‘How much more pain do we have to go through to get some truth?’: Brother of British girl Cheryl Grimmer who was snatched from Australian beach 54 years ago claims cops missed key clues to crack case

The brother of British girl Cheryl Grimmer, who was snatched from an Australian beach 54 years ago, claims police missed key clues to solving the case.

Ricki Nash was the last person to see his youngest sibling when she disappeared aged three from Fairy Meadow Beach, just outside Wollongong, in New South Wales in January 1970.

And yet, he emphasizes, the police only recorded a statement from him for the first time in 2017, almost fifty years after the tragic day.

He told The sun: ‘How much more pain does our family have to endure to uncover the truth?

‘It’s incredibly frustrating. The word frustrating says nothing about how I feel, let alone how my brothers feel too.”

Ricki Nash (pictured), brother of British girl Cheryl Grimmer who was snatched from an Australian beach 54 years ago, claims police missed key clues to solving the case

Ricki was the last person to see his youngest sibling (pictured) when she disappeared from Fairy Meadow Beach, just outside Wollongong in New South Wales, in January 1970 at the age of three.

Cheryl pictured with her brothers Ricki, Paul and Steve. The family had moved to Australia from Bristol in late 1968

The family, which included brothers Paul and Steve and their parents, had moved to the country from Bristol in late 1968.

Cheryl disappeared just after lunch on a hot day, just yards from the hostel where they were staying.

Ricki, then seven, was tasked with making sure his siblings washed the sand off their bodies after a day at the beach, but soon noticed that Cheryl was unwilling to leave the ladies’ room.

He then decided to ask their mother to help him, but by the time they got back to the shower, Cheryl was gone.

The heartbroken brother says he has always remembered his last moments with his sister and also remembers seeing a child who was taller than him and had a “big nose.”

Three days after her disappearance, a ‘ransom note’ was sent to Bulli police station, demanding $10,000 and a pardon in exchange for the toddler.

During an interview with Chief Inspector Lynch at the time, the officer asked anyone who recognized the letter’s handwriting, which experts assessed as that of a 14- or 15-year-old, to contact detectives.

The time and place of the exchange was determined by police and broadcast on television, which Ricki, now 62, said was their first major mistake.

Ricki (center) pictured with Stephen (left) and Paul (right)

Cheryl (pictured, left, with father Vince) disappeared just after lunch on a hot day, just meters from the hostel where they were staying

Cheryl pictured with Paul (left) and Stephen (right). Three days after her disappearance, a ‘ransom note’ was sent to Bulli police station, demanding $10,000 and a pardon in exchange for the toddler.

The military envisioned him joining police in the search for Cheryl in January 1970. In 1971, a 17-year-old suspect had confessed to the kidnapping and murder of Cheryl and even showed officers the spot where he supposedly buried the toddler.

The result was a huge crowd of hundreds of intrigued people desperate to witness the transfer.

Ricki added that the attention the potential collection received ruined the possibility of it actually happening.

In 1971, a 17-year-old suspect confessed to the kidnapping and murder of Cheryl and even showed officers the spot where he allegedly buried the toddler.

But police suspended the confession, citing inconsistencies in his story, and the case remained quiet until March 2017, when the same man was arrested and charged with the young girl’s murder in Melbourne.

Ricki believes the confession was ignored until an inquest in 2011, but he was not told about it until 2016 or 2017, meaning he and his family were not given the chance to confirm the details of the confession.

It also caused Cheryl’s father to die before he found out that someone had confessed to killing his young daughter.

A trial was subsequently scheduled for May 2019 after the suspect pleaded not guilty at the Supreme of New South Wales in September 2018.

But a judge then ruled that a new law, which declares confessions inadmissible if they are not made in the presence of a parent or guardian, can be imposed retroactively.

Cheryl pictured with her three brothers. Police suspended the confession, citing inconsistencies in his story, and the case remained quiet until March 2017, when the same man was arrested and charged with the young girl’s murder in Melbourne.

Ricki (pictured, centre, with Stephen, second from left, and Paul, right, in 2016) believes the confession was ignored until an inquest in 2011, but he was not told about it until 2016 or 2017, meaning that his family was not notified. the opportunity to confirm details of the confession

Cheryl’s heartbroken family in the spotlight after her disappearance

A trial was subsequently scheduled for May 2019 after the suspect pleaded not guilty at the Supreme of New South Wales in September 2018.

But a judge then ruled that a new law, which declares confessions inadmissible if they are not made in the presence of a parent or guardian, can be imposed retroactively.

As a result, the charges were dropped in February 2019 and in 2020 the police were again looking for new leads, offering a million dollars for more information.

Ricki claims that a high-ranking officer and a prosecutor both told him that the suspect was responsible for his sister’s disappearance more than fifty years ago.

The traumatized brother has vowed never to give up his search for the truth about his sibling’s disappearance, adding: ‘Stop the lies. Let’s hear what went wrong, let’s challenge this law retroactively.’