Slow and steady work in William Tyrrell search

Police searching for missing boy William Tyrrell found another potential clue on Monday as they focused on a new section of bushland near the house from which he went missing.

Police search for William Tyrrell’s remains in scrub off Batar Creek Road, less than 1km from where the four-year-old went missing at Kendall. Picture: Trevor Veale​

Police searching for missing boy William Tyrrell found another potential clue on Monday as they focused on a new section of bushland less than a kilometre from the house from which he went missing.

Officers took what appeared to be a piece of reddish-brown cord and took it to a forensics van for examination.

For most of day eight of the search, half a dozen officers used an excavator to dig a large hole about on private property just 10m off Batar Creek Road, despite heavy rain around the NSW mid-north coast town of Kendall.

A fence, which was not present at the time of William’s disappearance, separates the yard from the road.

Police say there is no specific reason why the area was targeted, just that it is part of the large search area, which is expected to take up to six weeks.

Another group of about 30 ­officers continued searching two other areas, with the help of Wags the cadaver dog – one of only two in NSW.

It is understood police are searching for William’s remains in the belief he was placed in the bush, rather than buried in a grave.

After an area was cleared by Rural Fire Service volunteers around noon, ­officers from the Public Order Riot Squad and ­Operational Support Group slowly sifted through the soil under the watchful eye of five detectives, eight crime scene officers, a ­forensic grave archaeologist, an anthropologist and a ­hydrologist.

It rained for most of Monday, with further showers expected for the rest of the week. In the 24 ours up to 9am on Monday, Logans Crossing, just 4km north of Kendall was hit with 91mm of rain.

On Sunday, 30 officers were rotated out from the search, with new officers brought in to continue the search in the dense bushland.

The operation is less than 1km from the home of William’s late foster grandmother, from where he went missing in 2014.

Last week, police revealed a new person of interest to be William’s foster mother, who cannot be named.

She was also charged with ­assaulting a child – not William – with the matter to be heard at Hornsby Local Court on Tuesday.

Last week police also seized the dark grey Mazda 3 hatchback William’s late foster grandmother owned at the time of his disappearance.

The car is undergoing extensive forensic examination.