Police divers have arrived to search a murky dam and swamp not far from an isolated house in dense bush as the investigation into the suspected abduction of William Tyrrell continues.
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Water police from Sydney arrived just after 11am on Wednesday with an inflatable boat that will be used to search waterways inside a bush reserve between Bonny Hills and Lake Cathie on the state's mid-north coast.
The officers have arrived on day three of a painstaking search aimed at finding anything that will help police locate the missing three-year-old, including his favourite red and blue Spider Man suit that he was wearing when he vanished almost six months ago.
Police have also brought in a sniffer dog and his specialist handler to help examine the dense bushland which is about 21 kilometres away from where William disappeared from his grandmother's house in September last year.
About midday two divers were seen wearing masks and breathing apparatus as they searched through knee-deep water in a small dam off Long Point Trail in the Queens Lake Conservation Area.
After completing the dam search, the divers were expected to drive further down the dirt trail to search a larger swamp.
A search involving 30 officers began on Monday, but Fairfax Media has been told that only a few soft drink cans and a number of logging markers have been found so far.
A source has said police were on the look out for William's favourite Spider Man suit and any other items of interest.
On Tuesday, the son of tradesman Bill Spedding said his father had nothing to do with the disappearance of the little boy.
Mr Spedding's Bonny Hills home and Laurieton office was raided by police in January, following William's disappearance from his grandmother's home in September.
The 63-year-old became a focus of investigations after police learned he was due to fix a washing machine at William's grandmother's house about the time the toddler disappeared.
Police say Mr Spedding was not a suspect but a person of interest, and insist they have a number of lines of inquiry.
Rodney Spedding said his father had been unfairly harassed by the media, even though a number of other homes and properties had been searched by police – some up to three times, he believed.
This week's search has been focused on finding "evidence", police said, although the homicide detective in charge of the investigation said finding a body was always a possibility.
"Of course when we are looking for evidence that would also include a body," Detective Inspector Gary Jubelin said at the search site.
"Clearly the fact and the resources that we dedicated to the search we thought it was worthwhile information to follow up," he said.
Police are urging anyone with information in relation to this incident to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
