The family of a toddler who disappeared from an Australian beach more than 50 years ago have criticized police for not formally interviewing potential eyewitnesses during a review of the case.
Officers suspect three-year-old Cheryl Grimmer was abducted from Fairy Meadow beach, south of Sydney, when she went missing on January 12, 1970. The Grimmer family had just emigrated from the UK. They have now been told the review, which took four years to complete, has not brought up any new evidence that could lead to a conviction.
They are angry that three potential eyewitnesses who spoke to the BBC were not formally interviewed by officers, despite their contact details being passed to police.
Ricki Nash, Cheryl's brother, expressed total frustration about the handling of the review, stating it was meant to be a detailed, full review of the case. He voiced disappointment over the police's inaction: There are no words, just nothing. Our family can't move forward without the help of the police. The three potential eyewitnesses came forward after the BBC aired the Fairy Meadow true crime podcast in 2022, which has since been downloaded five million times.
One man, who asked to remain anonymous, claims he saw a teenage boy carry away a small child from changing rooms beside the beach on the day Cheryl disappeared. He stated he had a brief conversation with NSW Police after sharing his account with the BBC but did not hear back from them.
Damian Loone, a retired detective who worked on Cheryl's case, deemed the man's testimony very credible and expressed disbelief that police did not formally interview him. He described it as sloppy police work. That’s what they should have done and I can’t believe that it hasn’t happened. Loone emphasized that the man was potentially the only independent witness who saw Cheryl with a teenage boy at the beach that day.
Another eyewitness, Kay Tutton, also reached out to the BBC, recalling how she observed a man taking a little girl away from the beach while the girl appeared upset.
In 2017, a suspect was charged with Cheryl's abduction and murder, but a judge ruled that the confession could not be used as trial evidence, leading to the charges being dropped in 2019.
Recent developments include a petition demanding an inquiry into missing persons investigations in the NSW Police, which garnered over 10,000 signatures this summer, but police stated they had properly assessed all information received and confirmed they did meet with members of the Grimmer family last September.
Frustrated by the lack of communication and follow-up, Ricki remarked, You offer a million dollar reward, people come forward, you don’t speak to them. Why offer the reward?<\/p>
