Disappearance of William Tyrrell
| William Tyrrell | |
|---|---|
 Photo of Tyrrell taken a few minutes before he disappeared | |
| Born | 26 June 2011 |
| Disappeared |
12 September 2014 (aged 3) Kendall, New South Wales, Australia |
| Status | Missing for 1 year and 5 months |
| Nationality | Australian |
William Tyrrell (26 June 2011 – disappeared 12 September 2014) is an Australian boy who became, at the age of 3, a missing person after disappearing from his grandmother's house in Kendall, New South Wales. He had been playing with his sister and was wearing a Spider-Man suit at the time of his disappearance.[1] He is believed to have been abducted.[2][3][4][5]
Disappearance
William Tyrrell disappeared from his grandmother's house on Benaroon Drive in Kendall at 10.30am on 12 September 2014. At the time of his disappearance, he was playing with his sister in the front yard and was wearing a Spider-Man suit. The house is directly across the bush land road from the Kendall State Forest, about 35 kilometres (22 mi) south of Port Macquarie. Police said that the boy disappeared during a five-minute window from sight.[6]
Investigation
Hundreds of police, State Emergency Services, Rural Fire Service and members of the community searched day and night for Tyrrell. Specialist police, including the sex crimes squad form Strike Force were immediately formed. Motorcycles and helicopters were bought in to search for William. 200 volunteers searched overnight, hundreds of people combed rugged terrain around the home. However, after 5 days of search, the police said they were unable to come up with any leads.[7] The police later began investigations on finding the drivers of two cars were spotted on the street on the day of William's disappearance. The cars described as being a white station wagon and an older-style grey sedan were parked in the street on the morning Tyrrell went missing.[8] These cars were noticed by William's mother since they were unusually parked on the street, rather than in one of the long driveways. The cars were seen with its driver's side windows down. The police think suspicious of these particular vehicles as there is no logical reason why they would parked on the street before William's disappearance.[9] The police have also interviewed dozens of people including a number of pedophiles. A Current Affair have reported that about 20 registered sex offenders were living in the surrounding area of Kendall where William Tyrrell went missing.[10] There have been 500 documents created for this case by the police and about 1400 information were reported from the public.[11]
Current status
Despite various search efforts and months chipping away with no breakthrough by the police and the forensic testing which failed to turn up any trace of Tyrrell or clues about his disappearance. Therefore, the police have yet to conclude what actually happened to Tyrrell.[12] However, despite the lack of evidence, Chief Inspector Jubelin renewed his commitment to seeing the case and commented that "The investigation into the disappearance of William Tyrrell remains a priority for the NSW Police Force."[13] He also said that the investigators would treat the case as though William was alive until they had evidence proving otherwise.[14]
References
- ↑ "William Tyrrell's fourth birthday sees police renew appeal for information". ABC News. 26 June 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
- ↑ Damjanovic, Dijana (13 September 2015). "William Tyrrell: Forensic profiler reveals details about three-year-old's suspected kidnapper". ABC News. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
- ↑ "William Tyrrell disappearance: NSW Police investigate possible involvement of paedophile ring". ABC News. 17 April 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
- ↑ Partridge, Emma (23 April 2015). "William Tyrrell 'person of interest' charged with Campbelltown child sexual assaults". Campbelltown-Macarthur Advertiser. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
- ↑ Benny-Morrison, Ava (6 September 2015). "William Tyrrell investigation: highs, lows and false hope 12 months on". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
- ↑ "William Tyrell: Three-year-old boy wearing Spider-Man costume missing at Kendall, on New South Wales mid-north coast, search continues". ABC News. 14 September 2014. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
- ↑ "William Tyrrell: Timeline of boy's disappearance in September 2014". ABC News. 19 September 2015. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
- ↑ "William Tyrrell breakthrough: Police investigating the toddler's disappearance a year ago seize a car belonging to a convicted child abuser that was 'parked in the street where he was last seen'". Daily Mail. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
- ↑ "Police confirm car seized in William Tyrrell investigation". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
- ↑ "Police no closer to finding William Tyrrell 500 days since disappearance". Nine network. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
- ↑ "William Tyrrell's family speak about their unbearable grief at losing their little boy". news.com.au. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
- ↑ "Fourth man is quizzed in hunt for William Tyrrell". ABC News. 14 September 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
- ↑ "William Tyrrell breakthrough: Police investigating the toddler's disappearance a year ago seize a car belonging to a convicted child abuser that was 'parked in the street where he was last seen'".
- ↑ "William Tyrrell investigation: highs, lows and false hope 12 months on". The Sydney Morning Herald. 26 June 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2015.