More than 50 years have passed since Stephen Caskey was involved in the wide-scale search for a toddler kidnapped at his local beach, but the tragedy remains close to his heart.
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Stephen was volunteering as a lifesaver when three-year-old Cheryl Grimmer was kidnapped outside the change sheds at Fairy Meadow, Wollongong, in broad daylight on January 12, 1970.
Despite extensive searches at the time and over the past five decades, as well as a $100,000 reward for information on her abduction and suspected murder, NSW Police have found no trace of Cheryl.
Reflecting on the 52nd anniversary of the abduction, Stephen, 72, was teary when he recalled the day the toddler's mother Carole and three brothers came running to him in a state of sheer panic.
"The family were in a state and we wanted to find her as quick as we could," he said.
"We looked for her everywhere then came back the next day and the day after. Then the army come in searching for her too but there was no trace of her.
"We were terribly disappointed because we weren't supposed to let that sort of thing happen.
"We'd had drownings and rescues but it was the first time anyone had been taken from the beach and I will never forget it."
Stephen will feature in an eight-part podcast series called 'Fairy Meadow', which was released yesterday to mark the anniversary of the case.
The podcast is the work of BBC journalist Jon Kay, who lives in Bristol, where the Grimmer family emigrated from.
Stephen said he met up with Jon when he visited the area a few years ago to show him around his "old stomping ground".
"It was the first time I'd been back there since it happened because it hurts too much," he said.
"But I had to show him around the bush and Puckeys Estate because everything has changed so much since back then.
"I showed him all of the places we had scoured all day and all night looking for little Cheryl.
"I just struggle going back there because it takes me back to that terribly difficult time."
In the podcast, Stephen describes Fairy Meadow as his former "safe haven" growing up.
Pointing to the view from his childhood home on the hill, Stephen said "why would you want to live anywhere else?"
Stephen said it will be tough listening to the podcast himself, but he hopes it will finally solve the cold case.
"If it is tough on me thinking back to that day then I can't even imagine what it is like for the family," he said. "I desperately hope this podcast will finally bring them closure."
