William Tyrrell Part 1

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27:53On September 12, 2014, both of William's foster parents say they woke up to the sound of William's laughter. He was the first to wake up, followed by his foster dad, who says they watched TV together for a while until his foster mom and sister woke up. Soon they all went into the living room, and William and his sister wasted no time getting out their toys. They were so full of laughter that their foster mom kept asking them to quiet down so they didn't wake up Nana. But of course, she did eventually wake up and join them. Now, like I told you earlier, William's foster dad had to hop on a call for work, so he left to drive into town to get better reception.

28:32And I think that really tells you just how rural this area was. But William's foster mom got the kids dressed. She knew they'd want to play outside most of the day, so she brought a one-piece play suit for William to wear, but he had other ideas. He begged for her to let him wear his favorite outfit, a two-piece Spider-Man suit. It wasn't a full-on costume. It was basically a thin, long-sleeved shirt and leggings that looked like Spider-Man. Eventually, she gave in, and William put on the Spider-Man outfit. William's foster mother made breakfast for everyone, and while she was cooking, she talked to Nana about wanting to wash some clothes.

29:10Nana told her she was waiting on a repairman to bring the parts to fix her washing machine because it was broken. She'd called a repair person that she found in the paper earlier that week when the machine stopped working. He'd already come to the house, checked out the machine, and had to order parts to fix it. So William's foster mom called to follow up, but didn't get an answer. After eating breakfast, William and his sister were anxious to go outside. So they took a bike ride. William had just gotten a new BMX bike for his third birthday. and his foster mom says that he never passed up an opportunity to ride it.

29:44She recalls in an interview with Harris that during that bike ride, William's sister stopped and took notice of a car, then she asked who it belonged to. It's been described as a dark green or a gray sedan with spokes on the tires, seen turning around in the driveway at 52 in Benaroon Drive. Now, Nana's house was at the end of the street in a cul-de-sac, which of course made it a great place for the kids to ride bikes, but if someone went the wrong way, they'd have to use it to turn around to get off the street. William's foster mom recalls the car was, quote, moving with purpose, end quote. She describes the driver as a larger male in his late 50s sitting far back from the wheel.

30:26So they ride their bikes for a little while, go back inside, and pretty soon after, William was eager to go back outside and play some more. They apparently played a game that they called Mommy Monsters, which was basically just his foster mom chasing the kids around the yard. It was during this interaction that she encouraged William to climb a tree in the front yard, but William declined, saying that it was too high. I really think this is a good example of how William was an adventurous kid, but he was also cautious of things that he thought were too risky. Now, the house had a large patio around the back of it with a balcony overhead, so after running around for a while, all four of them settled in onto the patio, and William's foster mom set the kids up to draw pictures to take to their grandfather's grave when they visited later that day.

31:12She says at this point the kids began asking when their dad was going to be home. Both kids really looked up to him and they kind of made this game out of seeing who could be the first one to spot his car coming up the driveway. They called this game Daddy Tiger. At 9.37am, William's foster mom took a photo of William on the deck in his Spider-Man suit. His mouth is wide open, as he's mid-roar playing Daddy Tiger. This is the last known photo of William. Over the next hour, William's foster mom says that they just played a lot of games, switching back and forth between working on their drawings and other activities.

31:51Nana watched them while having a cup of tea, and William's foster mom participated in some of the games while chatting with her mother. And she's been specific about these games. She tells Harris that they played a game with dice, where the kids would roll the dice then jump that many times. But William eventually got bored of it. He wanted to play Daddy Tiger, and wanted his sister to play with him, but she was focused on coloring her picture. Now, there were two small steps connecting the deck to the grass, and William's foster mom says he went down there and began crawling around in the grass pretending to be a tiger, roaring loudly.

