Former cop in William Tyrrell case says police need to ‘go hard’

Former cop Gary Jubelin who led the hunt for William Tyrrell says “normal procedures” won’t solve the youngster’s disappearance and only exceptional police work will bring answers.

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The cop who led the hunt for missing youngster William Tyrrell has appealed to his colleagues to “go as hard” as he did in the investigation but to not break the law.

Detective Inspector Gary Jubelin appeals for information on the disappearance of William Tyrrell as he holds a Spider-Man suit like the one the youngster was wearing. Picture Nathan Edwards

Former NSW Police homicide detective Gary Jubelin was last month convicted and fined over four counts of making illegal recordings of a suspect in the Tyrrell probe, a judgment he is now appealing.

The judge found Jubelin’s actions could cause any future court proceedings in the unsolved disappearance of the boy, into doubt.

But the 57-year-old former top cop, who now hosts True Crime Australia’s I Catch Killers podcast, said just because he was no longer involved in the case did not mean police should not go hard in their probe.

CONTENT WARNING: This latest episode of I Catch Killers contains graphic and distressing content

“It saddens me I’m no longer involved in the investigation and hopefully the police that have taken up the reins of the investigation are going to go as hard as I went to try and give the family some answers as to what happened to him,” he told Channel 7 of the Tyrrell inquiry.

“I think with an investigation of this nature, the disappearance of a young child like William, we can’t give up and I don’t think there is a police officer in NSW that doesn’t want to find out what’s happened and I know there’s overwhelming support of the public to find answers so it’s not one that can be given up on.

William Tyrrell has been missing since 2014. Picture: Supplied

“I’m hopeful that there’s a result down the track … this investigation won’t be solved unless people go above and beyond and I’m not talking about breaking rules here but if you just go through just the normal procedures it won’t be solved, people are going to have to dig deep and do some exceptional police work to find out what’s happened.”

Jubelin was charged over using his mobile phone to record conversations with person of interest in the case Paul Savage who lived near the home in Kendall on the NSW Mid-North coast from where three-year-old William disappeared in 2014.

Listening device warrants had been issued for Mr Savage’s home, car and phone but not for Jubelin’s mobile phone. Mr Savage has not being charged and is no longer considered a suspect and the investigation continues.