THE SQUIZ
The Australian this morning reports that the foster parents of William Tyrrell are “in frame” as people of interest in the boy’s disappearance and that an apprehended violence order has been taken out against them following an alleged assault on a related child (paywall). It’s been more than 7 years since 3yo William Tyrrell disappeared from the front yard of his foster grandmother’s home in the mid-north coast village of Kendall, NSW. And yesterday, Police Detective Chief Superintendent Darren Bennett said they are “looking for the remains” of the missing boy in a series of new “high-intensity” searches. That’s “in response to evidence” received in the course of their investigation, he says. What that evidence is and who has provided it is unknown.

BACK IT UP A BIT…
It was 12 September 2014 that William went missing. He was dressed in a Spiderman suit and roaring like a tiger as he played with his 5yo sister. His foster mother says she left them briefly to go inside to make a cuppa, and she previously recalled the moment when she said it was “too quiet” and was unable to find him. A search was mounted, and after no sign of William was found, authorities concluded he had been kidnapped. What followed was one of its biggest ever investigations launched by NSW Police involving hundreds of people of interest. In 2016, a $1 million reward for information leading to the conviction of the person responsible for his disappearance was offered. That remains in place, but William has not been found, and no one has been charged over his disappearance.

SO WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT WHAT’S NEW?
On the search, Bennett says investigators will “clear ground and go subterranean” in 3 areas close to where William went missing. He says the hope is this new search effort will bring the investigation to a close. As for how William’s foster parents fit into the picture as people of interest, there are more questions than answers at this stage… Neither police nor the family has officially commented on those developments last night.