If you’re an Aussie who keeps up to date with true crime – or check the news on the net, in the papers or even just by asking a friend – you’ll be familiar with the name William Tyrrell. The famous photograph of his cheeky smile and beloved Spider-Man costume might also ring bells.

He is the sweet toddler who has tragically been the subject of a missing-person case that has spanned almost 11 years…

In September 2014, William Tyrrell, who was just three years old, vanished from his foster grandmother’s backyard in Kendall, NSW – about four hours north of Sydney. He was wearing a Spider-Man suit at the time. William’s biological parents and his foster carers have since been thrust into the spotlight after police launched one of Australia’s most exhaustive missing person investigations.
Sweet William before he went missing (Credit: NSW Police)
A timeline of the case:

September 12, 2014

William vanishes from the back garden at his foster grandmother’s house in Kendall, NSW, just before 10:30am. His foster mum says she turned away briefly to make a cup of tea and then couldn’t find him. She phones the police at 10.57 and soon, a wide search begins.

2015

Police appeal for information about two suspicious cars parked near the Kendall property the morning William disappeared — a grey sedan and a white station wagon. Neither has ever been conclusively linked.

2016

By now there’s been several public tip-offs, including sightings and false leads, which are investigated across Australia and even overseas. Forensic searches continue in nearby bushland, homes, and dams. Then in September, NSW Police announce a $1 million reward — the biggest ever offered in NSW — for information leading to William’s recovery.

August 2017

The public learns for the first time that William Tyrrell was in foster care, almost three years after his disappearance.

In a surprising twist, it’s revealed that William’s biological dad shares a father with Michael Clifford – the guitarist from 5 Seconds of Summer, making the missing child is Clifford’s nephew. There is no suggestion of a link between this information and William’s disappearance.

March 2019

An inquest into the little boy’s disappearance commences.

June 2019

American celebrity psychic Pam Coronado claims she allegedly “saw” William. She sensed him in a navy school uniform, safe and happy, possibly in Western Australia.

2020

The inquest adjourns due to Covid, but the police investigation continues. Evidence suggests ‘he was likely taken.’

March 2021 

William’s foster gran passes away at 88 years old.

Late 2023–2025

The coronial inquest plods forward and is nearing its conclusion

Evidence presented includes a truck driver’s account of spotting a suspicious car nearby on the day William disappeared
The inquest also delved into the potential involvement of the boy’s foster mother concealing the body
Witnesses have raised concerns about police tactics and access to transcripts
The foster mother has endured verbal abuse outside the court, prompting a warning from the coroner
Most recently, an inmate in Sydney’s Long Bay prison claimed to a fellow prisoner that he had chilling details of the case, including that William died accidentally before he was kept in a wood yard, then disposed of in a suitcase
Final submissions for the inquest were due this June and findings will be delivered in the future – likely early 2026.

Where’s William Facebook cover
 What now?

Sadly, there’s no breakthrough. Despite the inmate’s claims and renewed theories, there’s still no forensic evidence (that is, no body and no firm trace of William’s remains).

The Coronial inquest is wrapping up over five years of testimony and analysis, and the government maintains the $1 million reward is still active.

The accidental fall theory contends that William’s foster mother hid the body after he fell. But witnesses of other suspicious vehicles and the inmate’s bombshell upset that narrative.

It’s true that after nearly 11 haunting years, the William Tyrrell investigation remains a puzzle wrapped in heartbreak. With the coronial inquest winding down and fresh claims still surfacing, we might yet get clarity… or at least a firmer picture of what happened on that chilling morning in 2014.