32:28She says he crawled to the corner of the house to the right side, and she told him to stay close by. Although he was out of sight, she says she could hear him roaring, and recalls that it sounded like he was just by the side of the house. She's talking to her mother and William's sister when she realizes that she hadn't heard William in a few minutes. She turned to her mom and said, he's really quiet. She says there were no more than five minutes between when she heard William roar for the last time and when she noticed it was quiet As soon as she realizes that she can't hear William anymore, she jumps up and runs to the side of the house, calling for William She recalls that it was painfully quiet in that moment She didn't hear anything Not William, no birds, no squirrels, no wind She added that she was horrified when she turned the corner and didn't see the bright red Spider-Man suit She expected William to be 2-3 meters or about 8-10 feet away Now, it's important to understand how this house is positioned It sits on a slope, with the house itself sitting at the high point The deck wraps around the back of the house, looking out over the backyard And there's a veranda above looking down Around the corner, the land slopes down into the front yard facing the street.

33:51So from that high point on the side of the house, even a small child like William could see the driveway and the street leading up to the house. And William's foster dad was set to be home any minute. So his foster mom thought that William must have gone looking for him. She says she called out, quote, William, do you see daddy's car? End quote. But she got no answer. William's foster mom says that she ran back around the house to tell Nana that William was gone before turning around and heading down the slope to the street Now we're at about 10.30am and at the same time, William's foster dad sent her a text message saying that he'll be home in five minutes She tells Leah Harris that this gave her a spark of hope She thought if William had walked away, even run down the street that his dad would see him as he's pulling into the home Now, we do have a witness here.

34:44A neighbor named Anne Marie lived across the street. She tells Harris that she was smoking on her porch while she saw William's foster mom looking distressed, so she walked over and asked what was wrong. She says William's foster mom was crying and telling her that her little boy was missing and asking if she'd seen a child in a Spider-Man suit. Anne Marie quickly joined in the search. Not long after, William's foster dad got back, and William's foster mom ran to the car saying, quote, Do you have William? He responded, No. Why would I have William? William's foster mom would later say that she figured she'd wait a few minutes to call the police just in case they found him.

35:24So she continued down to the end of the street that led towards town, searching and knocking on doors. And her husband went in the other direction, following the downhill path toward the fence line, separating the houses from the bush. Now, Australian bushland is basically just a broad term to define unmanaged areas of vegetation. Think of a forest with uncut shrubs, tall grass, and weeds. So it's not the best environment for a small child to be in by any means. So William's foster mom goes in one direction, his foster dad goes in the other, and at this point another neighbor joins in the search.

36:00They even call out of work for the day to help them. Then, eventually, William's foster mom goes back to Nana's house just in case he somehow went back inside. They're checking inside of cabinets and closets. Then, reports say that either 10.56 or 10.57, William's foster mother called 0-0-0. It's the Australian equivalent of 9-1-1. She tells the dispatcher they'd been looking for 15 to 20 minutes before calling, and the dispatcher asks if there was anyone suspicious in the area or any suspicious vehicles. And William's foster mom says, no, not that I'm aware of. After making the call, William's foster parents and the two women continued searching.

36:41They're knocking on doors and asking neighbors if they'd seen anything and if they could search their yards. One of those neighbors was a man named Paul Savage. He joined in the search as well. We'll talk more about Paul and his wife Heather later. Just keep that in mind. A neighbor named Lydine would later tell journalist Michael Shether that soon after he heard William's foster mother's voice outside of the door, she knew something was very wrong. She said, quote, The mother had this haunted look on her face. I remember thinking that's how I would look if one of my children went missing. End quote.

37:19The first officer to reach Benaroon Drive was New South Wales Police Senior Constable Chris Rowley. He actually wasn't working that day, but heard the scanner and decided to come over and help. Rowley says he was only about five minutes from the house and was very familiar with the area, so he thought he could be useful in the search. He started by thoroughly searching Nana's house again, just in case William had got back inside and was hiding. and he says that while he was inside the house, he didn't find anything unusual. Soon, of course, multiple units of on-duty officers arrived. It's noted that within minutes of their arrival, William's foster mom asked if she needed to notify the foster care agency and they told her no, not yet.

38:04In an interview with Leah Harris, Liam's foster mom says that she searched down Better Room Drive until she reached the intersection of Batar Creek Road. She recalls that near the intersection, she heard what she describes as a child crying out in pain. She says she walked out into the bush following the noise, but eventually she says that she turned around, because she thought that there was no way William could have walked into undergrowth that deep. After that, she was basically told to go back home and wait for the police to set up a command post. About two hours into the search, they bring in scent-detecting canines.

