William Tyrrell was wearing a Spider-Man costume when he vanished in 2014.
William Tyrrell was wearing a Spider-Man costume when he vanished in 2014.
A large piece of potential evidence has been pulled from the bottom of a creek as part of the renewed search for William Tyrrell on NSW's Mid North Coast.
The search efforts entered their fourth week on Monday, with a team of police, RFS personnel and different experts clearing and meticulously searching dense bushland in the town of Kendall, where William disappeared seven years ago.
Yesterday police began the arduous task of searching through a freshly drained section of creek, east of Batar Creek Rd, where investigators have been focusing their clues relating to the missing boy.
Just after 3.30pm, investigators were spotted pulling a large piece of red fabric from the mud and placing it into an evidence bag, The Daily Telegraph reports.
Investigators searching for the remains of William Tyrrell have plucked a faded red piece of material from a drained creek. Photo / Supplied
The discovery reportedly caused a brief stir at the search site, as William was wearing last a red and blue Spider-Man suit the day he went missing.
Investigators have found multiple pieces of fabric throughout the search, with officers previously seen comparing some of the discoveries to a sample of a red and blue Spider-Man suit.
William vanished on September 14, 2014, from his foster grandmother's home on Benaroon Dr, Kendall.
The three-year-old's disappearance sparked a major police search, with one of the main theories investigated over the years being a possible abduction.
Now, more than seven years since his disappearance, investigators have turned their attention back to where he was last seen.
The home and a stretch of bushland along Batar Creek Rd have been the major focuses of the search so far.
William's foster mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has recently emerged as the sole person of interest in the case.
She has strongly denied any involvement in or any knowledge of William's disappearance and has not been charged.
William Tyrrell was wearing a Spider-Man costume when he vanished in 2014.
Investigators continue to battle wild weather
The search has now entered its 23rd straight day, with the team continuing to sift through dirt and mud for any clues that might point to what happened to William all those years ago.
Officers have been battling through tough conditions, with relentless rain hampering search efforts.
NSW Police State Crime Command Director, Detective Chief Superintendent Darren Bennett, said last month that investigators "couldn't have picked a worse time" in terms of weather to be searching.
He revealed the search will likely need to be extended "well beyond" the initial time frames set out by police.
Police initially expected the search to last up to three weeks but Mr Bennett said that would likely be doubled.
Bennett said last week the decision behind the major search revival was "in response to evidence we have obtained over the course of the investigation" and it was "not speculative in any way".
When the search first began on November 15, police confirmed there was "no doubt" officers were looking for William's remains.
War of words continues over handling of Tyrrell case
Outgoing NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller has once again criticised how the investigation was handled under the lead of former homicide Detective Gary Jubelin.
Jubelin headed the investigation for more than four years from early 2015 until 2019 when he was stood down as the head of Strike Force Rosann not long before he left the NSW Police Force.
He was convicted in April last year of making four illegal recordings of interviews with a person of interest in the case and fined $10,000.
Last month, Fuller suggested there was "wasted" time in the early years of the search pursuing individuals who were "clearly" not linked to the crime.
"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," Fuller told 2GB.
"But a new team on-board … inherited what was a bit of a mess and have cleaned up that investigation."
This prompted Jubelin to hit back, telling The Australian Fuller was "ultimately responsible for the investigation that has been running the whole time he was commissioner".
Now, Fuller has fired back, branding Jubelin's claims "ridiculous" in an article published in The Australian on Saturday.
"To suggest that a commissioner is going to run the investigative strategies for the case is a bit ridiculous," he said.
"And no commissioner, no superintendent, is going to sign off on the illegal activity he [Jubelin] was ultimately convicted of."
