The family of missing boy William Tyrrell have posted an emotional message online as they spend their third Christmas without him.
The heartbreaking post reads:
“On Christmas morning when little ones around Australia and the world awaken bright-eyed with wonder at toys found in stockings and beneath lighted trees, William’s loved ones will continue to shed tears for their precious little boy and the stolen years.
“On Christmas morning when families hold loved ones near, it will mark 3 years, 3 months, 13 days and countless tears since William was held in the arms of those he loved and who loved him.
“Wherever you are William, we hold hope in our hearts that soon you will find your way home to us and we can smother you with love, hugs and kisses to make up for the heartbreak and tears, the lost Christmases and stolen years.”
William, who was last seen playing with his sister in his grandmother’s yard wearing a spiderman suit went missing on September 12 2014 at 10:30am.
He’s not been seen since.
In September this year, the lead investigator into the little boy’s disappearance said authorities have significantly narrowed down persons of interest surrounding the highly-publicised case.
Speaking with 9 News, Detective Chief Inspector Gary Jubelin of the NSW Police Homicide Squad said it was “highly likely” police had already come across the perpetrator of the crime.
Det. Jubelin added that police are now turning their attention to a group of just a few hundred persons of interest, narrowed down from a list of thousands.
A bombshell court ruling earlier this year confirmed that William was in foster care at the time of his disappearance. He was therefore in the care of the Department of Family and Community Services (FACS), being cared for by his foster parents when he went missing from his foster grandmother’s house.
Statutory restrictions previously prevented this from becoming public knowledge but a Supreme Judge has now deemed this information to be “legitimate public interest.”
An unprecedented award of $1 million was offered by the NSW government in 2016 for any information leading to his recovery.