38:41Senior Constable Matthew Gates says that William's scent was nearly impossible to track because of the length of time it took in between William going missing and for him to travel to Kendall with his canine. But Gates and his dog searched all the homes in the direction away from the house. They checked any play structures, gardens, or sheds in each yard. When they reached the end of the cul-de-sac, they went through a second time rechecking the area. He says at no point did the canine find a scent to track any further than Nana's yard. According to Chris Rowley, around 2.40pm, they approached residents that caught their eye.

39:19It looked like a box had been fabricated to go over the windows to cover it. He and other officers knocked on the door, but didn't get a response. He says the window was slightly ajar, and through it he could hear running water and see a man's silhouette. But he's not giving up. At this point, he yells through the window saying that he needs to come out because police need to talk to him. And eventually, he does come out, he complies with police, and allows them to search his home. And they say they didn't find anything out of the ordinary. I tell you this because I want you to know just how vast this search was, just how really aggressive this search was.

39:59And it does seem like most of the neighbors in this area cooperated. Later in the afternoon, Superintendent Paul Fayan, the area commander for the New South Wales Police Department, arrived and began to assess the scene. He's the one who issued the child abduction alert, or Amber Alert, for William. There was some debate about how to go about doing this, because as a foster child, William's identity was supposed to be confidential. It's a topic that Rawley and other responding officers had discussed thoroughly prior to the superintendent's arrival. but ultimately they decided that due to the urgency and nature of the situation, that they had to put one out, including William's name, physical description, and a photo.

40:42At this point, they're pretty much stumped. They've searched the surrounding area. It seems that most of the neighborhood is helping, and their dogs can barely pick up a scent. So let's talk more about this area. Like I mentioned before, 48 Benaroon Drive sits at a cul-de-sac at the end of the road. The street itself is described as empty and quiet, and a place that few people go unless they live in one of the houses or are visiting someone in the neighborhood. Essentially, this road doesn't lead anywhere else. At the end of Benaroon Drive is a T-junction. There are only two paved ways in or out of Benaroon Drive.

41:19At the T-junction, one way is Batar Creek Road. That leads through the town of Kendall, and the other is just a country road that goes through the bushland. Now, this specific area has been described as extremely dense. It just seemed unlikely to everyone, including William's foster parents, that he would have made it very far into the bush, especially considering that during the search, even adults were struggling to work through it. People, including uniformed members of law enforcement, were coming out of the bush with scratches and rips in their clothing. It's also really important to note here that William's foster dad says that William had asthma and used an inhaler.

41:56He says William couldn't run very far or very long without running out of breath and needing that inhaler. He adds that William was really good about knowing his own limits when it came to physical exertion. So again, the idea of William going into the bush just seemed unlikely. Of course, the other pressing question is what could people have seen that morning? And the answer, like I told you before isn't much. A neighbor says his wife left Benaroon Drive between 1032 and 1034, and she says she didn't see a car or notice anything strange. Neighbors at 51 Benaroon Drive, Peter and Sherelle Crabb, say they got home at about 9.30am, and at approximately 10.10, they heard a car do a U-turn in the gravel outside their home.

42:43Sherelle will later testify that the car was moving quickly, but Caroline Overington reports that at that time, the Krabs thought it might be the mail carrier. She says they were specifically listening for the mail because they were watching for mail for a neighbor who was out of town, but Overington also reports that the police confirmed that the mail had already been delivered before 10 10 a.m. So basically, whoever that was was not the mail carrier. Dan Box reports that a local man named Ron Chapman told police he saw a car driving fast through Kendall just a few minutes before the call. He said the car came fast around the corner and was driven by a woman in her late 20s or early 30s.

43:25He describes her as plump and short, with blonde hair tied in a bun. Ron says he saw a boy in the backseat of the car, standing up with his hair on the window. He describes the boy as about three years old, with light brownish-blondish hair, wearing a red and blue outfit. He describes the vehicle as a beige land cruiser. And Ron says he saw another car coming after that one, a blue Ford sedan that he says was also accelerating quickly. He says there was a man in this car, but didn't get a good enough look at him to provide a description. However, unfortunately, Box reports that Ron didn't speak to a detective until March of 2015.

