Hunt for killer of ‘Oz Maddie’ 47 years after Cheryl Grimmer, 3, was snatched from beach as Australian cops hint at breakthrough and victim’s brother pleads for killer to come forward
Tot declared 'dead but missing' as brother Ricki, now 54, says he still lives with heartache of leaving sister unattended in Sydney
JANUARY 12, 1970, was a scorcher Down Under.
For the Grimmers, a British family who had recently emigrated to Australia, it was a perfect day to visit the seaside.
But for Carole and her four children, that carefree afternoon on the golden sands of Fairy Meadow beach had devastating consequences that darkened their lives for ever.
In mid-afternoon the weather took a turn for the worse. In the scramble to pack up and leave, Carole’s only daughter Cheryl, who was three, disappeared.
She has not been seen since.
Now, almost 47 years on, Aussie cops believe they may finally have a breakthrough in one of the country’s most baffling cases.
The case has echoes of missing British toddler Madeleine McCann, who was three when she went missing in Portugal in 2007.
The new lead emerged following a reenactment last month of Cheryl’s last known movements — five years after she was officially declared dead by a coroner.
Three witnesses, who were aged nine, ten and 12 when Cheryl went missing, described seeing a teenaged boy loitering in the area.