This was published 2 years ago
Police find unknown fabric as heavy rain hampers Tyrrell search
By Laura Chung and Sally Rawsthorne
Despite heavy rain overnight, police continue to search the area surrounding the Mid North Coast home William Tyrrell disappeared from seven years ago.
Police have found a piece of fabric on Sunday morning near a creek, one of three key areas in the small town of Kendall they have been searching this week. The item has been taken for forensic testing.
About 30 police operational support officers will be replaced by a new team on Sunday morning and continue searching for clues following credible new information.
About 30 police operational support officers will be replaced by a new team on Sunday morning and continue searching for clues.Credit: Wolter Peeters
The area recorded about 25mm of rain to 9am on Sunday, with another 40 to 80mm expected in the next 24 hours. A severe weather warning has been issued for the area, with thunderstorms expected which may lead to flash flooding in some parts of the Mid North Coast.
Despite the forecasted wet weather, the new team will have to push through.
For almost a week, about 100 police officers have been digging up the garden below the balcony and sieving through the dirt. A kilometre down the road, investigators homed in on a patch of bushland that insiders say was recently brought to police attention by some new information.
RFS volunteers cleared the surrounding area with chainsaws and an excavator was brought in to dig. Officers also pumped a nearby creek on private land that hydrologist Professor Jon Olley concluded was the only place William’s remains could be.
On Friday, police sent another square of blue material for testing.
The latest search for William began this week as police investigate the boy’s foster-mother as the sole person of interest in the matter.
Police have also seized a car that belonged to William’s foster-grandmother when he disappeared that will undergo forensic examination in the coming weeks. She has since died.
The Herald revealed this week that police will not be able to charge anybody over William’s disappearance and presumed death without the physical evidence the search is hoping to unearth.
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