Police find girl missing since 2022: ‘She was n… See more….👇👇
Cheryl’s brother Ricki described his reaction as “total frustration,” saying the lack of interviews undermined confidence in the thoroughness of the review. “Our family can’t move forward without the help of the police,” he told the BBC.
Former Detective Voices Concern
Retired detective sergeant Damian Loone, who once worked on the case, criticized the handling of these witness accounts. He described one man’s testimony as “very credible” and said he could not understand why it was not pursued.
Loone argued that the man appeared to be the only independent eyewitness linking a teenage boy—estimated to be 16 or 17 years old—to Cheryl on the day she vanished. That detail is significant because the suspect once charged in the case, known only by the codename “Mercury,” was in that same age group at the time.
“I think that’s sloppy police work,” Loone said. “That’s what they should have done and I can’t believe that it hasn’t happened.”
The 2016 Breakthrough That Collapsed
In 2016, decades after Cheryl’s disappearance, a man in his 60s was charged with her abduction and murder. Police had uncovered a confession he made as a teenager in 1971. However, a judge later ruled the confession inadmissible, and the man—known only as “Mercury” because he was a minor at the time—was released. All charges were dropped in 2019.
The collapse of the case was devastating for Cheryl’s family. They had briefly hoped justice was within reach, only to watch the case unravel in court.
Petition and Calls for Accountability
Public interest in Cheryl’s case has remained strong. A petition earlier this year calling for a parliamentary inquiry into how New South Wales Police handle missing persons investigations gathered more than 10,000 signatures.
Although the issue was debated in parliament, the state’s minister for police and counter-terrorism made no commitment to launching such an inquiry. For Cheryl’s family, this felt like yet another missed opportunity for systemic change.
Police Defend Their Approach
