Police have widened their search for a three-year-old boy missing on the NSW mid-north coast to any unknown people who may have come into the tiny town of Kendall.
Five days after William Tyrell disappeared from the front yard of his grandparents' house on Benaroon Drive, police launched Strike Force Rosann on Tuesday and appealed to anyone who may have seen unknown people or vehicles in the area.
Fairfax Media believes that one line of inquiry is a man who asked staff in a local shop for directions to Benaroon Drive on Friday, before William went missing.
The boy was last seen at 10.30am wearing a Spiderman suit. His older sister, mother and grandmother had gone inside for a matter of minutes when he vanished.
Hundreds of SES, RFS and local volunteers scoured thick bushland on Tuesday and searched nearby dams and waterways for a second time; however, there has been no trace of the boy.
Sniffer dogs and cadaver dogs found no scent in the yard, fuelling fears he may have been abducted.
The Sex Crimes Squad and investigators with expertise in unexplained disappearances of young children joined a team of 30 investigators on Tuesday.
Police are examining possible sightings from as far away as Casino.
Superintendent Paul Fehon said it was "totally baffling that there's no lead at this time".
"We would have thought we would have had some indication of something," he said.
Shop owners on Kendall's main street said they had been told not to comment on a man who asked for directions to Benaroon Drive.
Family friend Nicole, speaking on behalf of William's parents, described William as a "happy, cheeky, adventurous" boy who "loved everything to do with Spider-Man", fire engines and police cars.
Nicole said William had not been known to wander away on his own before. His parents were "devastated", and his sister knew her brother was "lost", she said.
Janelle Nosworthy, owner of Miss Nellie's cafe, said community members were feeling "discouraged" as the search concluded with no results for a fifth day.
"It's a very close country town and it has really struck a chord; but people are getting a little bit discouraged now," she said.
