Police searched Kendall cemetery in hunt for William Tyrrell

Police inspected old graves in the Kendall cemetery in the search for missing child William Tyrrell.

Police inspected old graves in the Kendall cemetery in the search for missing child William Tyrrell, after receiving “third-hand information” about a stranger shifting headstones. Picture: NSW Police

Police inspected old graves in the Kendall cemetery in the search for missing child William Tyrrell, after a local man gave them “third-hand information” about a stranger shifting headstones there.

In a statement tendered this week to the inquest into William’s disappearance on the NSW mid-north coast, it was claimed a different man told police that he had found a shovel near the cemetery, after William went missing.

The graveyard, with tombstones dating back to the 19th century, was considered a possible burial site for the boy, because it is less than 500m from where he was last seen. But no trace of William was found.

Police searched the surrounding bush for William when he first went missing in 2014. They searched again last year.

They discovered what many already knew: Australians tend to use the bush as a hiding place, or a dumping ground.

They found a small cannabis plantation, chip packets, household waste, discarded clothing, number plates, and service books out of stolen vehicles, but no trace of William.