This was published 8 years ago
One year on: William Tyrrell still in our hearts and minds
By Amy Mitchell-Whittington
It's been one year since a three-year-old boy dressed in a Spider-Man suit went missing on the NSW Mid North Coast.
One year on and police still have no idea of what happened the morning William Tyrrell disappeared from his grandmother's home in Kendall.
One year on and the drive to find William has not diminished, with more than 150 people gathering at Glindemann Park in Holland Park on Saturday to represent William, ensuring this little boy's life is not forgotten.
Administrator for the Walk 4 William Facebook group and co-ordinator of the event Michelle Cooper says the walk is about proving there are so many in the community who still care about William.
Spider-Man gear featured prominently on Walk for William Day in Brisbane.Credit: Robert Shakespeare
"If we all just sit back and do nothing, then nothing will ever get done, so I thought why not do something," the mother-of-one said.
"I had just become a mum and it made me quite emotional to read his story."
It seems that thousands of Australians felt the same, with roughly 65 events hosted in Queensland, over 240 events nationally and six internationally.
"You don't have to be a small town to have that small town community coming together.
Walk for William Day.Credit: Robert Shakespeare
"We can still be in a big city and still come together like a small town does," Ms Cooper said.
The event consisted of a walk around the park, police presenting information on child safety, the Wishart fire brigade doing a meet and greet, along with a Spider-Man jumping castle and free community barbecue.
The grassroots event relied on donations from local businesses and asked the public to build their own signs and come dressed in red and blue, in solidarity with William.
"The beautiful thing about what we are doing is that everything has been done on a grassroots level, with everything donated," Ms Cooper said.
"We asked people to dig into their hearts not their pockets.
"The iconic image that we are all familiar with is of William in his Spider-Man outfit; it something that we can have to connect with him."
Ms Cooper hopes the event helped show the world that William is still very much in the minds and hearts concerned Australians.