Police have not given up on the investigation into the disappearance of William Tyrrell, as his family and foster family mark three years since he vanished.
The three-year-old boy, who would be six today, was last seen playing in his foster grandmother’s garden at Kendall, on the NSW north coast, on September 12, 2014.
Detective Chief Inspector Gary Jubelin, who leads the homicide investigation, said police were only interested in ‘genuine information’ from members of the public.
‘We are not interested in sightings of a child running around in a Spiderman suit playing in the McDonald’s car park … or information from clairvoyants or people that have dreams,’ he told reporters on Tuesday.
Police have not given up on the investigation into the disappearance of Sydney boy William Tyrrell (pictured), but say they are only interested in ‘genuine information’
William’s biological parents, Brendan Collins (left) and Karlie Tyrrell (right), were named this week following a failed bid to keep his in-care status private
Detective Chief Inspector Gary Jubelin, who leads the homicide investigation, said police were ‘not interested in sightings of a child running around in a Spiderman suit playing in the McDonald’s car park’
Light has been shed on William’s life in the past month, following a failed bid from the NSW Department of Family and Community Services to keep his in-care status private.
William’s foster parents, who have completed several interviews, have expressly requested not to be identified.
William’s biological parents, Brendan Collins and mother Karlie Tyrrell, were named this week but are estranged and have maintained their silence.
Court documents paint a picture of the life of a boy who was given a fresh start after being removed from the care of his biological mother as a seven-month-old.
There were concerns about domestic violence and drug use in the home and William, the second-eldest of four children, was placed with a Sydney family.
He was reunited with his older sister a week later and the pair settled into their new family after the Children’s Court found there was no ‘realistic’ possibility of them returning to their birth mother.
Police spent days scouring bushland and neighbouring houses after William’s sudden disappearance in 2014, to no avail.
The three-year-old boy, who would be six today, was last seen playing in his foster grandmother’s garden at Kendall on the NSW North Coast in 2014
Police scoured bushland surrounding the property after William’s disappearance, to no avail
Washing machine repairman William Spedding, who’d been due to carry out repairs at the home that day, came under heavy police scrutiny the following year but publicly denied any involvement.
Detectives feared William had been targeted by a pedophile ring operating on the NSW north coast, but Mr Spedding was one of nearly 700 persons of interest to supply information.
The reward money was offered on the second anniversary of William’s disappearance, but there’s been disheartening public acknowledgement from the NSW judiciary prior to the third anniversary.
‘Sadly the probability of (William) being found alive continues to decrease with the passage of time,’ Supreme Court judge Paul Brereton said in his January decision.
But William’s foster family won’t stop searching.
‘We will never give up hope that you will be found and returned home to the arms of your loved ones where you belong,’ they said.
A renewed national appeal for information began this week, publicising the $1 million reward on billboards and in shopping centres, offices and cafes.
Police are pictured searching dense bushland for evidence for the missing boy in March 2015
A renewed national appeal for information began this week, publicising the $1 million reward for information that leads to William’s discovery
William Tyrrell’s biological mother, Karlie, is pictured left. His grandmother Natalie Collins on right
Senior police insist the investigation is ‘very much ongoing’ and a $1 million reward for information leading to his return remains on offer.
Detective Chief Inspector Gary Jubelin insisted on Tuesday the case was ‘very much ongoing’.
‘We will not give up on the investigation… (it is) currently very active,’ he said.
He said detectives believed William’s disappearance had ‘human intervention’, and reminded the public about the $1 million reward for information that leads to the recovery of the little boy.
‘The information might be in the form of someone who has concerns about someone they know. Someone within their family.
‘The way they react when his name is mentioned might cause suspicion. We are interested in speaking to those people. If we speak to those people, we can do it with the strictest of confidence.’
Det Insp Jubelin said William’s foster-care situation has not impacted the investigation in any way.
‘The foster care parents had custody of William at the time of his disappearance. They were bringing him up in a loving family and the situation between foster care and biological family played no part in his disappearance.’