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A volunteer team utilizing cadaver detection dogs to seek the physical evidence of a child from Britain who went missing in Australia more than 50 years ago has located an "potential site".

The team anticipates their finding represents a significant development in Cheryl Grimmer's case and have informed the area to law enforcement, who are now present at the site.

Investigators suspect the three-year-old, who had relocated from Bristol with her family, was kidnapped from Fairy Meadow beach in Wollongong in January 1970.

"A investigation will be carried out tomorrow with the help of expert personnel as part of continuing investigation," police stated.

Decades-long Case

Today, illuminated by sunlight, the beach appears as picturesque as it must have been half a century ago. From the beach mounds, looking inland, the ground gradually climbs into thick vegetation.

A quick trip up into the higher ground, there's a small pocket of forest on the edge of an residential area that could expose a heartbreaking reality.

Balgownie was the site referenced in a statement made by a teenage boy - also from England - a year after the young child vanished. Much later, a judge disallowed that admission.

Relative's Viewpoint

Cheryl's brother Ricki Nash was seven years of age when his younger sibling vanished. He most recent view was in the bathroom facilities at Fairy Meadow.

"This should have been done 55 years ago," he said as the expert group with dogs trained to detect human remains began its work. "My concern is, why wasn't it?"

He has spent a lifetime craving answers, but hopes not to locate them here among the large trees, stream and shrubs.

"We always live with the possibility that someone took her that was unable to have a child, raised her well. One day she'd grow up, learn she didn't belong. We've had people over the years do that: visit our residence and declare that they are Cheryl and your cardiovascular response goes at a rapid pace."

Search Efforts

Nine-year-old Rufus is the principal search dog. His companion is Chris D'Arcy, the president of Search Dogs Sydney, a non-profit organization, who had volunteered to help the Grimmer family after being present at a investigative conference in Wollongong.

The animal search group has had success in previous cold cases dating back more than half a century. Last year, they found human remains in a lake in the northern region.

Now, Mr D'Arcy's team thinks it has made a significant development in the Grimmer case.

"What we consider we have located is an area of interest and will share the findings on to the investigators," he said. "The dog exhibited a clear alteration in response."

Personal Toll

Ricki Nash said the news made him "tremble".

"If it is Cheryl out there – she has been there for 55 years now – she shouldn't have been," he said.

Balgownie was largely rural in 1970. Frank Sanvitale, a ex-law enforcement officer who investigated the Grimmer case, has come to comfort members of Cheryl's family.

"To discover something after 55 years, I'm wishing we do, but the odds are extremely remote," he stated. "It would be like achieving four lotteries in a row. You've got to use a bit of practical thinking and be reasonable and systematic about it."

Ongoing Search

Tragedy generates impacts of sadness through families. Ricki Nash's daughter, Melanie Grimmer, has multiple children. She is also anxiously waiting news of the search at a command post on the side of the road.

"I know my dad hopes that no remains is found. I hope she's found, I pray the little girl comes home. My family has been through so much and it is a continuous fight," she stated. "I feel unwell in my stomach being here."

Much has evolved since 1970. But one thing remains constant - the determination of a affected loved ones to uncover the truth.