Family of missing British girl issue ultimatum to person of interest

The family of a British girl who disappeared in Australia more than 50 years ago have threatened to name a key person of interest unless he comes forward to answer their questions.

Authorities believe three-year-old Cheryl Grimmer was abducted from Fairy Meadow Beach in Wollongong in January 1970.

A suspect was charged with her abduction and murder, but his trial in 2019 collapsed after detailed confessions made when he was a teenager were ruled inadmissible. He denies any wrongdoing.

Known only as Mercury, the man’s identity has been protected as he was a minor at the time, but a politician has offered to name him under parliamentary privilege as the family push for a new inquest.

“(Mercury) has until Wednesday night,” Cheryl’s brother Ricky Nash told reporters on Friday.

Jeremy Buckingham, a NSW MP who supports the Grimmers, said he was prepared to use parliamentary privilege to name the man when state parliament resumed on Thursday.

Mr Nash wants Mercury to explain to the family how he knew the information contained in his confession – and whether or not it was true.

“Enough already,” he said, at times on the verge of tears. “We want the truth to come out.

Cheryl was at the beach at Fairy Meadow with her family on January 12, 1970. When the family decided to pack up, Mr Nash, as the eldest brother, was put in charge of his siblings and told to go to the toilet.

Cheryl ran giggling into the ladies’ changing rooms and refused to come out. Too embarrassed to go in alone, Mr. Nash returned to the beach to tell his mother to help. When they returned, 90 seconds later, the toddler was gone.

The family had only recently migrated to Australia from Bristol as the so-called Ten Pound Poms.

Despite extensive searches, there was no trace. Then in 2017, a man in his 60s was charged with Cheryl’s abduction and murder after officers discovered a confession made to police by the teenager in 1971.

A judge later ruled that the confession could not be introduced as evidence at trial, and the charges against him were dropped.

On Friday, the family released a lengthy document detailing what they say were mistakes made by NSW authorities in the search for Cheryl and called for more answers.

“We have made various requests to the NSW authorities for a new prosecution or a new investigation, but to no avail,” the family said in the letter.

“We feel that we have been misled many times by the police, saying they are doing case reviews or investigating leads that make no sense to us. The incompetence and negligence in the police investigation of this NSW case over the better part of the last 55 years is unfathomable.”

NSW police have defended their conduct, reiterating that homicide detectives are still investigating Cheryl’s disappearance – and that a A$1 million reward for information remains in place.

“Police continue to investigate every line of inquiry and seek answers into Cheryl’s death,” NSW Police said in a statement.

Three potential eyewitnesses came forward after the BBC broadcast the Fairy Meadow true crime podcast in 2022, which has since been downloaded five million times. Their contacts have been handed over to investigators.

But the family were recently told that a four-year review of the case found there was no new evidence that could lead to a conviction – although new potential eyewitnesses have not been formally interviewed by officers.

The family, along with a team of volunteers using cadaver dogs, also searched an “area of ​​interest” they hoped would be a breakthrough in the case earlier this month. But police said a subsequent search of the area turned up only animal bones.

Cheryl’s family contested the police response and said volunteers were back in the area on Friday collecting soil samples to be sent to the UK and US for further analysis.

“Sherrill disappeared over 55 years ago. It’s time for answers, it’s time for accountability,” the family said.

It comes after the NSW Parliament announced an inquiry into long-term missing persons cases in the state – including Cheryl’s. It will look at how investigations have been carried out and ways to improve.