EXCLUSIVE
One of the country’s longest-serving homicide chiefs has defended his former detectives against allegations that there was “a pattern” of ignoring “credible tips” about the whereabouts of missing toddler William Tyrrell.
Former NSW Deputy Police Commissioner Mick Willing said extensive resources – and countless man-hours – had been spent trying to find the three-year-old since he disappeared while visiting his foster grandmother’s home in 2014.
Mr Willing said the State’s dedicated detectives were heartbroken by their inability to locate the innocent young boy in the decade since his disappearance, despite numerous interstate and international sightings.
He rejected any suggestion that investigators had made a public appeal for information about William’s fate, but he willfully dismissed subsequent tips called to Crime Stoppers or reported to police.
“Strike Force Rosann investigators, led by the lead detective, have followed hundreds of reported sightings of William Tyrrell in the weeks, months and years following his disappearance,” he told Daily Mail Australia.
‘While I was Commander of the Homicide Squad, I can recall a number of occasions when alleged sightings of William Tyrrell occurred both in NSW and in other states in circumstances where the hopes of investigators were raised to the point of excitement.
“But unfortunately none of the sightings turned out to be him.”
His comments come after a new podcast investigating the toddler’s disappearance reportedly revealed “worrying claims suggesting a pattern of information not being passed on to detectives, or not being acted upon by police.”
Missing toddler William Tyrrell wore a distinctive Spider-Man costume the day he disappeared while visiting his foster grandmother’s home on the NSW north coast
The three-year-old was last seen playing hide and seek with his sister outside this home
The podcast quoted five people who felt their reported sightings of the missing toddler had not been taken seriously by investigators.
One woman claimed she saw the missing toddler with a group of people on a camping trip near Uluru a year after he disappeared, while another claimed she saw him on a bus ride from Albury to Sydney.
A separate potential witness said he was ‘fired by Crime Stoppers’ for not taking him seriously after reporting seeing two cars outside the house where William was missing, even though a lead detective working on the case later publicly announced the leadership. was a line of inquiry.
Mr Willing, who led the NSW homicide squad between 2011 and 2017, said investigators had been inundated with tips after Williams’ disappearance.
While the overwhelming number of leads generated by the public appeal made it impractical to provide personalized feedback to each tipster, he wanted to assure the public that investigators had diligently worked through all the incoming information.
He said investigators had pursued numerous potential sightings of William during their hunt, but their hopes of finding him alive were repeatedly dashed.
Former NSW Deputy Police Commissioner Mick Willing says police are equally heartbroken by their inability to locate the missing toddler after doing everything they could to find him
“The sheer volume of information generated by a high-profile investigation such as the disappearance of William Tyrell, especially when the investigation focuses on the use of the media as a tool, can be extremely difficult to manage,” he said.
“However, processes were put in place to respond to alleged sightings of William Tyrell, including close liaison with police across NSW and with investigators in other states in Australia.”
Another potential witness who spoke to the podcast complained that she called Crime Stoppers to suggest police investigate a local resident who lived near William’s foster grandmother, but never heard back.
Mr Willing said the fact the resident was later publicly identified as a person of interest in William’s disappearance – before he was ultimately ruled out as a suspect – showed how seriously detectives had taken tips from the community.
He said the hunting was so widespread that the workload had to be shared across the entire police force.
“In the months following the disappearance there were literally hundreds of ‘persons of interest’ to be assessed, prioritized and investigated,” he told Daily Mail Australia.
‘To do that, follow-up investigations were carried out by the Homicide Branch – the highest priority assessments – other departments across the State Crime Command and investigators from the Local Area Command.’
Investigators initially thought William Tyrrell was snatched by an opportunistic kidnapper, but ten years later they now believe he is dead
Mr Willing admitted that police had ruled out some incoming tips, but said this was only done after investigators determined they were not ‘real’.
“Among the thousands of genuine calls about alleged sightings of William Tyrrell were calls from idiots, psychics and others seeking to inject themselves into the public arena,” he said.
The last confirmed sighting of William was on September 12, 2014 at his foster grandmother’s home in the sleepy town of Kendall, about a half-hour drive southwest of Port Macquarie on the northwest coast.
He wore a striking Spider-Man costume and played hide and seek with his sister outside the house in Benaroon Drive before disappearing around 10.30am after his foster mother went in to make a cup of tea.
She reported him missing at 10:57 a.m. during a triple-0, sparking one of the most lengthy missing persons investigations in the country.
Although police initially feared William had been kidnapped, he is now believed to be dead.
Multiple searches – and a $1 million reward for information – have failed to locate his remains.
Police offered a $1 million reward for information leading to little William’s whereabouts
Deputy State Coroner Harriet Grahame conducted an 18-month investigation into the toddler’s disappearance and suspected death before adjourning it in October 2020 as prosecutors considered charges against the boy’s foster mother.
Both of William’s foster parents had repeatedly and vehemently denied any involvement in his disappearance.
The inquest will resume at the NSW Coroner’s Court next month, with final evidence heard in the week before Christmas before findings are announced next year.
Mr Willing said that while he shared the public’s frustration that police had yet to solve the long-running mystery, he insisted the detectives involved were doing everything they could to bring those responsible for William’s disappearance to justice.
“Ultimately we all know what happened to William and we hope the inquest will provide some answers,” he said.