MORE than 100 days after he disappeared from a Kendall yard, three-year-old William Tyrell is still missing and will be markedly absent throughout the festive season.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The state crime command's homicide squad took charge of the investigation in early December.
But detective inspector Hans Rupp said the public shouldn't read too much into his squad's involvement.
"We're only involved because we want to make sure it is done thoroughly," the homicide investigator said.
"We don't know whether William is alive or dead at this stage."
There was a huge community response when William went missing from Benaroon Drive on the morning of September 12.
Hundreds of people converged on Kendall Showground and turned it into the hub for searchers over the weekend and into the next week.
Some stayed for days, making cups of tea and keeping spirits high while volunteers laboured under the unbearable thought that such a little boy was so completely lost.
The media conferences' content changed as it became clear the authorities' focus was shifting.
Superintendent Paul Fehon announced Strike Force Rosann's formation on September 16, which included officers from the public order and riot squad, police mounted unit, dog unit, aviation support unit, and the trail and bike squads.
The search would continue, Mr Fehon said, "while there is still a chance William is out there".
Nearly three months later the homicide squad are conscious of the community's concern over Christmas.
Mr Rupp said he and his team are "pursuing a number of lines of inquiry, and we will persist with them for some time".
The investigator did not rule out seeking the public's help, as his team did in November when they used security footage from the Kendall Tennis Club.
He stressed that the search for William is far from over.
"It's going to go on for some time, there's no doubt of that."
Osteopath Peg Landon said each day William is missing the community changes more.
Her property was one of the first searched on the Friday.
She has mostly cleared land, but it backs on to the Kendall State Forest where William may have wandered.
She and husband Theo invited searchers to check sheds and dams immediately.
"Things are different now," she said months later.
"There's a lot of fear around, people hurrying home after dark.
"You never see children in the street any more."
Kendall is different now. Such a shocking event has undeniable impacts which are obvious soon after crossing the Camden Haven River bridge.
Ease along Comboyne Street past the liquor store and other little shops, and it's hard to shake the sense that the person who took William may have stopped nearby for directions.
Wind past the Catholic Church on Laurel St and around the corner and no-one's standing outside their homes on Batar Creek Road. The usual summertime gathering on plastic furniture of family members and those from far away has been abandoned this year.
"People don't really wave to each other any more," Ms Landon said. "I don't know if they're even looking these days."
