William Tyrrell inquest: pet cemetery dug up in search
Several animals graves were turned over in the search for the missing foster child, an inquest has heard.
The land surrounding the old Kendall cemetery on the mid-north coast of NSW has for decades been a place where people go to bury their pets, and several of these animals graves were turned over, in the search for the missing foster child, William Tyrrell.
Dog bones were found, and chicken bones, too, but no sign of the boy.
Day two of the formal inquiry into William’s disappearance opened in Sydney this morning, with evidence from a uniformed police officer, senior constable Kris Rattenbury, who described the meticulous forensic search for William, in June 2018.
He went missing in 2014.
Police and SES initially thought William was lost, and searched for him accordingly.
The 2018 search has been described as “forensic”. Searchers were provided with a pamphlet, showing a picture of William, and a photograph of the red Spider-Man suit he was wearing when he went missing.
They also had a photograph of his sandals.
They were told to look for human remains, as well as any evidence of the boy. In the process, they turned up all manner of debris, dumped in the bush: overturned vehicles, car parts, plastic bags, dumped tarps, and paint cans, and all of it was examined.
Senior constable Rattenbury described a meeting of the search team in May 2018, where the vast area around the house that William disappeared from was divided into areas one and two, which were in turn broken down into sections.
He described having 30 people, shoulder-to-shoulder, in the search line. Every second person had a GPS so they could be sure they’d covered every inch of territory.
They were equipped with a trailer full of gardening tools, and “big heavy duty rakes” that enabled everyone to take a step forward, rake, take a look, take a step forward, rake, take a look.
The first day of the forensic search was Tuesday 19 June 2018. They immediately found a dog grave, near the old Kendall cemetery, and a white timber cross, pegged into the ground. It was dated 2014 — the year William went missing — so they dug it up, but it was not him.
Police also found an old structure, with a handpainted sign: “Cooper’s Cubby” but no trace of William was found there, either. Mounds of dirt that may have hidden secrets were poked or overturned, with no results.
The inquest is examining the thoroughness of the search for William, in part to allay community concern that he may simply have gotten lost in the bush, and hasn’t yet been found.
The inquest has heard that police believe he may have been taken from the quiet street in Kendall by a stranger, who happened to see him wandering toward the road, in the few minutes he was unattended on 12 September 2014.
The inquest, before deputy state coroner Harriet Grahame, continues.
Nowhere Child podcast: read more from Caroline Overington about the William Tyrrell investigation here.
Do you have information relating to this case? Contact nowherechild@theaustralian.com.au.
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