Even 50 years on, the abduction and suspected murder of Cheryl Grimmer is a crime that's still raw for many in the Illawarra.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Michelle Poole and her mother Maureen took part in a memorial walk from Balgownie Public School to Fairy Meadow Beach on Sunday.
The 4.5km walk coincided with the 50th anniversary of Cheryl's disappearance.
"It's just a sad, sad story," Michelle said.
"And there's no justice for them... You can murder someone and still walk free," Maureen said.
"Her family have had to live with that, and (Cheryl's) Mum died without knowing whatever happened to Cheryl."
Although she didn't know the Grimmer family personally, Maureen and family lived on the Fairy Meadow hostel at the same time.
"I didn't know them, but they were there when we there, they were migrants like us," she said.
"It's just sad, what happened."
Michelle said they'd followed the story "for as long as I can remember".
"We just wanted to show a bit of support for the family," she said of participating in the walk.
Cheryl, then aged three, was kidnapped outside the change sheds at Fairy Meadow Beach on Monday, January 12, 1970, where she was spending the day with her mother and three brothers.
Despite extensive searches at the time and over the years, she has never been found.
It is believed she was strangled to death about an hour after her abduction, in the nearby suburb of Balgownie.
In September 2012, the NSW government offered a $100,000 reward for information on her abduction and suspected murder.
On Sunday, it was also announced the NSW Government has increased the reward to $1 million for information.
Figtree residents Susan and Rod Blake also participated in the walk, which was attended by family members and the community.
"We just like to show support to the family for the difficult journey they've had all these years, growing up without their sister, and their parents who lost their beautiful little girl," Mrs Blake said.
"We feel so sorry for the family... Fifty years is such a long time, so it would be just be good if there could be an outcome, so they can feel that justice has been done."
"We'd like to see some progress in the investigation," Mr Blake said.
At the completion of the walk, a memorial plaque for Cheryl was unveiled at the beach.
During the ceremony, Wollongong Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery described the crime as one that has "impacted upon our lives ever since".
"It was unjust, a tragedy of great magnitude, and its implications are still reverberating through our lives today," he said.
"Standing behind me are three brothers who were caught up in that incident when they were very young.
"When we're very young and we go through experiences of great trauma and tragedy. It impacts upon our lives (and) leaves an indelible scar on our existence.
"We're here also because we don't want such incidents to occur again."