A fresh police search of the foster grandmother’s house where William Tyrrell was last photographed in 2014 is investigating the possibility the boy fell 5m from the property’s tall verandah.
On Tuesday a team of eight officers and two detectives gathered at the house as one policeman in blue coveralls took a cadaver dog through the house’s lower floor and a garden bed at the property was dug up.
A source in the NSW Police Force confirmed the current search of the house was for evidence to support – or reject – a theory the boy could have fallen.
Operational Support Group officers searched under the balcony on which William was last seen playing on September 12, 2014. They also looked around a rock ledge located underneath.
Officers sifted through evidence on the front lawn while another cut back overgrown plants underneath the house with brushcutters.
The military-style search of the Benaroon Drive property and three bush locations down the road follow sensational developments in the seven-year case in Sydney.
One policeman took a cadaver dog through the house’s lower floor and a garden bed at the property as it was dug up
NSW police officers use a Kason sifter – a heavy duty vibrating separator – to sort through dirt and rubble on the front lawn during a fresh search of the house where William Tyrrell disappeared in 2014
A fresh police search of the foster grandmother’s house where William Tyrrell was last photographed in 2014 is investigating the possibility the boy fell 5m from the property’s tall verandah. Pictured: officers search through overgrown plants from underneath the house
NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller this morning confirmed police are looking at ‘one person’ in relation to the disappearance of missing toddler William Tyrell.
‘There is certainly one person in particular that we are looking closely at,’ Commissioner Fuller said on 2GB on Tuesday morning. He did not say who he was referring to.
‘I certainly don’t want to declare too much because again in these cases, you do not want to compromise a potential outcome.
‘These officers have been working tirelessly to get to this point where we are searching land, again using the best technology available.’
William’s foster parents, who have long campaigned for his discovery, were overnight identified as among the hundreds of persons of interest in the case.
During the inquest into William’s disappearance, the counsel assisting Gerard Craddock said the fact someone is a person of interest does not necessarily make them a suspect.
Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting that the foster parents were involved in the disappearance of William Tyrrell, only that they are persons of interest in the investigation.
A military-style operation to dig up a covert burial site took over William’s foster grandmother property earlier on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, down the road, excavators, police trucks, Rural Fire Service vans and dozens of officers began gathering at Cobb & Co Road corner in eucalyptus bushland.
The operation to find the skeletonised remains of the toddler began as the case saw bombshell developments in Sydney.
A military-style operation to dig up a covert burial site to find William Tyrrell’s body has begun to roll into a pocket of bush just 700m from where the three-year-old vanished in 2014
Excavators, police trucks, Rural Fire Service vans and dozens of officers began gathering at Cobb & Co Road corner in eucalyptus bushland on Tuesday morning
William was wearing his Spider-Man costume on the morning he mysteriously vanished while playing in the yard of his foster grandmother’s house in September 2014
A rarely seen picture of the last time William Tyrrell’s foster parents saw him, playing with his sister on his foster grandmother’s balcony
A police source confirmed the current search of the house was for evidence to support or reject a theory the boy may have fallen from the 5m balcony of the property
Separately, it was revealed last night that apprehended violence order applications have been filed against William’s foster parents over allegations relating to the assault of a child.
The case will be heard by Hornsby Local Court on November 23. Despite the claims – understood to be contained within police AVO paperwork, no charges have been laid against either foster parent.
Daily Mail Australia can reveal that William’s biological parents had been made aware of some of these developments prior to them being made public.
Today an archaeologist and a sub-surface water technology expert in identifying remains hidden beneath the surface are due to arrive at the site, which has stagnant water pools, a large concrete road culvert, dense undergrowth and stands of 30m-high old growth forest.
Three dig areas within metres of each other have been marked out with tape and numbered poles, with digging equipment including piles of shovels stacked by the white Forensic Services van parked at the site.
A marshalling area for personnel and vehicles with a forensic processing area has been set up in a clearing near three locations identified by detectives from Strike Force Rosann as the likely areas where the toddler’s remains were buried.
Police are seen examining garden beds at the property where three-year-old William Tyrell went missing
Detectives are armed with photos of the red and blue Spider Man suit William Tyrrell was allegedly wearing when he vanished.
RFS Officers have now moved in with chainsaws this morning to one of the dig spots where cadaver dogs did a sweep on Monday afternoon to potentially detect human remains.
The dig sites lie on either side of Batar Creek Road, Kendall, which featured in early theories about William’s possible abduction, as it is a link road to the Pacific Highway which was considered as an escape route.
More cadaver dog teams have mustered for a further dig site sweep today.
Strike Force Rosann has set up its command post and marshalling point in a clearing bordering a construction site for a new retirement home complex at the bottom of Benaroon Drive.