44:08six months after William went missing. And police didn't formally interview him until August of 2015, shortly before the one-year anniversary. So these descriptions of these possible abductors, these possible witnesses, were unknown to the public for nearly a year. Another witness described seeing a white Holden driven by a man on nearby roads. Now, like I said, it's really important to note that police weren't working with all this information on the first day. Some of this timeline that we know now are because of interviews that were conducted after William went missing. And it's also very important to note that a man visiting a family member on Benaroon Drive that morning says the street was never blocked off to stop cars from leaving or entering on the first day of the search.

45:01But as the hours passed on September 12th, the search intensified. At the same time, an officer had to interview William's sister. Now, reports do vary on whether or not she was four or five years old when William went missing, but of course, either way, that is extremely young. But she reportedly told the officer that she didn't know of any hiding places William might have inside or outside of the house, and that he was playing daddy tiger and looking for their dad's car. Now, of course, the foster parents were interviewed about their actions that morning. and police did verify that William's foster dad joined that work conference call I told you about earlier.

45:42They also got a receipt from him stopping at the pharmacy before returning to Bedaroon Drive. Police also noted that the cell phone signal at Nana's house was very weak, so he would need to go somewhere else to get a strong enough reception for a video or conference call. And of course, with the entire custody situation, William's foster parents were asked if they believed that Carly and Brendan, William's biological parents, were involved. And they tell police, no, they don't think that his biological parents would have done this. Meanwhile, in Sydney, at about 4pm, Brendan and Carly received a knock at their door.

46:22Police searched their home, and briefly thought that they'd found William when they saw his little brother playing in the backyard. Now, logistically, this wouldn't have been easy for Brendan and Carly to pull off. Carly was heavily pregnant with their fourth child, and they didn't even know that the kids were going to Kendall for the weekend. Foster parents are required to tell the foster agency if they're taking the kids out of town, and they did, but the agency doesn't share that information with children's non-custodial parents unless a reason arises, like this one. A few hours after the police left, three women from the Salvation Army arrived at Carly and Brenton's home to inform them of what was going on.

47:03The police who'd come to search their home didn't give them much information, so really all they knew was what they could find out from the media coverage of the case. And Carly would later tell Caroline Overington that she was skeptical of the foster parent's story. She didn't think that William's sister would let him wander off. Carly says she was extremely protective of him and was always looking out for him. And Natalie Collins tells Overington that Brendan called her that morning to tell her that he had a bad feeling that something wasn't right. As nightfall approached, hundreds of people had shown up to Bedaroon Drive to assist in the search, and about 200 people were still looking as the sun started to set.

47:44The search wasn't suspended when it got dark, either. Instead, they used flashlights and lanterns to search for William. Luckily, weather conditions that night were described as mild This led state emergency services to believe that he could have survived overnight in the bush But of course, the other concern was William's asthma Eventually, everyone goes home for the night But day two grows into one of the largest searches in Australian history And William's foster mom remembers something about that morning That she hadn't told the police yet This episode of Voices for Justice is sponsored by HERS.

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49:59See terms. For the first two days, the search focused on the one and a half square kilometer, or about half a square mile distance from Nana's house. They had officers in the ground, they had dive teams in the water, and teams from above looking for William. All the swimming pools in the area were looked at from an aerial view. Divers searched local dams and ponds. Volunteers came from the Surf Lifesaving Club. Police searched on trail bikes. Mounted police searched on horseback. So did members of the local riding school. Members of the rural fire service helped comb through the bush, and I want to emphasize again that in multiple reports people were coming out of the bush with ripped clothes.

50:38This includes the state emergency service officers with their uniforms that were meant to withstand tough conditions. ABC News reported that about 200 people were searching, and 100 of them were trained searchers. By day two, the dead-end street was also full of reporters as Williams' disappearance became the biggest story, and not just in New South Wales, but across Australia. Now, Williams' foster parents cannot speak to the media, so a family friend named Nicole was their designated media spokesperson. This, of course, raised questions for the public about why William's parents were anonymous, and reporters were not allowed to share any additional context.

