Homicide Squad detectives searching for missing three-year-old boy William Tyrell have begun scouring bushland on the NSW Mid North Coast on Monday, six months after the toddler vanished from the back yard of his grandmother's home.
Police said a tip-off had led them to an area of dense bushland at Bonny Hills, about 20 kilometres from the small town of Kendall where William disappeared in September last year.
A NSW Police spokeswoman said the area police would begin searching was near Houston Mitchell Drive and Long Point Road in Bonny Hills, but she would not divulge the exact location.
Officers are believed to be focusing on an area of dense bushland in the Queens Lake State Forest.
The search will be co-ordinated by the Homicide Squad, with assistance from the Riot Squad, operational support group, Dog Unit and water police.
Homicide commander Superintendent Michael Willing said at a press conference in Parramatta on Monday that the tip-off had nothing to do with the location of a body.
"This will not be the last search in regards to this investigation," Superintendent Willing said.
"There is always that possibility [of finding a body] but we are searching for evidence at this point."
He said the search would focus on an area a few kilometres wide and would last for a number of days.
Officers on Monday would conduct a line search by hand and consider the possibility of digging if they found anything significant, he said.
"A search by hand and see what comes from that," Superintendent Willing said.
The head of the investigation, Detective Inspector Gary Jubelin, continues to be in close contact with William's family as the search continues, Superintendent Willing said.
"They are very distraught; we are in daily contact with them," he said.
It is the second time that police have descended on the town of Bonny Hills this year in their investigation into William's disappearance.
In January, police searched the Bonny Hills home of washing machine repairman William Spedding, 63, using an excavator and draining a septic tank at the semi-rural property in Wandoo Place. They also searched Mr Spedding's pawnbroker business in the nearby town of Laurieton.
Police have said Mr Spedding is not a suspect in William's disappearance, but is a person of interest in the case.
"At the very highest he is a person of interest but he is not the only person of interest," Superintendent Willing said.
At the time his home was searched, Mr Spedding said the police search had been difficult for him and his family, and that he and his wife were on the verge of having nervous breakdowns.
Mr Spedding had visited the home of William's grandmother four days before the boy's disappearance after a request to repair a washing machine.
A close friend, Colin, said Mr Spedding did not return to the grandmother's house with a spare part for the washing machine on the day William went missing because he could not get in contact with her.
Strike Force Rosann had been established to investigate William's disappearance.
 
William was wearing a Spider-Man suit and playing in the backyard with his sister when he disappeared, as their mother made a cup of tea.
Police sources have told Fairfax Media it is most likely the boy was abducted.
A 10-kilometre search of the area surrounding the house in the days after he disappeared failed to find any trace of him.
The search lasted for weeks and involved the NSW Police, Rural Fire Service, the State Emergency Service and more than 200 people from the area.
Investigators have searched every corner of the 21 houses in the bushland estate where William was last seen.
Anyone with information has been urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
