William Tyrrell: Update after man spotted eerie graffiti message on tree close to where boy went missing

The man said he came across the message close to where the toddler was reported missing.

A man who spotted graffiti naming missing toddler William Tyrrell on a tree stump not far from where the three-year-old disappeared nine years ago said he alerted police and gave them direction but never heard any more about it.

Bob Carnes told news.com.au he came across the stump only a kilometre from Bird Tree - a well-known landmark in the area around Kendall, in NSW, from where William was reported missing two years later.

Mr Carnes said his “stomach churned” when the area this week became the subject of calls for a new search.

Bob Carnes took a photo of this tree with graffiti on it referring to William Tyrrell two years after the toddler disappeared.

A container found beneath a tree stump that had been graffitied. It contained a torch, magnifying glass and other items.

News.com.au’s investigative podcast Witness: William Tyrrell has aired contested claims that the late Jeffrey Abbott apparently told another man that his brother Frank had told him William was “buried up on Big Bird Mountain there, where the big tree is”.

The man purportedly relayed this conversation to his father, though now says Frank’s brother said no such thing.

After hearing the fresh allegations, Mr Carnes told news.com.au he had come across the stump with the words “Jesus Saves William Tyrrell” only a kilometre from the Bird Tree in 2016, two years after William’s disappearance.

News.com.au’s investigative podcast has revealed evidence not heard at the inquest into William Tyrrell’s disappearance.

New sources claim William's body is at The Big Bird Tree.

He was on a trip with his family and took photos because the site was so “eerie”.

“We reported it to the police, they went out and looked at it, called me for directions and we never heard another thing about it again,” he said.

“Then today I read this and think ‘just imagine if this stump was somehow connected?’ What an oversight it may have been.

“It sent chills through me when we came across it all those years ago and still does when I think about it today.

“Who writes something like that on a stump in the middle of the bush? We still don’t know what happened to the young fella but whoever sprayed this stump obviously had formed an opinion.”

Police search near Kendall (2021). NCA NewsWire / Peter Lorimer.

Mr Carnes said there was also a container at the base of the stump under the two rocks, with “a torch, magnifying glass, a coin and a few other items”.

“We notified police about that as well. I’ve never forgotten about that stump, I believe the police should do a search of this area from the stump to Bird Tree,” he said.

Mr Carnes said he guessed authorities had looked into his report, but “at the end of the day it’s just the eerie uncomfortable feeling in my gut”.

“It was just a strange thing to come across in the middle of the bush. We all agreed it was creepy,” he said.

Mr Carnes said when police conducted a fresh search of land in and around Kendall they didn’t go as far as Bird Tree and he wished they had.

“I was saying at the time, ‘I reckon they need to keep going further out to near that stump’,” he said.

Former NSW detective Peter Hogan has called for authorities to “thoroughly investigate” Abbott and said he “must be subpoenaed to give evidence at the Coronial Inquest”.

“A thorough investigative search is required to be conducted by police at Bird Tree to locate Williams’ remains, or rule out the location,” Mr Hogan said.

“You cannot simply ignore the possibility that he may or may not be buried there.”

Originally published as William Tyrrell: Update after man spotted eerie graffiti message on tree close to where boy went missing