51:19William's foster father would later tell Leah Harris that this was devastating for him. He wanted more than anything for the public to know how much they cared about finding him. Although the media knew that William was a foster child, the media couldn't report that. It's just a really sticky situation legally. Dan Bach says that he was getting emails saying that journalists could face criminal charges for reporting on William or anyone in his family's status in the foster care system. And these were serious charges that could land you up to two years in jail. So there's a huge search going on for William, the media is all over this, and finally on Saturday, Superintendent Paul Fayon held the first official press conference in the case.

52:03He tells reporters that he can't rule out an abduction. The New South Wales Police Sex Crimes Division was now overseeing the case, which Leah Harris reports was protocol in any missing child case. ABC News reports that police are looking at all known sex offenders in the region. Of course, police who weren't searching on the ground for William were trying to collect any evidence they could, including surveillance from security cameras in the area, from residences, and local businesses. But this was really the days before a lot of people had cameras in rural areas like Kendall. Still, Danbox reports that police got footage from 12 local businesses, and 169 local cameras outside and around Kendall.

52:47According to Leah Harris' podcast, Where's William Tyrrell, the only camera that could show a car turning onto Better Own Drive was at the Kendall Tennis Club, and it only showed one of the two potential roads to get there. And the cars that they could see in the footage were only in a small part of the frame. The license plates were not visible and you could really only see the side of the cars. But the leads are coming in. Police were quickly made aware that about 30 to 45 minutes before they responded to the call, a man stuck his head inside of Kendall's Cafe and asked for directions to Patar Creek Road.

53:22Again, that's the road that intersects with Benaroon Drive. An employee described the man as about 5 '10", guessed that he was in his late 30s or early 40s, with brown chestnut hair that was wavy. Not quite a crew cut, but not quite collar length either. He's described as Caucasian with no facial hair, but employees say that he may have gone one or two days without shaving. He's described as wearing jeans and a maroon t-shirt. By day three, crews were combing over the same areas they'd already searched. So Superintendent Paul Fayon doubled the size of the search area, expanding it to three square kilometers.

53:58That's a little over one square mile. He says they're not yet considering it a recovery operation, as opposed to a rescue operation, but he does note that the chances of survival for William are diminishing. Inspector Kim Fayon told ABC News, quote, We're now in the third full day of the search for a three-year-old little boy who has no food, and unless he's found water, no water. So it is likely that he is in a poor state of health, and we need to find him today." Paul Fayon says that there are 30 officers on the ground searching in addition to volunteers, while the rest of the officers assigned to the case were following up on tips that were coming in.

54:40Leah Harris reports that on day three, a volunteer found a piece of hair that they thought to be human. Forensic investigators removed and tested it, but it was ultimately ruled to be irrelevant to the investigation. One searcher also found a stuffed animal, a pelican, but William's foster mom said that that did not belong to him. After three days, this is all they really found. But as the days passed, William's foster mom said that she began to remember more details that she hadn't thought of before. She tells Leah Harris that she was driving to the airport in Port Macquarie to pick up her sister.

55:16She was coming into town to help with the search and just support the family. And as she's making this drive, she's just kind of running back through the whole thing, the final hours, the minutes before William disappeared. And she says that's when she remembered that that morning, while she was getting William and his sister ready for the day, she pulled back the curtains on the two large windows in the bedroom that looked over the veranda. She says that there were two cars parked in the street, and that she had a good view of them, and they had a good view of the house. She says one was a white Holden station wagon that was older with faded paint, and parked closely behind it was a mid-sized gunmetal gray sedan.

55:58She describes the cars as dirty and beat up with mag wheels. They were parked very close together on the street in between the driveways of the two houses across the street from her mother's. She adds that people don't really park on the street there, because each house had a long driveway with enough space for visitors. And she recalls that the driver's side window was rolled down on both, but she couldn't see if there was anyone inside of them because the windows were heavily tinted. It's important to note here that the descriptions did not match the vehicles of anyone who lived on Benaroon Drive, or who was known to be visiting anyone living there.

