Missing boy William Wall found dead in Yarra Ranges, death not suspicious

Fourteen-year-old William Wall, who has autism, has been found dead after going missing yesterday in the Yarra Ranges.

William Wall was last seen leaving for his daily walk on the Warburton Trail about 6.45am on Tuesday.

Fourteen-year-old William Wall has been found dead after going missing on Tuesday morning in the Yarra Ranges.

William, who had high functioning autism, was last seen about 6.45am on Tuesday leaving his home in Launching Place for his daily walk on the Warburton Trail.

The 14-year-old told his family he would be gone for 15 minutes.

Victoria Police issued a statement Wednesday afternoon confirming William had been found dead in Yarra Junction, about 2km from his home.

“His death is not being treated as suspicious and police will prepare a report for the Coroner,” the statement said.

The search for William involved police, mounted police, air support, SES and Bush Search and Rescue.

Police dissuaded members of the public from joining in the official search, with a message on the Yarra Ranges Eyewatch page posted on Tuesday said: “In line with coronavirus restrictions, at this stage we do not require any assistance from the public.”

The message was later revised to remove mention of coronavirus.
A police spokeswoman said the original post had been a “total distraction”.
“Our total focus here is searching for William and reuniting him with his family,” she said. “Unfortunately, the Eyewatch post from last night has been a total distraction and didn’t accurately represent the situation.
“We have sufficient resources, including volunteers from SES and BSAR (Bush Search and Rescue), as part of our planned and co-ordinated response to find William. At this point, we don’t require any further assistance.”

Shane Wall, father of missing teen William Wall, speaks to the media after his son failed to return home from a walk. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

However Inspector Jason Goddard said there was a “Covid overlay” to the search.
“We’re considering how Covid looks in regard to this search,” he told 3AW’s Neil Mitchell on Wednesday morning.

He urged people to be alert while exercising and check their backyards for William.

Under the Victorian restrictions, members of the public are only permitted two hours outdoors per day and have a 9pm curfew.

A police helicopter flies over Warburton. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

Premier Daniel Andrews denied people had been deterred from searching for William out of fear of being fined.
“I don‘t accept that logic. There’s a big team of SES volunteers, Victoria Police, there’ll be other people out there helping with that effort,” Mr Andrews said.

If you need help, please call Lifeline 13 11 14; Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467; Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800; MensLine Australia 1300 78 99 78; Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636

Bush Search and Rescue volunteers gather at Warburton Police Station. Picture: Andrew Henshaw