Neighbour Vic Gunter said it ‘seems a bit strange’ police would target the house so many years later.
‘I didn’t think this new evidence would lead back to the house,’ he said.
But for the neighbours, William’s abduction ‘is still so fresh in many people’s minds’.
Despite an extensive search in September 2014, when William was considered to have become lost or perhaps been abducted, no trace of the boy has been found to date.
A second extensive search by former detective Gary Jubelin in 2018 revealed no clues.
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Hundreds of police officers are preparing to search three new locations in the town of Kendall where William Tyrrell (pictured) went missing in September of 2014 – with his foster parents deemed ‘persons of interest’ by detectives
Detectives admit they believe William is dead, and they now only expect to find the toddler’s remains.
There have been hundreds of persons of interest in the seven-year investigation of William’s disappearance, however no-one has ever been charged over the boy’s disappearance.
During the inquest into William’s disappearance, the counsel assisting Gerard Craddock said the fact someone is a person of interest does not necessarily make them a suspect.
Persons of interest who have been ruled out as playing any role in William’s disappearance include a tradesman who was due to service William’s foster nana’s washing machine and an elderly neighbour.
Over the past year, William’s foster parents have taken issue with the police investigation.
In September, they issued a withering statement slamming a media report which suggested police were looking to a new person of interest.
Separately, it was revealed last night that apprehended violence order applications have been filed against William’s foster parents over allegations relating to the assault of a child.
The case will be heard by Hornsby Local Court on November 23. Despite the claims – understood to be contained within police AVO paperwork, no charges have been laid against either foster parent.
The Australian reported police are considering laying common assault charges over an apparent incident which allegedly resulted in bruising to a child earlier this month.
The foster parents of missing toddler William Tyrrell have been identified as ‘persons of interest’ by detectives investigating the mysterious fate of the three-year-old (pictured, William’s foster father helping police during an earlier search)
The dramatic shift in the seven year hunt came as police seek an apprehended violence order against his foster parents in relation to the alleged assault of a child (pictured, William’s foster mother who wept while giving evidence about the boy’s disappearance at an inquest in 2019)
The sensational claims come as the new ‘high intensity’ search for missing William begins in bushland, with a coroner’s van waiting nearby.
Hundreds of officers armed with chainsaws and whipper snippers began cutting into bush and felling trees on Monday in eucalyptus scrub by the Cobb & Co Road in Kendall, just around two bends from where the toddler vanished.
Last night, Daily Mail Australia witnessed seven RFS officers working as detectives stood by and uniformed police guarded an area of road.
A collection of shovels lay on the ground near the white van marked ‘Forensic Services’ and five RFS vans and trucks.
As the officers downed tools after 6pm, one detective placed images back in his car of William dressed in the red and blue Spider-Man suit he was wearing when he disappeared.
The new search of the NSW Mid North Coast town of Kendall is expected to take two to three weeks and involve forensic and bone experts.
Officers armed with chainsaws and whipper snippers (pictured) began cutting into bush and felling trees on Monday in eucalyptus scrub close to William’s foster grandmother’s home
Police and rural fire officers led the fresh hunt while a coroner’s van waited nearby (pictured on Monday)
NSW Detective Superintendent Darren Bennett said the search is for three-year-old William’s body.
Further searches of the surrounding areas were made in 2018, to coincide with a coronial inquest into the boy’s disappearance.
But hundreds of police and emergency services officers descended on Kendall on Monday to search three new areas which have not previously been looked at.
Daily Mail Australia witnessed police search teams search the areas surrounding William’s foster grandmother home on Monday evening.
No trace of William (pictured) has ever been found and no person has ever been charged
Detectives admit they believe William is dead, and they only now expect to find the toddler’s remains (pictured, police at the search location in Kendall on Monday)
In another development in the suddenly fast-moving case, a NSW coroner has subpoenaed all notes, audio recordings and materials of a Channel 10 journalist who produced a podcast about William Tyrrell’s disappearance.
Ten News reporter Lia Harris produced the ‘Where’s William Tyrrell?’ podcast three years ago which uncovered new information about the child’s baffling disappearance.
It remains unclear what detectives are hoping to find in the popular podcast series but Harris said the legal notice to hand over all her information while researching the podcast came as ‘a bit of a surprise’.
‘They have asked for a broad range of things related to the podcast – documents, audio, all of that is encompassed in the subpoena,’ she said.
‘It seems that they just want to know whatever we know about the case. They want to know whatever we have discovered in researching the podcast and they want us to hand it all over to them.
