Police to call off search for William Tyrrell remains

The renewed search for missing toddler William Tyrrell will conclude this week, NSW police say.

William Tyrrell was last seen in Kendall, NSW, in September 2014

Forensic investigators searching for the remains of missing toddler William Tyrrell will conclude their operation by the end of the week after a month-long search failed to uncover the body of the three-year-old who vanished in 2014.

In mid-November, NSW police relaunched their search for evidence across multiple sites in Kendall, on the state’s mid-north coast, where William vanished from the home of his foster grandmother in September 2014.

The large-scale operation involved hundreds of police officers and volunteers who scoured bushland, waterways and several locations of interest in search for evidence that could lead them to the location of William’s remains.

Police Detective Chief Superintendent Darren Bennett said the decision to revive the search for William was made in response to new evidence “obtained over the course of the investigation” and was “not speculative in any way”.

Investigators focused their search at a site about 900m from the property of William’s late foster grandmother, with officers draining dams, creeks and water tanks in the area.

Authorities also seized the foster grandmother's car from its new owner, which continues to be examined by forensics.

In the course of their search, investigators collected multiple items of interest, including animal bones, pieces of material and fabric, soil samples and plastic bags. One piece of fabric was reportedly compared to a sample of a red and blue Spider Man suit – the costume William wore on the day of his disappearance.

While several items have been submitted for forensic analysis, it is unlikely any will lead to a major breakthrough, with police choosing to keep the results private.

In a statement on Tuesday, NSW police vowed to keep searching for William, saying investigations by the homicide squad’s Strike Force Rosann would continue, despite concluding its operation in Kendall.

Police said they had informed the coroner that the search would be concluding, with detectives continuing to prepare a detailed report of their findings.

When the operation concluded, police said a taskforce would be deployed to facilitate a repatriation of the Kendall search sites, with forensic examinations of seized items to continue in laboratories in Sydney and Newcastle.

In November, Superintendent Bennett said he remained “very happy” with the progress of the investigation, despite bad weather causing major delays to the search.

“We couldn’t have picked a worse time in terms of weather to be conducting this search,” he said, after announcing the search would extend “well beyond” the initial three-week timeframe set out by investigators.

While Superintendent Bennett said investigators were pleased with the evidence they had gathered, he noted the operation had not reached any “great milestone”.

“Numerous exhibits have been seized which have been progressed forensically through Newcastle into Sydney and the progress of those results have been submitted to the coroner to assist with the inquest,” he said in late November.