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Nine years ago William Tyrrell was running around his grandmother's house, a semi-rural property flanked by large trees and bush, in his Spider-Man suit.
And then, some time around 10.30am, the three-year-old vanished.
In a 2015 interview, William's foster mother described how she heard the boy playing on the deck of the house, making a roaring tiger noise, and then "nothing".
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What happened to William on that September morning in 2014 remains a mystery, but it's believed the boy, who would be 12 if still alive, is dead.
A $1 million dollar reward for information about William's disappearance is still on the table, unclaimed seven years after it was offered. It was a record reward at the time.
Today the group Where's William urged anyone who knows what happened to the missing boy to come forward, on the ninth anniversary of his disappearance.
"We will never give up," the group said in a statement.
"Today, as we mark nine heartbreaking years since the tragic day this precious little boy was taken from all those he loved and who love him; please light a candle for William and join us in maintaining hope that the person who knows what happened to him finds the courage to come forward and tell police what they know."
Strike Force Rosann, the operation set up to find William, is one of the largest investigations ever undertaken by the NSW Police Force.
But despite the huge resources thrown at the case, which has involved a team of full time investigators and analysts, there's not been a single significant breakthrough.
There have, however, been all kinds of twists and turns.
In June, 9News exclusively reported detectives believe there is enough evidence to potentially charge William's foster mother over the toddler's disappearance.
Detectives have been investigating allegations there was a deadly accident at the home in Kendall, on the NSW Mid North Coast, and the then-three-year-old's body was disposed of by his foster mother.
The now-58-year-old woman, who cannot be identified, has always denied any involvement in the little boy's disappearance.
Two years earlier, in 2021, teams of detectives and officers descended on the property where William was last seen, focusing on the area below the balcony in the backyard.
Hopes were high the cold case could finally be blown wide open.
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Officers searched gardens, a dam and bushland a kilometre from the house – an area ravaged by fire and flood – but there was no trace of any remains.
As leads went nowhere over the years, question marks began to hover over the investigation, and how it was carried out.
Gary Jubelin was appointed to lead the investigation five months after William disappeared, but the detective was sensationally removed in 2019.
One year later, Jubelin was found guilty of illegally recording four conversations with a person in relation to the case, and he was fined $10,000.
Last month a man maliciously pursued as a prime suspect in William's disappearance was awarded $1.8 million by a NSW court.
Tradesman Bill Spedding was wrongfully accused of historical child sexual abuse by police to pressure him to give evidence about the three-year-old's whereabouts.
The memory of William hangs over the town of Kendall.