56:35And she adds that these cars are different from the one that she remembers seeing that made the U-turn around the cul-de-sac. But by the time that Constable Rowley arrived on Benaroon Drive, those cars were gone. Dan Box notes on witness William Tyrrell that no one else who's been asked on record can confirm that those cars were there, but that William's foster mom brings them up frequently in interviews. And there's something else that she didn't tell investigators on the first day that William went missing. She got into her mother's Mazda 3 and drove down the road to search for William before the police arrived that morning.

57:11She says she drove down Benaroon Drive and turned onto Batar Creek Road, driving slowly to look for him. She says she stopped when she got to the riding school and turned back around. Now, Dan Box reports that William's foster dad didn't mention this drive in any of his statements to police, so it seems likely that she took the drive before he returned. Box also reports that the Mazda 3 was not inspected until September 20th, nearly a week after William went missing. Of course, Williams' foster mom has received a lot of backlash for not mentioning the two cars she saw or the drive she took on the first day of the investigation.

57:52In Caroline Overington's documentary series for News Channel 7, she sits down with Chris Illingsworth, a former New South Wales police detective and criminal profiler for the Australian FBI, to discuss details of the case. Illingsworth says, quote, It took two days for the mom to have that recollection. And I'm not surprised by that. That happens. She was in shock after realizing that her son was missing. Shock operates in a way that confounds memories. Literally, the chemicals of the shock and the adrenaline that she was running on, once that had dissipated, then the memory can be more easily accessed.

58:28The cars certainly are of interest, I believe. End quote. As for the drive, although William's foster mom didn't mention it initially, she does mention the drive on a video walkthrough of that morning that she and William's foster dad did with police on day 6. So again, take all of that for what you will. Four days after William's disappearance, police announced a special strike force dedicated to looking for him. This was made up of three officers from the homicide squad, one from the unsolved homicide team, two officers from sex crimes, one from the robbery squad, and two from the local police command.

59:09At this point, the case had been handed over to the homicide division, but that wasn't made public at the time. By day five, William's foster dad had to take a step back from the physical search. He says he spent roughly 80 hours searching with only a few breaks to sleep in between, and Superintendent Paul Fayon spoke to the press, telling them that they'll continue the search as long as there's a chance that William is still alive. He also says that they haven't ruled out the possibility that William was attacked or taken by an animal. He tells reporters that extensive canvassing efforts were underway and growing by the day.

59:46They're really pulling out all the stops. Special investigators from the State Crime Command were now on the scene as well. Meanwhile, divers were searching the dams again. State emergency services combed rivers. Officers are tracking people's cell phone activity and traffic cameras, but all of it seemed to lead nowhere. Paul Feion was pretty open with the media, saying that they were baffled and that they had no leads. And as we see, on day six, ABC News reported that the search would be scaled back. Danbox reports that a week after William went missing, police stopped every vehicle that entered Benaroon Drive.

1:00:25They recorded details of the car, driver, and passengers. Michelle White from Young Hope was there every day too to be with the foster parents. She told Box, quote, the longer William went missing, the more resources that came to try to find him, end quote. Michelle told Box that Nana's house was searched multiple times, with investigators pulling cushions off the sofa and taking pictures off the wall. She said that there was a mound of dirt underneath the house, and they crawled under the deck to sift through it. Now, Michelle's job at this point was basically to observe and make sure that everyone was safe, but of course as a witness, she describes the foster parents as being in absolute distress.

1:01:07She recalls that William's foster dad collapsed into her and was sobbing into her neck, and that William's foster mom was collapsing at different points and having to physically lift herself up off the ground, where she was heaving and sobbing. On the ninth day, September 21st, ABC News reported again that the search was being scaled back even further. All agencies involved held this big meeting to basically say that now they're just focusing on leads, and Williams' foster parents wrote a statement to be read at this meeting, stating quote, thank you does not seem like the right sort of word to express our gratitude and heartfelt warmth we feel towards each and every one of you.

