William Tyrrell disappeared 8 years ago today. Gary Jubelin wants a public inquiry into the case.

When Gary Jubelin watched detectives lift up a piece of red material in front of news cameras last year during an investigative dig at an NSW property, he knew it was of no significance. 

He knew for certain it wasn't from the Spider-Man suit three-year-old William Tyrrell was last seen in, when he vanished from his foster grandmother's home on September 12, 2014. 

"I could tell straight away," he told me during our conversation on Mamamia's true crime podcast, True Crime Conversations.

Listen to my whole interview with Gary Jubelin on True Crime Conversations. Post continues.

When he learned where the police were concentrating their attention during the highly publicised searches, he knew they'd find nothing there. Because he'd already meticulously searched those areas when he was in charge of the investigation into the missing boy for four years. 

In November 2021, it seemed like a conclusion for the case was imminent. Camera crews flocked to the small town of Kendall, and Australia watched on as those in charge told us they were looking for remains. That they had new evidence. 

But after 11 days and a flurry of activity, nothing was found. Like us, Gary was sure they were going to produce something. Why else would police have made the whole ordeal so public? He was left feeling perplexed by the level of access journalists were afforded. 

"I sincerely hand on heart say I hope they solve this crime, but I've never seen anything like it. I've never seen the media announcement that I was watching... I thought it was only a matter of time that someone was going to be charged," he said.

Watching from the sidelines for the past three years has been hard for the former homicide detective because he made a promise to William's family - he'd do everything he could to find out what happened to him. 

Eight years later, to the day, and we still don't know where William is.

The last photo of William Tyrrell, the little boy in the Spiderman suit who went missing in 2014. Image: NSW Police. 

Gary was forced from the investigation in 2019 when he was charged with illegally recording four conversations with a person of interest, allegations he was later convicted for. 

He's not ashamed of what he did. In fact he told me, "I had a reason for recording those conversations...the courts have deemed not, but that's a side issue." 

The whole debacle led to Gary resigning from the police force altogether, and he's now enjoying a new career in journalism. But he's still asked about the little boy in the Spider-Man suit every day, and last year, after holding his tongue for many years, he was dragged back into the investigation publicly. 

Read more: Everything we know about the search for William Tyrrell. 

While the new search was getting underway, then NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller took the extraordinary step of criticising Gary Jubelin's investigation into William's disappearance.

"The investigation was looking at some persons of interest that were clearly not, and I think some time was wasted on that, and bushland is overgrown,” Mr Fuller told 2GB Radio.

"But a new team on board… inherited what was a bit of a mess and have cleaned up that investigation."

Gary told True Crime Conversations: "That's unprecedented...it's an active investigation.

"First of all, the commissioner criticising the investigation - I don't think was smart. 

"Secondly, the documents that were attained in the New South Wales police would support my position that there was no criticism of the way the investigation was done. So I'm not sure if he was misinformed by other people... I don't know why he decided to come out and say that, but that dragged me back into the public arena."

It was especially frustrating for Gary, given he wasn't even allowed to do a handover to the detective replacing him when he was taken off the case.

"I had a lot of information I could have at least handed on, but I wasn't given the opportunity to do that," he said.

Gary is also critical of what he calls "mischievous information" that was being released to the media at the time of the 2021 search, about William's foster mother. 

She was charged with allegedly assaulting a child as the search for the boy ramped up in November last year.

"I don't like how this played out, and this person has been charged with these offences and that becomes front page... What I can say is that those charges have absolutely nothing to do with the abduction of a three-year-old boy eight years ago. So I think the public needs to take a step back," he said.

In 2022, Gary is calling for a public external inquiry into the William Tyrrell investigation.

He knows that will put him under intense scrutiny, but given the internal bickering, misinformation and allegations being thrown around - he thinks it's warranted.

"There's a double-edged sword to that if I'm calling for a public inquiry. If I've done wrong, I'm going to be the one criticised. But it's too important - a three-year-old child has disappeared. If we have made mistakes, those mistakes need to be identified to ensure they haven't happened again."

For Gary, it all comes back to William and those who love him.

It's the reason he dedicated his new book Badness to the missing boy - because the victim is the most important thing. 

"I know the frustration of the family with this internal bickering, and yeah, I'm part of it...but that focus should be on finding William," he told True Crime Conversations. 

Eight years on, we're still no closer to finding answers. 

You can find out more about Gary Jubelin's new book Badness, here.

If you have any information on the William Tyrrell case, please call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Feature image: NSW Police/ Don Arnold/WireImage/Mamamia.

TAKE SURVEY ➤