Neighbour claims to have seen a 'child in a Spider-Man suit' being driven away in the back of a car on the day toddler William Tyrrell disappeared
- William Tyrrell vanished from his foster grandmother's home in Kendall in 2014
- A resident has claimed to have seen a child in a Spider-Man suit on the same day
- Ronald Chapman said he saw two cars travelling east along his street in Kendall
A neighbour has claimed to have seen a 'child in a Spider-Man suit' being driven away in the back of a car on the day William Tyrrell disappeared.
William was three years old when he vanished while playing at his foster grandmother's home in Kendall on the NSW mid north coast on September 12, 2014.
During the inquest into William's disappearance on Monday, Detective Sergeant Laura Beacroft said Ronald Chapman was outside his Laurel Street home in Kendall when he saw two cars travelling east.
A neighbour has claimed to have seen a 'child in a Spider-Man suit' being driven away in the back of a car on the day William Tyrrell (pictured) disappeared
Detective Beacroft said the local man 'saw a child in the back seat … up against the passenger-side back seat window and has a recollection the child was wearing a Spider-Man outfit', news.com.au reported.
Mr Chapman, whose home was about 1.6 kilometres from where William was last seen, claims he saw the child in a car driven by a woman, while the second car had a man behind the wheel.
Detective Beacroft told the inquest further interviews with Mr Chapman led her to believe he wasn't making up the possible sighting.
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Laurel Street sits between Benaroon Drive, where William's foster grandmother's home was, and the highway on the eastern side of Kendall.
The street links to Benaroon Drive via Batar Creek Road.
Detective Beacroft added that while Mr Chapman believed the two cars were driving in convoy, it was possible the cars just happened to be heading in the same direction at the same time.
William vanished while playing at his foster grandmother's home in Kendall on the NSW mid north coast on September 12, 2014
She said she wasn't sure if he provided a description of the person driving the second car.
The inquest was also told on Monday that more than 400 'persons-of-interest packages' were created as police tried to identify and interview every person who could have taken William.
Acknowledging 'person of interest' wasn't an official term used by NSW Police and had no settled definition in policing worldwide, Det Sgt Beacroft said the threshold for nominating someone a person of interest was very low.
The inquest into William's disappearance began in March this year, with the first batch of hearings focused on the toddler's family situation and the events leading up to his disappearance.
The second tranche of inquest hearings began on Wednesday August 7.
The inquest continues.
The inquest into William's disappearance began in March this year, with the first batch of hearings focused on the toddler's family situation and the events leading up to his disappearance. The second tranche of inquest hearings began on Wednesday August 7
Timeline of William Tyrrell's disappearance
Still missing: William Tyrrell vanished from his foster grandmother's home three-and-a-half years ago
2014
September 12 - Dressed in a Spiderman outfit, three-year-old William Tyrrell goes missing from the garden while visiting members of his foster family on the NSW north coast.
September 21 - Police stop searching for the missing boy after scouring surrounding bushland and neighbouring houses.
2015
January 20 - Police search the home and business of washing machine repairman Bill Spedding, who had been due to carry out repairs at the house at the time the three-year-old went missing.
Detectives take items for testing including a mattress, computer and vehicles. They drain his septic tank.
January 23 - The washing machine repairman publicly denies any involvement in William's disappearance and says he and his wife are on the verge of a breakdown due to the public attention.
February 19 - Homicide detectives take over the case and say it's likely William was abducted.
March 2 - Police fruitlessly search an area of bushland near Bonny Hills for three days after a tip-off.
April 17 - William's foster parents speak publicly for the first time in an emotional video released through police which does not identify them.
April 17 - Police say the boy may have been a victim of a paedophile ring.
September 6 - The Nine Network's 60 Minutes reveal two suspicious cars were parked on the street the morning William went missing.
September 12 - 'Where's William' week is launched one year after he disappeared.
2016
September 12 - A $1million reward is offered for information leading to William's return.
2017
August 24 - William's foster child status is revealed after a landmark court ruling.
2018
June 12 - NSW Police announce the start of a four-week forensic search of bushland conducted by Strike Force Rosann.
June 14 - William's grandmother scolds police who have failed to find the young boy after four years, and claims their latest search is 'just for show'.
June 26 - The forensic search continues on what would have been William's seventh birthday.
June 27 - Strike Force Rosann announces it will move the search to an 800sqm block of bushland just 4km from where William was last seen alive.
June 5 - The latest search ends with Detective Chief Inspector Gary Jubelin saying the case could soon go to a coroner.
August - Investigation leader Detective Chief Inspector Gary Jubelin and a sergeant get into a disagreement during a briefing.
September 13 - Police reveal they found a burned out car wreck belonging to a former person of interest.
December 19 - Coroners say William could still be alive and the inquest will determine if he died or not.
2019
February - DCI Jubelin is removed from the investigation amid a misconduct probe.
March 25 - The inquest into William Tyrrell's disappearance begins, with William's biological and foster parents appearing over the course of a week.
The inquest's first batch of hearings focused on William's family situation and the events leading up to his disappearance.
Both his foster and biological parents were quizzed, as were neighbours who helped in the search.
It was disclosed that William's biological parents absconded with him for six weeks in 2012, following a children's court order.
William's biological father slammed authorities for letting them down.
'Authorities f***ed up ... The minister had a duty of care to keep William safe until he was 18. That was not the case at all.'
May: DCI Jubelin quits the Police Force.
June: Four charges of breaching the Surveillance Devices Act are laid against DCI Jubelin. He denies any wrongdoing whatsover
August: The second tranche of inquest hearings began on Wednesday August 7