Police are seen carrying out searches on the Mid North Coast where William was last seen (pictured on Monday)
The new search of the NSW Mid North Coast town of Kendall is expected to take two to three weeks and involve forensic and bone experts (pictured, search teams prepare for the hunt on Monday)
‘They’ve obviously got some new direction, some new strategy which has led them to issuing this subpoena after all this time.’
Detective Chief Superintendent Darren Bennett said the renewed search was in light of concrete evidence police had received.
‘This activity is in response to evidence we’ve obtained in the course of the investigation, it’s not speculative in any way,’ he said.
‘We are acting on behalf of the Coroner and in conjunction with the coronial orders, she will be kept updated with regard to our progress.
‘We’re very hopeful that we can bring this matter to some form of conclusion.’
Superintendent Bennett added it was ‘highly likely’ that if something was found during searches of three new sites – it would be a body.
‘We are looking for the remains of William Tyrrell, no doubt about that,’ he said.
William Tyrrell (pictured) vanished from his foster grandmother’s home age three on September 12, 2014
Detective Chief Superintendent Darren Bennett said the renewed search (pictured, the house on Monday) would take two to three weeks
Specialist search dogs (pictured) were brought in to assist police as the investigation takes a dramatic new turn
Superintendent Bennett confirmed a number of trees would be chopped down to allow police and other agencies to clear ground and ‘go subterranean’.
Since the little boy’s mysterious disappearance in September of 2014, no trace of him has ever been found and no person has ever been charged.
Police hope renewed search efforts could put the investigation to rest after Deputy state coroner Harriet Grahame concluded an 18-month inquest in October, 2020.
Superintendent Bennett said Ms Grahame was aware of plans to search the three locations and would be updated with any future findings.
The deputy state coroner has postponed the release of her findings from the inquest, which were scheduled to be published in June.
Detective Chief Superintendent Darren Bennett (pictured) said the ‘high intensity’ search would take two to three weeks and will require the work of hundreds of officers
In September, detectives returned to the home of William’s grandmother on the seven-year anniversary of his disappearance after new information ‘came to light’.
Officers from Strike Force Rosann announced they would be working under the premise the three-year-old had vanished as a result of ‘human intervention’.
Officers have since remained tight-lipped about what new information prompted officers to return to Kendall after nearly a decade.
Little William Tyrrell (pictured) would have celebrated his 10th birthday in June of this year
Strike force officer-in-charge Detective Chief Inspector David Laidlaw said further information had come to light after a review of materials gathered by investigators over the seven-year period of William’s disappearance.
‘As our team continue to conduct inquiries and explore all avenues of investigation, our focus has been identifying if anything has been missed, or if there are any details – no matter how small – that need to be clarified,’ the inspector said in September.
‘Police remain committed to finding out what happened to William, but our most important job here is to bring him home for both families.’
Detectives continue to conduct interviews, searches and other investigative activity, including those under Coronial Orders, as well as reviewing all available materials with the assistance of experts.
William vanished from his foster grandmother’s property on Benaroon Drive, Kendall on the morning of September 12, 2014, while playing in the yard in a Spider-Man suit with his five-year-old sister.
The children were on a trip at the NSW Mid North Coast with their foster parents after making the five-hour car journey from Sydney.
His foster mother, who had been outside, went inside to make a tea but became concerned when she had not heard him for five minutes.
The little boy would have celebrated his 10th birthday in June.
A $1million reward announced in 2016 remains in place for information that leads to the recovery of William and the circumstances surrounding his disappearance.
The latest development came after senior sources claimed a new person of interest was being honed in on by police, declaring a breakthrough in the nearly decade-old case was imminent.
However, William’s foster parents have previously called claims by police sources that they are closing in on a new suspect in the toddler’s disappearance ‘fake news’.
‘When you took William, you plunged our world into perpetual darkness. How long will you continue to make us suffer?’, the little boy’s foster parents said September
‘Once again we are forced to watch others objectify William for personal gain,’ a statement from the couple released on September 7.
‘To publish unverified claims, without consideration to the hurt that articles of this nature cause, is disrespectful and devastating to everyone who knows and loves William.’
William’s foster parents, who are unable to be identified due to state laws, and biological parents have both made public appeals asking for help finding him.
William had been playing with his little sister in the front yard of his grandmother’s house when he disappeared, his foster mother later stating she took her eyes off him for ‘five minutes’
Timeline of William Tyrrell’s disappearance
Still missing: William Tyrrell vanished from his foster grandmother’s home five years ago
2014
September 12 – Dressed in a Spider-Man outfit, three-year-old William Tyrrell goes missing from the garden while visiting members of his foster family on the NSW north coast.
September 21 – Police stop searching for the missing boy after scouring surrounding bushland and neighbouring houses.
