Missing toddler William Tyrell victim of possible targeted kidnapping from Kendall

THE search for missing three-year-old William Tyrell, who has not been seen since his disappearance from Kendall in September last year, is being treated as a possible targeted abduction.

THE search for missing three-year-old William Tyrell is being treated as a possible targeted abduction.

As his family spent their saddest Christmas and New Year ever, it has also been confirmed that the Homicide Squad has taken control of the investigation.

While police are not ruling anything out, after an extended large-scale search of the surrounding bushland spanning weeks after his disappearance they are confident William did not wander off on his own.

The house in Kendall where William Tyrell, aged 3, went missing.

It is also understood he was not prone to venturing more than a short distance from his parents.

At a time normally filled with excitement, laughter and love, the Tyrell family endured a sombre Christmas, with presents for their son left unopened and a “void” in their household.

His parents said: “We pray that 2015 brings William home.”

William Tyrell’s family have put Christmas presents aside for the toddler in the hopes he will be found soon.

Lead investigator Superintendent Paul Fehon, from Port Macquarie Local Area Command, said: “They indicated to me that Christmas was just a quiet silent time at home, the emptiness of having a void in their house.

“That’s been unopened presents, not able to share the festivities, to see a smile on young William’s face to receive gifts or presents like any other normal child.”

His parents visited the Kendall Services and Citizens Club shortly before Christmas to pick up the cards and gifts left for him under a tree covered in Spider-Man merchandise, set up by locals in his honour.

It has been nearly four months since William disappeared without a trace.

“The family said days like that just show how time can pass without any knowledge of what actually occurred,” Supt Fehon said.

“There’s a total unknown for them as to what happened.”

The lead investigator in William’s disappearance, Superintendent Paul Fehon, said lack of evidence is hindering the investigation. Picture: Nathan Edwards

William disappeared from his grandmother’s home on Benaroon Drive in the small north coast town of Kendall, near Port Macquarie, about 10.30am on September 12, wearing a Spider-Man costume.

His complicated family history prohibits his parents from speaking publicly about his disappearance, adding another element of mystery to the case.

Supt Fehon said a lack of evidence pointing to any particular scenario leading to William’s disappearance had investigators stumped.

“It’s got to be either adventure that’s turned into misadventure, or human intervention. Because we’re not finding anything on that side, we’ve got to be open to the possibility of human intervention,” he said.

“Everyone involved in the case and even those not involved still remain a possibility as having something to do with what has occurred.”

LYING IN WAIT?

THE person who abducted toddler William Tyrell may have laid in wait until the nearby houses were empty before striking, a neighbour believes.

Judy Wilson, whose property adjoins William’s grandmother’s backyard, believes it may be more than just coincidence that the child disappeared only after she went to run errands in town.

She said someone could have been waiting for her to leave, potentially aware that the neighbour on the other side was also away.

“If someone was watching the house, they would’ve seen me leave and would’ve known the other neighbour was away,” she said

Her theory emerged as it was revealed that a second access point to the street could hold the key to cracking the case.

The timeline of William Tyrell’s disappearance.

Neighbours said a walking trail, dubbed the “bush track” by local children, starts at the end of Benaroon Drive, where William disappeared almost four months ago, and leads through the scrubland into the nearby Kendall cemetery.

Supt Paul Fehon, who is one of the leading investigators in the three-year-old’s disappearance, confirmed police had considered the track could be relevant to the case, but so far had not found any evidence to suggest it was used.

Police have also outlined for the first time a detailed account of what happened in the lead up to William’s disappearance.

Dressed in his favourite superhero costume, William played an imaginary game with his sister in the backyard of his grandmother’s home.

It was a game the pair played often, a kind of hide-and-seek where one would hide from the other before jumping out and roaring like a tiger.

After arriving in Kendall from Sydney the night before, the family was enjoying a relaxing morning at the Benaroon Drive property with the children’s grandmother.

William’s father had driven 2km into town to do some shopping at the local store.

Sitting on the porch about 10am with his mother, grandmother and sister, William ran around the side of the house several times before reappearing with a cheeky grin and running back towards his family.

So when he ran around the corner once again about 10.25am, out of view for a matter of minutes, his mother thought nothing of it.

Upon realising he had not reappeared again after several minutes, she asked his four-year-old sister where William had gone.

When they went around the corner looking for him about 10.30am, he was nowhere to be seen.

Neighbour Anne-Maree Sharpley remembers seeing William Tyrell’s distressed mother frantically pacing the quiet street where they both live searching for her son just minutes after he went missing.

“You could tell she was very distressed when she first came to us,” Mrs Sharpley said.

“I just remember saying ‘don’t worry, we’ll find him’, and that has stuck with me because obviously they didn’t find him.

“I waited with her while she called the police.”

Shortly after, William’s father returned from shopping and quickly began to grasp the urgency of the situation.

“I remember standing there in tears watching him run up and down the street, calling out William’s name with sweat pouring off him. It was heartbreaking,” she said.

“The longer it goes on, the worse it gets. Never once did we think that we wouldn’t find him here.”

Mrs Wilson also told how William’s father frantically searched her yard over and over again into the night.

“He was just walking around crying. He kept asking me if there was anywhere

else he could’ve been hiding here,” Mrs Wilson said. “He just looked devastated.”

Mrs Wilson said she heard the two children playing in the neighbouring yard before she left to run errands in the township about 90 minutes before William disappeared, just metre’s from her home.

It was not the first time the family had visited Kendall, but their visits had become more frequent in recent months after William’s grandfather died earlier in the year.

Locals recalled seeing William and his family at a neighbourhood Christmas event the previous December.

Lydene Heslop, who also lives nearby, said while the family was not well-known to locals, the entire community had been affected by William’s disappearance.

“The kids aren’t allowed to ride their bikes alone anymore and we walk with them to the bus stop now,” she said.

“We didn’t really take notice of strange cars before because that’s not how we lived, but now we take notice of everything.”