakthrough in the case, which has remained a unsolved puzzle since she vanished in 1970, when she was three.
But bones that were uncovered in the location are from an non-human creature, police stated in reply to queries, adding that the search had "concluded."
Investigators suspect Cheryl, who had moved from Bristol with her family, was abducted from a coastal area in the city in January 1970.
Recent Search Efforts
Thursday's search happened in a local suburb, on a small pocket of woodland referenced in a confession made by a teenage boy.
In the year 2019, a court case of the suspect, known only by a codename, the pseudonym, who'd been indicted with Cheryl's abduction and murder, ended abruptly. The individual, in his sixties then, had rejected any wrongdoing.
Legal authorities later withdrew accusations against him as a court official excluded the confession he made as a minor.
Unsolved Case
Police have carried out numerous investigations in the decades since she went missing, but have uncovered limited clues as to what occurred to her.
NSW authorities have announced a one million Australian dollar reward for tips on the case of Cheryl's disappearance and presumed death.
Family's Perspective
Cheryl's brother Ricki Nash, 62, has publicly highlighted what he thinks are errors in the police investigation dating back to the day she disappeared.
Mr Nash was seven then. He final sighting of his sister in the locker area at the beach on the day she disappeared.
Community Action
A formal request asking the local government to set up an inquiry into cases of disappeared individuals overseen by NSW Police, such as this one, gathered more than 10,000 supporters this summer.
It was debated in the legislature, but in a response responding to petitioners, state authorities made no promise to conducting an inquiry.
