‘I want that person to feel under pressure’: Tyrrell search warning
A NEW four-week forensic search of bushland around the home of little boy lost William Tyrrell has begun. But police said it came with a warning.
AN INTENSIVE search to solve the mystery of a missing boy in a Spider-Man suit has begun in NSW’s Mid North Coast — but it is understood that police are not expecting to find his remains.
Investigators are hoping to rule out an accident and confirm suspicions he was abducted from his grandmother’s yard in Kendall on September 12, 2014, aged three.
And they are expecting the person involved in his disappearance to be feeling the pressure, Detective Chief Inspector Gary Jubelin said on Wednesday night.
William Tyrell, then aged just three, vanished from his grandmother’s property in Kendall on the NSW Mid North Coast on September 12, 2014.
He was playing in the yard of the home when he disappeared.
An extensive search shortly after, involving hundreds of locals and emergency services workers, spent 10 days looking for him, believing he was lost, but to no avail.
The missing boy has not been seen since.
The new search is focusing on finding evidence to show his disappearance was the result of human intervention and not misadventure.
Up to 50 officers from the public order and riot squad, carrying brown science bags spent Wednesday filtering in and out of the cordoned-off bush track as the fresh search kicked off.
They raked through about 600 square metres of bush near Kendall with picks, hoes and shovels. Sniffer dogs were also deployed and a chainsaw on hand.
Some officers were seen leaving the dense scrub carrying evidence bags of “foreign objects”, but nothing believed to be linked to the case.
The ABC reports among the objects found was a toy, but it is too early to link any of the objects with the missing boy.
It is understood the search could lead to an inquest into William’s death.
It will also make the person police suspect abducted William very, very uncomfortable, Mr Jubelin told A Current Affair on Wednesday night.
He believes William’s abductor has already come under the investigation’s radar, and the new search, combined with the million dollar reward on offer and the intense media interest would mean “the person involved in this, I am certain” would be feeling “a great deal of pressure”.
“And I think the people around that person would be suspicious of their behaviour under pressure.” he added.
“And we make no excuse for it. I want that person to feel under pressure.”
A deputy state coroner will visit the search site in coming days, to monitor the police operation which, it is understood, could the groundwork for an inquest to be held into the boy’s disappearance.
Dozens of Riot Squad police arrive for their first day in a new month-long search for William Tyrrell at the scene where he went missing on Sept 12, 2014 @dailytelegraph pic.twitter.com/rX3UtvNf8a
— Nick Hansen (@nickhansen86) June 12, 2018
Mr Jubelin said NSW Police has “not given up on this investigation”.
“We’re committed to finding out what’s happened to William,” he said.
He said time was no barrier with forensic evidence, but he held “grave, grave concerns” about William.
“We’re mindful that it’s over three-and-a-half years since William disappeared and we haven’t solved the matter. We will continue on until we do solve this matter.”
He confirmed police are in contact with the coroner’s office in relation to the search and the death will go an inquest if police can’t solve it from a criminal perspective.
“We’ve always considered the possibility of it going to an inquest,” he said. “We’re keeping
our minds open to that. I want to also stress we have numerous lines of inquiries including persons of interest that we will fully exhaust before the matter goes to the coroner. Of course it’s up to the coroner.”
He added there were “hundreds of persons of interest” in the case but very few “high risk” persons of interest.
Mr Jubelin believes people do know what happened to the boy and reiterated the $1 million reward for information leading to William’s recovery.
William’s foster family have never given up hope of finding the boy, and on Wednesday posted a message to social media.
“Today marks 1370 heartbreaking days since William disappeared,” it read. “William’s loved ones are, and will forever be indebted to the tremendous ongoing commitment of NSW Police; in particular, Strike Force Rosann who have been absolutely relentless in their ongoing investigation in the search for William.
“Since that tragic day on Friday 12 September 2014, hearts across Australia have been broken, but we have and will continue to maintain unwavering faith in NSW Police and carry hope in our hearts that William will be found. He is in our hearts always … Always”
The search resumes on Thursday and will last three to four weeks.
THE DISAPPEARANCE OF WILLIAM TYRRELL
2014
SEPTEMBER 12 — Dressed in a Spider-Man outfit, three-year-old William Tyrrell goes missing from the front yard of his foster grandmother’s home in Kendall, 40km south of Port Macquarie.
SEPTEMBER 21 — Police halt the search for the missing boy after scouring surrounding bushland and neighbouring houses.
2015
JANUARY 20 — Police search the home and business of washing machine repairman William Spedding, who had been due to carry out repairs at the Kendall house at the time the boy disappeared.
JANUARY 23 — Spedding publicly denies any involvement in William’s disappearance. No charges have been laid against him.
FEBRUARY 19 — Homicide detectives take over the case and say it’s likely William was abducted.
MARCH 2 — Police search bushland near Bonny Hills for three days after a tip- off.
APRIL 17 — William’s foster parents speak publicly for the first time in an emotional video released through police which does not identify them. On the same day, police say the boy may have been a victim of a paedophile ring.
SEPTEMBER 12 — “Where’s William” week is launched one year after he disappeared.
2016
SEPTEMBER 12 — A $1 million reward is offered for information leading to William’s return.
2017
AUGUST 24 — William’s foster child status is revealed after a court ruling.
2018
JUNE 12 — NSW Police announce the start of a four-week forensic search of bushland in Kendall.
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