New South Wales (NSW) Police have revealed they are “very happy” with the items they’ve discovered as part of the renewed William Tyrrell search, despite poor weather conditions hampering police efforts in the past week.

Detective chief superintendent Darren Bennett provided a brief update on the latest operational activities of Strike Force Rosann, telling reporters “we are very happy with the progress so far”.

“The update is that the search continues. It is painstaking, it is difficult,” he said. “We’re very happy with the items we’ve found in terms of their relevance to the investigation, in terms of both eliminating people or proving what happened to William Tyrrell.

“The investigative team’s message to me is that what they’ve located there and what they’ve done so far is cause enough to keep going.”

Police initially expected the search to last two to three weeks but Bennett believes “we’ll have to double that now” given the poor weather conditions. “It is obvious to all of us that we couldn’t have picked a worse time in terms of weather,” he said.

The search has entered its 12th day following the announcement from police that renewed searches for William Tyrell would commence after new information came to light.

Since the searches began, police have scoured the Kendall property where William went missing, dug up the garden below the second-floor balcony, and sifted through dirt for any clues as to the boy’s disappearance. Cadaver dogs have also been spotted being taken around the area, as forensic teams sprayed the chemical luminol around the property to highlight any traces of blood that may have been present.

Authorities have also collected and photographed several pieces of fabric, which have been taken away for further forensic testing. Detectives also recently revealed they had seized a Mazda on November 9 to undergo “extensive forensic examinations and analysis”.

Incoming police commissioner Karen Webb told 2GB Radio on Thursday this week, “there’s no stone being unturned” in the large-scale investigation. “It’s a long, laborious search and obviously the weather conditions up there at the moment are unfavourable. But police will pursue that, no matter what,” she said. “It’s been seven years now and that’s a long time but we’re not going to give up.”