Tyrrell inquest told missing child was ‘not a wanderer’

AN INQUEST into William Tyrrell’s disappearance and suspected death in 2014 is likely to find it “was the direct result of human intervention”, a NSW coroner has been told.

“If the evidence establishes that William (pictured) was abducted, that conclusion is chilling because it means a person snatched a three-year-old from the safety of a quiet village backyard,” counsel assisting the coroner, Gerard Craddock SC, said in his opening address yesterday.

“That person, with whatever his or her proclivities and interests, remains in our community.”

In a police video played to the inquest, from a backyard on NSW’s mid north coast, William’s foster father told an officer: “He never wanders. He’s not a wanderer. I was thinking so many things all at once.

“I need to cover as much ground as I possibly can in the shortest amount of time,” he said.

In a triple-zero call made on September 12 and also played to the inquest, William’s foster mother is heard telling the operator: “We heard him roaring around the garden and then I thought, oh I haven’t heard him, I better go check on him, and couldn’t find him.”

The inquest continues before Deputy State Coroner Harriet Grahame.