Man charged over British toddler's disappearance from Australian beach nearly 50 years ago
Video report by ITV News Correspondent Richard Pallot
A man has been charged in connection with the mysterious disappearance of a British toddler from an Australian beach nearly 50 years ago.
Cheryl Grimmer vanished from inside a beach shower block in Wollongong, Australia, in 1970, when she was just three - not long after her family emigrated from Britain.
Police say they have now charged a 63-year-old man with abduction and murder, nearly half a century after Cheryl's disappearance.
The arrest comes a few months after an emotional plea from Cheryl's brother Ricki, who was with his younger sister moments before she vanished.
Ricki Grimmer and his brothers Stephen and Paul have repeatedly called for the alleged killer to turn themselves in.
New South Wales Police said they had both arrested and charged the man, who was once considered a person of interest, on Wednesday.
His name has not yet been released, but he would have been 16 at the time of Cheryl's disappearance.
The toddler, who spent the morning at the beach with her mother and three brothers, went into a changing area with her siblings while their mother packed up belongings.
Cheryl was never seen again and, despite a massive search, her body never found.
Police, however, believe Cheryl was taken from the front of the changing area and potentially died within an hour of her abduction.
The 63-year-old accused was interviewed over the disappearance at the time but never charged.
Police reopened the case last year.
While Cheryl's parents died without ever knowing what happened to their daughter, her three brothers continued to fight for justice.
In a plea last year for information, Ricki Grimmer said: "Everyone says it wasn't my fault but come and stand where I'm standing, see what it feels like.
"Just let us know where she is, give us something so we can mourn. It's cost me and my family everything".
The suspect will appear in court on Thursday.