William Tyrrell update: Key figure doesn’t have an alibi

A fresh media report has revealed a person of interest in the William Tyrrell case has been unable to provide police with an alibi for the day of the boy’s disappearance.

7News‘ new two-part documentary investigation The Disappearance of William Tyrrell, which aired Sunday night, broke the revelation, revealing convicted pedophile Frank Abbott — who is currently serving prison time for the sexual assault of three young children — was questioned by police about his movements on the day the boy went missing.

On September 12, 2014, the then three-year-old vanished without a trace from his foster grandmother’s home in Kendall. He was last seen playing with his sister, wearing a distinctive Spider-Man suit. Over the years, the family has never given up hope, with the Australian community rallying behind them in hopes he will be found or at least they will get some answers as to what happened that fateful day.

According to the 7News report, Abbott was living about 12 kilometres from Kendall in September 2014 when William went missing, however he has maintained he had nothing to do with the disappearance. The investigation also revealed Abbott’s own son died at the age of three in circumstances that can’t be made public.

Despite Abbott saying he had nothing to do with the disappearance, and Starts at 60 does not suggest otherwise, a case witness, whose true identity is suppressed by a court order, told the program a lot of evidence points to the elderly man.

“I believe that he, Frank, dropped (friend Ray Porter) off at hospital and had access to Ray’s car.”

Meanwhile, child protection advocate Adam Washbourne told the program police had not wanted to reveal the number of pedophiles living in the area at the time of William’s disappearance.

“There were 20 sex offenders in the Kendall area,” he said. “Do you think there’s a street where there isn’t a registered sex offender? I’ve got news for you if you do. They are in every town, every suburb, the safest places. They are monsters, predators, stalkers, and they live among us.”

The new detail comes a few weeks after The Daily Telegraph reported police are focussing on a person of interest who had previously been ruled out by detectives.

“It shines a totally new complexion on what investigators believe happened to William,” a senior police officer told the news site at the time.