Plea to people with secrets about William Tyrrell’s disappearance

People who may be withholding information about the disappearance of William Tyrrell have been urged to help authorities.

Missing boy William Tyrrell. Picture: AAP

People who may be withholding information about the disappearance of William Tyrrell have been urged to help authorities before the case goes cold.

William was just three when he went missing from the township of Kendall, on the mid-north coast of NSW, in September 2014.

An inquest into his disappearance has been running almost two years and will resume in October.

In announcing the new dates on Monday, Robert Craddock, counsel assisting the NSW coroner, said members of the public were still withholding information about what happened to William.

The foster child disappeared while visiting his foster mum’s mother at 48 Benaroon Drive in Kendall when he disappeared. If alive, William would now be nine years old.

“There is no doubt that there are still people out there who have not passed on information that they have,” Mr Craddock said.

“We remain open to information coming from members of the public.

“Hopefully people will reconsider decisions about withholding information, call the police and help us out.”

The inquest has taken evidence from William’s foster parents, his biological parents, neighbours, and sex offenders who live in the area.

Former lead investigator Gary Jubelin was removed from the case last year, and has since been convicted of misconduct in the case.

He told a Sydney court in February he had used his own mobile phone to record conversations with a so-called “person of interest” in the case, because police equipment so often failed.

He said the taskforce investigating William’s disappearance was understaffed, beset by internal politics, and populated by officers who were running out of enthusiasm and ideas.

The case has been described as being at the “highest level of difficulty” for police because there are no witnesses, no forensics, no sightings, and no trace of William has been found.

The main players in the investigation gathered at the NSW Coroner’s Court in Lidcombe on Monday for an update. New dates were set for October 6 to 9 and, tentatively, October 16.

Much of the material tendered has been suppressed, but there were signs on Monday that some of the secrecy may be lifted, with a new “confidentiality order” put before Coroner Harriet Grahame. It is understood to be less stringent that the current order.

The court heard that William’s foster mother, who cannot be named, dialled into Monday’s proceedings, “just for the record, but her camera is off.”

Lawyer Michelle Swift was present on behalf of William’s biological father, who also cannot be named.

Other counsel included Peter O’Brien, for the local white-goods repairman, Bill Spedding, who is suing NSW police for naming him as a suspect when no evidence connects him to the crime.

Rob Bhalla was present for the NSW police commissioner, and for the Department of Family and Community Services, which had ultimate responsibility for William, as a foster child.

The inquest into William’s disappearance has been adjourned several times, most recently in March, for COVID-19 precautions.

The Coroner had been sitting in the mid-north coast township of Taree, close to where William was last seen.

Convicted pedophile Frank Abbott was permitted to watch proceedings from a cell in Cessnock. He will be asked to testify.