Balgownie residents were going about their daily routines—bringing in bins, riding bikes, and walking their dogs—unaware that the bushland behind their homes might hold the key to unlocking a 55-year-old mystery.
While much of the area is now suburban, the land identified as a place of interest was once bush and farmland at the time of Cheryl Grimmer’s disappearance in 1970.
“That little girl could have been lying there all this time and nobody knew,” one resident reflected.
### A New Lead in a Decades-Old Case
The renewed interest in the case comes from efforts by Detective Senior Constable Frank Sanvitale, who was assigned to reinvestigate the disappearance in 2016. A significant breakthrough relates to a 1971 confession by a man who was 17 years old at the time of Cheryl’s disappearance.
His confession mentioned a gate and a cattle grid at the site where the crime allegedly occurred. At the time, police discounted this information and never searched the location.
During the recent reinvestigation, the landowner’s son confirmed that there was indeed a gate, cattle grid, and metal fence on the property—addressing previous concerns about the accuracy of the confession.
### Support from Search Dogs Sydney
At a recent Missing Persons Week event in Wollongong, volunteer organization Search Dogs Sydney was present. President Chris D’Arcy explained that Detective Sanvitale had approached them to help follow up on leads using trained search dogs.
One area of focus was the bushland behind the Balgownie homes.
“We covered the area in great detail, and the dogs provided us with an area of interest that needs further investigation,” Mr. D’Arcy said.
He cautioned that while the findings are promising, there is no confirmation yet. “We don’t know that it is Cheryl—it could be somebody else. There’s definitely been a lot of other deaths within the area in the last 50 years. It might not be her, it might be somebody else, but unless further testing is undertaken, we won’t know.”
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