Alice Collins, who headed up the “Where’s William?” campaign, can still remember the first time she saw pictures of the sweet little boy in a Spider-Man suit.
It was mid-September in 2014, and she was turning off her phone ahead of a flight to London when she saw images of the missing toddler, William Tyrrell, across her social media feed.
Hoping there would be good news by the time she turned it back on, like so many other Australians, she was heartbroken when it became clear over the coming days and weeks that William’s shock disappearance wouldn’t be quickly resolved.
Ten days later the Sydney executive, who runs a public relations company with her mother Clare, was contacted by a former colleague, who explained that she was a close friend of the missing boy’s mum – later to be revealed as his foster mother – and asking if they might be able to help.
“It was a horrible rainy day and I remember opening the front door and there was this broken woman standing before me,” says Alice.
HEARTACHE & HOPE
“That afternoon was an incredibly emotional experience. In our work we speak to many people who have lost loved ones but this was the first time it was from the perspective of someone who had been a victim of crime and [from] the extreme heartache and desperation of William’s mother.”
Over the hours, the women talked about how best to mobilise resources to help bring William home.
Several months later, on June 26, William’s fourth birthday, the official Where’s William? campaign was launched to provide the community with more information, keep his disappearance in the public eye and hopefully encourage anyone with knowledge of what happened to come forward.
A few months later, keen to keep momentum going, the first Walk 4 William event took place on the one year anniversary of William’s disappearance on September 12, 2014.
Clare can still remember the feelings of desperation and hope felt by everyone involved, not least the locals of Kendall, who were so affected by William vanishing in their small town.
“The heartbreak that this community has suffered has never healed. And you feel that when you’re with them,” she says. “But that day was very special because it gave us all an opportunity to thank them. It was very emotional.”
In the following weeks, as hundreds of calls were made to the police and messages sent to the “Where’s William?” Facebook page, there was a real sense that a breakthrough was surely coming.
FRUSTRATED EFFORTS
“Every time the phone rang we thought, ‘Is this the call?’ It was very tough because so much effort had gone in, so many inquiries made and so many searches and then… nothing,” remembers Alice.
The same hope was raised when the $1-million reward for information was announced on the second anniversary of William’s disappearance, along with another huge campaign. Still, the happy phone call that everyone was waiting for never came through. “I can’t tell you the amount of times I felt the [foster parents] sobbing in my arms,” says Alice.
It has now been a decade since William vanished and Clare and Alice can’t believe there are still no answers as to what happened to him. “We didn’t think we’d be having this conversation 10 years later,” says Clare. “Why are we still waiting for answers?”
A breakthrough appeared imminent after new forensic searches in 2021, but as yet no arrests have been made. NSW police still appear to believe William’s foster family were involved in his disappearance. They categorically deny this and Clare believes them.
“There is no doubt in my mind as to their complete innocence,” she says. “This bereaved couple love William, and they’ll never give up the fight to find out what has happened to him.”
BRING HIM HOME
She points to how the foster parents twice lobbied for police investigative resources to be doubled so that William’s case didn’t get relegated to an unsolved crime and how they fought to have the reward increased from the original $250,000 offering.
“What many won’t know is how hard this heartbroken couple fought behind the scenes,” she says. “Someone with anything to hide would hardly work so hard to increase investigative resources.”
Like the rest of Australia, the Collinses are eager to hear the final report from the coronial inquest. Following that, Alice believes that a pair of “fresh eyes” on the case “would be a good thing”.
“Police need to go back to square one. I do believe the person responsible for William’s abduction is still out there and are laughing because they’ve got away with it,” she says.
This week, Clare and Alice will be keeping the little boy, who would now be 13, close to their hearts.
“On this anniversary we’ll be asking the community to light a candle for William,” says Alice.
They will also be holding out hope that a resolution of any kind will finally come.
“There’s not a person in Australia who doesn’t want to find out what happened to William,” she says.
“We have a duty of care to find out what happened and bring him home. For his loved ones – his birth family, foster family, siblings and friends.”
INQUEST RESUMES
The coronial inquest into William’s disappearance is expected to resume before Deputy State Coroner Harriet Grahame in November and December. A witness list and list of issues will soon be finalised. Her verdict will take time, however, and will likely be heard at a later date.
The inquest began in March 2019, was adjourned in 2020 due to Covid lockdowns and then delayed when the police began investigating the foster parents and undertook new searches in Kendall. Last year the coroner was handed a letter from the DPP, outlining how advice from prosecutors regarding possible charges would be given to NSW police.
However, no charges have been laid against anyone as yet.