2015
January 20 – Police search the home and business of washing machine repairman Bill Spedding, who had been due to carry out repairs at the house at the time the three-year-old went missing.
Detectives take items for testing including a mattress, computer and vehicles. They drain his septic tank.
January 23 – The washing machine repairman publicly denies any involvement in William’s disappearance and says he and his wife are on the verge of a breakdown due to the public attention.
February 19 – Homicide detectives take over the case and say it’s likely William was abducted.
March 2 – Police fruitlessly search an area of bushland near Bonny Hills for three days after a tip-off.
April 17 – William’s foster parents speak publicly for the first time in an emotional video released through police which does not identify them.
April 17 – Police say the boy may have been a victim of a paedophile ring.
September 6 – The Nine Network’s 60 Minutes reveal two suspicious cars were parked on the street the morning William went missing.
September 12 – ‘Where’s William’ week is launched one year after he disappeared.
2016
September 12 – A $1million reward is offered for information leading to William’s return.
2017
August 24 – William’s foster child status is revealed after a landmark court ruling.
2018
June 12 – NSW Police announce the start of a four-week forensic search of bushland conducted by Strike Force Rosann.
June 14 – William’s grandmother scolds police who have failed to find the young boy after four years, and claims their latest search is ‘just for show’.
June 26 – The forensic search continues on what would have been William’s seventh birthday.
June 27 – Strike Force Rosann announces it will move the search to an 800sqm block of bushland just 4km from where William was last seen alive.
June 5 – The latest search ends with Detective Chief Inspector Gary Jubelin saying the case could soon go to a coroner.
August – Investigation leader Detective Chief Inspector Gary Jubelin and a sergeant get into a disagreement during a briefing.
September 13 – Police reveal they found a burned out car wreck belonging to a former person of interest.
December 19 – Coroners say William could still be alive and the inquest will determine if he died or not.
2019
February – DCI Jubelin is removed from the investigation amid a misconduct probe.
March 25 – The inquest into William Tyrrell’s disappearance begins, with William’s biological and foster parents appearing over the course of a week.
The inquest’s first batch of hearings focused on William’s family situation and the events leading up to his disappearance.
Both his foster and biological parents were quizzed, as were neighbours who helped in the search.
It was disclosed that William’s biological parents absconded with him for six weeks in 2012, following a children’s court order.
William’s biological father slammed authorities for letting them down.
‘Authorities f***ed up … The minister had a duty of care to keep William safe until he was 18. That was not the case at all.’
May: DCI Jubelin quits the Police Force.
June: Four charges of breaching the Surveillance Devices Act are laid against DCI Jubelin. He denies any wrongdoing whatsover
August: The second tranche of inquest hearings began on Wednesday August 7
Inquest hears Bill Spedding, a NSW mid-north coast repairman and one-time person of interest in the disappearance of William Tyrrell, met his wife for coffee about 9.30am in Laurieton, a 15-minute drive from Kendall, on the day William went missing.
They then attended a school assembly across the road to see a child in their care receive an award.
The inquest heard how a man who claims he saw William Tyrrell unrestrained in the back of a speeding car on the day the child went missing was waiting for police to interview him to tell them what he saw.
He told the inquest he contacted police but did not hear back about an interview.
It took it took almost 1000 days before he was able to reveal what he saw to police.
The coroner orders an urgent probe into the final image that was taken on the day William vanished as metadata suggests the picture may have been taken 118 minutes earlier than originally thought.
The image has a ‘created time’ of 7.39am and a ‘corrected time’ of 9.37am, a new document from the 2000-page evidence brief.
The coronial inquest has been delayed for another eight months with the next round of hearings happening in March 2020.
November 11: The deputy state coroner releases footage of William Tyrrell and family at Heatherbrae McDonalds, on September 11, 2014
Feb – March 2020: Gary Jubelin defends four charges of illegally recording person of interest Paul Savage in court hearing
February 21: Daily Mail Australia reveals Frank Abbott was arrested in custody for the purposes of a police interview about William’s disappearance
March 2020: The coronial inquest into William’s disappearance resumes but stops with two days to go due to the coronavirus outbreak
April 6, 2020: Magistrate Ross Hudson delivers his verdict in Gary Jubelin case
April 8, 2020: Jubelin is convicted of all four charges and fined $10,000. Ex-cop says he will appeal
June 22, 2020: Police and SES launch new search for William Tyrrell near Herons Creek, where Abbott once lived
June 26, 2021: Police acknowledge William Tyrrell’s 10th birthday
November 15, 2021: Detectives return to Kendall after receiving new information and admit they are searching for a body. His foster parents are reported to be persons of interest in the case