1:01:49We have been completely overwhelmed with the way the public, state emergency services, surf life-saving, rural fire services, and the police have rallied together to find our little Spider-Man, William. You didn't know us and we didn't know you, but today we feel that we are a part of your extended community and we are warmed and comforted by the way you have shared our love for William. William is only three years and three months old and really still a baby. He has so many more years to live and we desperately want him home. William, up until a month ago, was obsessed with all things fire engines, and would tell us his name was Firefighter William, a future he deserves to fulfill.

1:02:32We pray and hope that our Firefighter William comes home soon. This episode of Voices for Justice is sponsored by Quince. You know those pieces in your closet that you find yourself reaching for over and over again? the sweater that somehow works with everything, the jeans you know will always fit just right, and the back you carry everywhere. Those are the pieces that earn a permanent place in your wardrobe, and that's exactly what Quince does so well. They make elevated everyday essentials using premium materials like Mongolian cashmere, organic cotton, and washable silk. The designs really are timeless, thoughtfully crafted, and made to be worn again and again.

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1:04:24See terms. On day 10, as the ground search was quickly winding down and the homicide squad was taking over, William's foster parents made the decision to take his sister back home to Sydney without William. William's foster mom tells Leah Harris that she felt like she was leaving William behind that day, but as we see in these cases, life moves on. William's sister started school, and due to the legal restriction, she couldn't tell anyone that she was William Tyrrell's sister. At this point, everyone in Sydney and throughout most of Australia knew his name. Now, by most accounts, the ground search for William was thorough.

1:05:02Michael Sheather reported that every house on Benaroon Drive was searched three or four times, and that different personnel was used in each search. Reports do vary, though, on the total area covered in those nine days. ABC News says that it was 50 square kilometers, while Dan Bach says that police records say that it was 18 square kilometers. So take that for what you will. Of course, it's always easy to look back on these investigations, with hindsight being 20-20. But Box does report that there were some concerns early on. He says that the same man who was visiting a family member on Bedaroon Drive that day, who pointed out that the street was never blocked off, reported that there was a caravan on the property he was visiting that was never searched.

1:05:44And he says that the owners were never asked if it could be searched. Several neighbors also reported things being stolen from their yards or cars during the search. There's also serious concerns that any forensic evidence of a crime occurring was unintentionally destroyed by the hundreds of people searching. And this poses a really chilling question. Is it possible that the person who took William was also helping in the search to find him? Caroline Overington reports that investigators admitted that someone who was involved in the search could have had a prime opportunity to go through and cover up their tracks.

1:06:22And really, if they find someone's DNA in that area that had helped with the search, that could really tamper with the evidence. Luckily, all of these things were top of mind for Detective Inspector Hans Rupp of the New South Wales Police Homicide Division. He's in charge of the case now. Rupp was a veteran of the department and considered one of their most well-respected officers. He'd been with the department for 41 years and solved countless murders. At this point, there were four prevailing theories as to what may have happened to William. One, that he wandered off into the brush, which investigators felt like they had sufficiently disproven through the extensive search operation, although that possibility has never been ruled out completely.

1:07:07Two, was that William's foster parents were involved with his death and disposal of his body, either intentionally or after an accident. 3. Was that William's biological family was involved and had him hidden somewhere and 4. Was that a stranger or strangers, presumably in one of those cars seen by William's foster mom, had taken him? Caroline Overington reports that the police kept the information about the two cars seen by William's foster mom to themselves in the early investigation. Apparently, they wanted to see what information people would come forward with without having those clues impacting their perception of who may or may not be involved.

1:07:50In Overington's analysis with Chris Illingsworth, Illingsworth assesses the layout of the home, the front yard, the driveway, and the street. She says that from the spot where William's foster mom says that those cars were parked, someone in those vehicles could clearly see William run around the corner of the house into the front yard. In fact, she says that spot is the only place that someone would have had a clear view. William's foster mom told police that the last roar she remembers hearing from William was especially loud. Illingsworth suggests that maybe that final roar was him greeting someone.

1:08:27Now, Rep's initial focus was on Brendan and Carly and William's foster parents. Although it's been proven that Brendan and Carly were in Sydney, far from Kendall, on September 12th, Rupp had to consider that they may have had someone they know take him, or even hired someone to get involved. In interviews over the years, Carly has expressed hurt that she was deemed unfit to care for her two oldest children, but that one of them disappeared without a trace after going into state care. And William's foster parents were, by all accounts, more than willing to be investigated. William's foster mom told Leah Harris and Dan Box in interviews that she would be upset if she and her husband were not thoroughly investigated, because it would mean that the police were not doing their best to find William.

