A car seized by police searching for the remains of William Tyrrell was allegedly driven by his foster mother on the morning he vanished seven years ago.
Daily Mail Australia understands the Mazda hatchback, which once belonged to William’s late foster grandmother, was allegedly driven by his foster mother on September 12, 2014 – the morning the three-year-old disappeared.
A NSW Police source said officers believe an object may have been thrown from the vehicle as it was driven along Batar Road at Kendall. That area is the middle of a massive forensic police search.
Daily Mail Australia has also learned the alleged unspecified object is part of the focus of forensic search currently underway for traces of William, about 700m from his foster grandmother’s home.
The foster mother allegedly made the drive in her mother’s car before her husband had returned to the house to join the search for William.
The foster father was away from the house having an online business meeting when William vanished.
William Tyrell’s foster mother – the main person of interest in the three-year-old’s disappearance – has appeared in public as police step up their search for the missing toddler. She walked out of her home on Sydney’s upper north shore on Wednesday morning wearing a pair of slippers before spotting media crews
A car seized by police looking for the remains of William Tyrrell was allegedly driven by his foster mother on the morning he vanished seven years ago. Police believe an object might have been thrown from the vehicle as it was driven along Batar Road at Kendall, which is in the middle of the massive police search site for William’s body
William’s foster mother was earlier this week identified as among hundreds of ‘persons of interest’ in the case. She has vehemently denied any involvement in William’s disappearance and appealed for help to find him. She is pictured outside her home on Wednesday
The foster mother is now considered the main person of interest in three-year-old’s William’s disappearance, a police source confirmed.
She was spotted in public on Wednesday as police step up their search for the missing toddler.
The wealthy woman walked out of her home on Sydney’s upper north shore on Wednesday morning wearing a pair of pink slippers before spotting media crews.
She went back inside the house and re-emerged shortly afterwards wearing shoes before jumping into a grey Land Rover Discovery with her husband.
The couple then went on a seemingly pointless journey which included a drive past the domestic terminals of Sydney Airport and ended back at their property.
Their appearance in public comes as the police revealed on Wednesday they had last week seized the car.
Detectives from Strike Force Rosann seized a grey Mazda3 hatchback from a home at Gymea in Sydney’s south under a coronial order on November 9.
William Tyrrell (pictured) went missing from his foster grandmother’s home seven years ago
Professor Jon Olley, a human remains expert, has been brought to help in the search for William. Professor Olley is pictured with police at Kendall
Daily Mail Australia has learned the car which once belonged to William’s late foster grandmother was allegedly used by the foster mother near the spot on the NSW mid north coast where he disappeared
Police believe the Mazda was at William’s foster grandmother’s home at Kendall, from where he disappeared while playing in his Spider-Man suit in September 2014.
Williams’s foster grandmother died aged 88 in March and it is understood her car was seized from a person unrelated to the investigation.
The vehicle was taken to a secure facility where it was undergoing extensive forensic examinations and analysis expected to take several weeks.
The renewed search for clues in the seven-year mystery is in its third day as detectives returned to the property from where William disappeared.
Police are now probing new theories about William’s fate, including the possibility he fell from a balcony.
NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller has confirmed police are looking at ‘one person’ in relation to the disappearance of William.
William’s foster father is pictured outside his home on Sydney’s upper north shore
William’s foster parents went on a seemingly pointless journey on Tuesday morning which included a drive past the domestic terminals of Sydney Airport and ended back at their property
William’s foster mother went back inside the house and re-emerged wearing shoes before getting into a grey Land Rover Discovery with her husband
‘There is certainly one person in particular that we are looking closely at,’ Mr Fuller told Radio 2GB on Tuesday.
‘I certainly don’t want to declare too much because again in these cases, you do not want to compromise a potential outcome.’
William’s foster mother was earlier this week identified as among hundreds of ‘persons of interest’ in the case.
She has vehemently denied any involvement in William’s disappearance and appealed for help to find him.
During the inquest into the toddler’s disappearance it was made clear the fact someone was a person of interest to investigators did not necessarily make them a suspect.
Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting that William’s foster mother was involved in his disappearance, only that she has been a person of interest.
A map released by the NSW Coroner shows the neighbourhood in Kendall where William Tyrrell went missing
Police have seized a Mazda (pictured) that once belonged to William Tyrrell’s foster grandmother, who died earlier this year
William Tyrrell (pictured on the day of his disappearance) was last seen playing at the home of his foster grandmother on the NSW mid north coast in 2014
Detectives stressed they were searching new areas at Kendall – including around the William’s foster grandmother’s home – which had not been searched earlier.
Police dug up the garden on Tuesday and sprayed luminol, a chemical that detects traces of blood, during the night.
A mechanical sift was brought in for the operation and volunteers cut down trees in nearby bushland.
Police Minister David Elliott was asked about reports that detectives were investigating whether William died after falling from a balcony at the house.
‘With a mysterious incident like this, every single option has to be investigated, every scenario has to be reviewed and tested,’ he told reporters on Tuesday.
‘Let’s hope whatever the conclusion is gives closure to the families and community.’
NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller (left) admitted on Tuesday that the early years of the investigation had wasted time chasing the wrong suspects. Former Detective Chief Inspector Gary Jubelin (right) led the investigation into the missing toddler’s disappearance
Forensic officers spent Tuesday night examining the front yard at the former home of William Tyrrell’s foster grandmother in Kendall, where the little boy was last seen alive
The seized car (pictured being towed away) is currently undergoing forensic examination
A search of William Tyrrell’s remains at the former home of his foster grandmother went well into the night on Tuesday
The development came after Mr Mick Fuller unleashed an unprecedented attack on on former top detective Gary Jubelin for leaving the probe in ‘a mess’.
Mr Fuller admitted on Tuesday the early years of the investigation had wasted time chasing the wrong suspects.
Former Detective Chief Inspector Jubelin led the investigation into the missing toddler’s disappearance for five years until he resigned over misconduct allegations.
The ex-homicide detective was convicted of covertly recording four conversations with Kendall man Paul Savage and was fined $10,000. He later lost a subsequent appeal.
Mr Savage, who lives opposite the house where William disappeared, was wrongly singled out as a suspect earlier in the investigation.
Mr Fuller attacked his former top detective’s approach to the case which he said had set back the current renewed search.
Police are pictured digging in the front garden of the house where William Tyrrell disappeared
A cadaver dog trained to detect human remains has been brought in to help search for William
‘The investigation was looking at some persons of interest that were clearly not, and I think some time was wasted on that, and bushland is overgrown,’ Mr Fuller told 2GB.
‘But a new team on-board inherited, what was a bit of a mess, and have cleaned up that investigation.’
Mr Jubelin hit back at Mr Fuller’s criticism and insisted his police bosses had approved his every move while he was leading the search for little William.
‘I led the investigation for four years during which time detailed reports were submitted on a monthly basis outlining the direction of the investigation,’ he told The Australian.
‘These reports were signed off on at assistant commissioner level and are retained by NSW Police.’
Mr Jubelin added: ‘I own and take responsibility for the way I led the investigation. I hope the police who sat above me are prepared to do the same thing.’
‘There were a lot of hard-working police on the investigation who were determined to find out what happened to William. I am sure they would not appreciate the public criticism from their commissioner.’
Strike Force Rosann detectives seized a car (pictured) from a home at Gymea in Sydney’s south on November 9
A search for William Tyrrell’s remains in Kendall will enter its third day on Wednesday
The findings of a coronial inquest into William’s disappearance which concluded last year are yet to be handed down.
Ten reporter Lia Harris, who interviewed the foster parents for her 2019 podcast Where’s William Tyrrell? said she had recently received a subpoena from the Coroner’s Court for ‘a very broad range of material’.
‘Everything that I had uncovered in my research for the podcast, audio files, documents, everything, including those raw tapes of my extensive interviews with the foster parents,’ she told 2GB on Tuesday.
‘To me, it signalled that they had either taken a new direction or they had a new theory they were working on.’
A $1million reward has been offered for information on William’s whereabouts.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk