William Tyrrell: Child taken from suspect as cops renew bush search
Police have begun a new search in Kendall where they say they hope to bring the William Tyrrell case to a ?conclusion?, more than seven years after the child disappeared.
The suspect in the disappearance of William Tyrrell has had a child removed from her custody and an AVO sought against her, as police search an area of Kendall where they believe the boy?s body could buried.
Hundreds of police will descend on the small country town on the NSW mid-north coast over the next two to three weeks in the hope of finally answering the question of what happened to William after he went missing on September 11, 2014.
The major search on new ground comes after police received information about the possibility of William?s remains being in the area, with ground penetrating x-ray technology and polylite ? that shows up DNA such as blood ? to be sprayed across the dense scrub in the days ahead.
Timeline of William Tyrrell's disappearance
September 11, 2014. William is last seen by anyone outside the family at Heatherbrae McDonalds just north of Newcastle.
September 12. 2014:
About 9am. Evidence that foster father leaves for Lakewood shopping centre for an internet connection for a Skype call to Queensland. CCTV shows his car passing Kendall Tennis Club just before 9am.
9.03am. Foster mum uses the landline to call washing machine repairman Bill Spedding to see if he has the parts to fix her mum?s machine.
9.10am. Local handyman Geoffrey Thomas Owen calls the home about some repairs the foster nana needed on her deck.
Around 9.30am. Foster mum recalls seeing a car drive past and do a u-turn in neighbour?s driveway.
9.37am. Time of famous last photo on the deck.
10.30am Foster father texts wife to say he is on his way home and will be back in 5 mins.
10.57am. Foster mum calls police on the landline and says William went missing around 10.30am.
11.06am. First police officer arrives at Benaroon Drive
Later that day. Veteran sniffer dog PD Gov was unable to find any scent of William from the garden to the nearby forest, indicating William did not wander off.
September 14.
5pm. Foster mum picks up her sister from Port Macquarie airport and says that on the way home she remembered seeing two cars parked in Benaroon Drive from around 7.30am to 9.30am.
The search comes as it can be revealed the suspect in the current investigation recently had her child removed from her custody and an AVO taken out against her.
For legal reasons, The Daily Telegraph has chosen not to name the suspect. She has previously been spoken to by police but never pursued.
NSW Police State Crime Command Director Darren Bennett told media that detectives were ?hopeful? that after seven years they could finally bring the state?s most famous missing persons case to a ?conclusion? ? either by finding William?s remains, or charging someone with his disappearance.
?There?s three specific locations and they?re all in the Kendall area. We?re hopeful that it will take us a degree towards proving an offence or finding out what happened to William Tyrrell,? Detective Chief Superintendent Bennett said on Monday.
?We?re very hopeful that we can bring this matter to some sort of conclusion.?
The targeted search began briefly on Monday afternoon but will recommence in full on Tuesday, with dense bushland near the intersection of Cobb and Co Rd and Batar Creek Rd to be the focus.
A creek flows through all three areas to be searched. It is less than a kilometre from where William vanished.
Hydrologist Professor Jon Olley, who helped in the retrieval of Daniel Morcombe?s remains in Queensland, and archaeologist Tony Lowe joined specialist police at the scene on Monday.
Prof Olley specialises in water and soil displacement and his expertise will be used to assist searchers in understanding what soil has moved ? and where it has moved to ? from floods and heavy rain since William disappeared.
Archaeologist and forensic anthropologist Penny McArdle will also be assisting in the dig.
Rural Fire Service volunteers spent Monday afternoon clearing parts of undergrowth before an excavator is due to be brought in this morning.
The dig could last several weeks.
Det Supt Bennett admitted that police think the chances of William still being alive are remote and they are most likely looking for remains.
?It?s highly likely that if we found something that would be a body, we are looking for the remains of William Tyrrell there?s no doubt about that,? he said.
?We?ve got some specialist assistance of what we?re going to do and experts from outside the police force are going to be assisting us.
William Tyrrell. Picture: Police Media
William Tyrrell. Picture: Police Media
?We?re acting on behalf of the coroner and in conjunction with coronial orders, she will be kept updated
with regard to our progress.?
William was last seen at his foster grandmother?s home on Bennaroon Dve in Kendall on September 12, 2014.
That morning William was playing a game called ?tigers? on the lawn of the home.
At the time William was dressed in his beloved Spider-Man outfit which he was photographed in not long before he vanished.
A $1 million reward was offered by the NSW government in 2016 for information which leads to the discovery of William?s whereabouts.
That reward remains viable for any such information.
There have been multiple searches in and around the home where he went missing but not one piece of evidence was ever found to indicate what happened to him.
In March 2019, a coronial inquest was launched into William?s disappearance, which is still ongoing.