1:09:12They both consented to all interviews and willingly gave up their phones, laptops, vehicles, and home to be searched. Though, in early reports, police do note inconsistencies with how much time William's foster mother stated had passed between taking the last photo of William in that Spider-Man suit and when she noticed him missing. Box reports that initially, she'd guessed that there were about five minutes between the photo being taken and William's disappearance. However, the photo is time-stamped for 9.37am, and William is said to have been seen shortly before 10.30am. That's about an hour gap in between those two events.

1:09:51And while we're discussing timelines, I think it's worth telling you guys that while being investigated, William's foster parents helped police build a detailed timeline of their stops that they made on the way to Kendall that Thursday night. One working theory was that someone may have seen the kids during a stop and followed them. Now, while William's foster parents couldn't speak to the media publicly, they said they did everything they could to generate public attention to the case. On William's birthday in 2015, they launched the Where's William campaign on social media and created a website.

1:10:22Years later, William's foster mom would tell Leah Harris that she wanted everyone in Australia to know what William looked like, what he sounded like, and really just wanted to continue putting pressure on police. She said, quote, there was no way in the world we were going to let people forget about William. If we got in trouble for having the campaign, then so be it. But there was no way in the world we could sit by and just let this happen and him fade away, because the public memory is not long, end quote. Meanwhile, police were busy exploring all options. They worked to get as many details as possible leading up to the moments before William went missing.

1:11:00They knocked on doors in Kendall, interviewing about 260 people. They canvassed all the caravan parks and hotels within a 10-mile radius of Benaroon Drive. And people responded. Thousands of people reported sightings of William all across Australia. In one instance, a flight attendant saw a boy she thought was William on a plane, and investigators say that they were ready to meet on the runway to get them. But you know that since I'm here telling you this story today, that was not William. But some people have come forward to say that maybe not all of these tips were thoroughly investigated. A woman named Matilda told Box that she was on a bus trip two days after William's disappearance.

1:11:41There, she saw a little boy in a Spider-Man suit. Like a good citizen, she called Crime Stoppers. But she says that the woman on the line asked if the boy on the bus was blonde. Matilda said that he had brown hair. And apparently, they just dismissed the sighting, telling her that she must have gotten it wrong. And of course, the issue is, William does have brown hair, not blonde. Another woman, Lois, told Box that she saw a boy she swears was William in a group of kids with two adults in Central Australia. She says she heard the adult woman say, quote, What's the matter, Will? End quote. Lois said that she tried to report this to police, but the officer was dismissive and did not take the report.

1:12:25Still, she tried again. She called Crime Stoppers more than once but never heard from a detective. And another woman saw a report saying that if William was kidnapped, it was likely by someone who had reason to be on the property. so she reached out to Crimestoppers to let them know that a washing machine repairman was supposed to be coming to Williams' Nana's house that day. I told you about that very early in this episode, and Box reports that she also never heard back. However, it seems that that information did get to the police, because shortly after, that repairman would be considered a primary person of interest.

1:13:13As a reminder, William Tyrrell was last seen on September 12, 2014 at 48 Benaroon Drive in Kendall, New South Wales, Australia. He was three years old at the time of his disappearance. He has white with straight brown hair and hazel eyes. He has a large, dark-colored freckle at the top of his head, about five centimeters or two inches back from his hairline. If you have any information regarding the disappearance or location of William Tyrell, please contact the New South Wales Police Department. And please share William's story to keep the focus on finding him. But, as always, thank you, I love you, and I'll talk to you next time.

1:14:00Voices for Justice is hosted and produced by me, Sarah Turney, and is a Voices for Justice media original. This episode would not have been possible without the writing and research assistance by Brooke Haynes. If you love what we do here, please don't forget to follow, rate, and review the show on your podcast player. It's an easy and free way to help us and help more people find these cases in need of justice.

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