NewsBite

Police suspect someone in small town knows what happened to missing boy

SOMEONE connected to the tiny town where William Tyrrell vanished knows who took him, police suspect.

William Tyrrell search

SOMEONE connected to the tiny town where William Tyrrell vanished knows who took him, police suspect.

Search crews wore waders to dredge through a swamp as the mammoth forensic search for the little boy in the Spider Man suit continued in tough terrain on Thursday.

Cadaver dogs frantically sniffed through the undergrowth and volunteers spent hours slashing bush for the second consecutive day.

Police have been in the town of Kendall — population 833 — for more than a fortnight, searching bushland around the former home of William’s biological grandmother, where he was playing when he disappeared on September 12, 2014.

Police explore wet areas in bushland at Batar Creek, 4km from where William disappeared. Picture: Peter Lorimer
Police explore wet areas in bushland at Batar Creek, 4km from where William disappeared. Picture: Peter Lorimer

But the search moved 4km south west to a 800sq m patch of undergrowth on Wednesday, so Strike Force Rosann detectives could follow up intelligence they received on a “high risk” person of interest.

Detectives believe the site at the corner of Batar Creek Rd and Cedar Loggers Lane is too far for William to have walked to by himself but that someone may have taken him there.

A police source said they suspect “someone who knows who is responsible is connected to the Kendall area”.

Chloe, an eight-year-old scent dog, is brought into the hunt for William Tyrrell. Picture: Peter Lorimer
Chloe, an eight-year-old scent dog, is brought into the hunt for William Tyrrell. Picture: Peter Lorimer
Chloe checks soil for scents. Picture: Peter Lorimer
Chloe checks soil for scents. Picture: Peter Lorimer

The search halted occasionally on Thursday so detectives and cadaver dogs could look closely at parts of the muddy bushland.

A number of items found in the bush were retrieved as evidence for precautionary but we’re not believed to be linked to William.

Rosann lead Detective Chief Inspector Gary Jubelin has appealed for information on any suspicious sightings near the intersection at the time of William’s disappearance or more recently.

Chief Inspector Gary Jubelin is called into the search area. Picture: Peter Lorimer
Chief Inspector Gary Jubelin is called into the search area. Picture: Peter Lorimer
Resident Clive Willmot recalls nothing suspicious at the time of William’s disappearance. Picture: Peter Lorimer
Resident Clive Willmot recalls nothing suspicious at the time of William’s disappearance. Picture: Peter Lorimer
The search will return to the secluded junction on Friday. Picture: Peter Lorimer
The search will return to the secluded junction on Friday. Picture: Peter Lorimer

Cedar Loggers Lane resident Clive Wilmott remembered seeing search parties near the intersection in the opening days of the search but does not recall anyone suspicious.

“I never saw anyone suspicious or anyone lurking,” he said.

“They were down there searching when he went missing in the first week or so.

“It’s fairly dense rugged bushland.

“If you were looking to take something in there you would have had to know what the area was like.”

Strike Force Rosann has already received 15,000 pieces of intelligence. Picture: Peter Lorimer
Strike Force Rosann has already received 15,000 pieces of intelligence. Picture: Peter Lorimer
William Tyrrell’s seventh birthday was earlier this week.
William Tyrrell’s seventh birthday was earlier this week.

MORE:

William Tyrrell — our most complex unsolved case

Tyrrell grandma slams police investigation

William Tyrrell’s dad breaks his silence

Community members again used the search to voice theories to detectives at the scene — Strike Force Rosann has already received 15,000 pieces of intelligence.

Police have narrowed down a list of hundreds of people of interest to a small pool of those considered a “high risk” of being involved in William’s abduction.

The search will return to the secluded junction this morning before police head back to their original search area on Benaroon Dr until July 5.

Without a significant breakthrough, the investigation is expected to be referred to a coronial inquest.

Add your comment to this story

To join the conversation, please Don't have an account? Register

Join the conversation, you are commenting as Logout

Original URL: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/police-suspect-someone-in-small-town-knows-what-happened-to-missing-boy/news-story/7b571ffae5c47abab63ceb878a3e5704