logo
episode-header-image
Jan 2022
27m 57s

1. When the Wind Changed

Bbc Radio 4
About this episode

The Grimmer family moved from the UK to Australia in 1969. They were "ten pound poms" - part of a huge wave of migration down under. Months later, Three-year-old Cheryl Grimmer disappeared from Fairy Meadow beach in New South Wales. She was never seen again. In the moments before she vanished, she was being looked after by her oldest brother, Ricki. He was just seven. This is the story of that day, and of its impact in the months, years and decades that followed. It's Ricki's story - his desperate search for answers, and his battle with guilt. And it's the story of an extraordinary police enquiry that was dramatically re-started almost 50 years after Cheryl was taken.

BBC News Correspondent Jon Kay has been investigating the case in Australia and in the UK since 2016. With exclusive access to the family and the investigating officers, he begins an eight-part exploration of this moving, gripping tale.

Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Chris Ledgard Music: Elizabeth Purnell Studio engineer: Jacques Sweeney Editor: James Cook

Up next
Jan 2022
2. A Ransom Note
The Grimmer family are thousands of miles from home, and the Fairy Meadow migrant hostel is a lonely place in the days after Cheryl's disappearance. Then a note arrives from someone claiming to be the kidnapper. There's a rendezvous and a demand for cash... BBC News Correspondent ... Show More
29m 3s
Jan 2022
3. Somebody of Interest
The Grimmer family have always hung on to the idea that somehow Cheryl might still be alive. Then, out of the blue, Ricki gets a call from the police which seems to put an end to their hopes. BBC News Correspondent Jon Kay continues his investigation into the disappearance of 3 y ... Show More
20m 17s
Jan 2022
4. I Was Never There
Nearly half a century after 3 year old Cheryl Grimmer goes missing from an Australian beach, the police make an arrest. Meanwhile, Ricki heads to the other side of the world. BBC News Correspondent Jon Kay meets him in Bristol, where he visits his old family home and catches up w ... Show More
33m 35s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2017
E66: The Beaumont Children
Their disappearance changed Australian parenting forever. Jane, Grant and Arnna Beaumont were last seen five minutes from home, playing at the beach. Mass news coverage brought the investigation to the attention of a celebrity investigator and a celebrity psychic, but even they c ... Show More
54m 55s
Sep 2016
Case 32: Grace & Kathleen Holmes
<div>After migrating from England to Australia after World War II, the Holmes family were looking forward to embracing a safer and higher quality of life. They’d experienced trauma and hardship during the war years and were ready to start afresh. </div><div><br>That dream was sha ... Show More
33m 44s
Feb 2024
My dad was Britain's 'most wanted'
Without realising it, Nick Reynolds had been living his childhood on the run.Early one morning in 1968 he answered his front door, completely oblivious to the whirlwind about to be unleashed on his family. Most of Nick's early years had been spent carefree and happy on the shores ... Show More
38m 22s
May 2021
Graeme Thorne Pt. 1
On July 7th, 1960, eight-year-old Graeme Thorne vanished from the convenience store he often visited before walking to school. His disappearance would turn into the first child abduction and ransoming Australia had ever experienced, and would shake his hometown of Sydney to the c ... Show More
33m 49s
Oct 2022
1. A Child is Missing
For more than 20 years the case of the murder of six-year-old Rikki Neave went unsolved. In this new ten part investigation, award-winning journalist Winifred Robinson, has unearthed the truth through unprecedented access to police interview rooms, and follows the investigation a ... Show More
19m 53s
Dec 2021
Wind Beneath My Wings
<p>Qian Julie Wang is just seven years old when her family arrives in America in 1994, and her whole world changes. Impoverished, isolated, and considered “illegal”, the Wangs must keep their immigration status — among other family truths — concealed.</p><p> </p> Learn more about ... Show More
56m 52s
Nov 2024
Episode 276
In the rare moments where love and fate converge, Reggie and Carol Sumner uncover a decades-old romance after years of being separated. Just as they begin a new life together in Florida, tragedy strikes them both, leading them to their darkest hours. When they turn up missing, th ... Show More
1h 12m
Feb 2022
Without a trace
Grief without closure: Tens of thousands of families in Africa live with the agony of a missing loved one. Kenny Chikonka disappeared without trace nearly 30 years ago. His family have been searching for answers ever since. Thanks for listening. Let us know what you think. #TheCo ... Show More
24m 2s