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The image of the three-year-old playing on the veranda of his foster grandparents home in Kendall, on the NSW mid-north coast, was taken on the day he disappeared on September 12, 2014.
The photo was circulated as part of the search and was used as crucial 'proof of life' evidence which helped investigators establish a time frame for his disappearance.
However, that timeline has now been thrown into doubt revelations in the photo's metadata that suggest the picture may have been taken earlier.
The image has a 'created time' of 7.39am and a 'corrected time' of 9.37am, a new document from the 2000-page evidence brief obtained by
The Australian shows.
Police have now been ordered an urgent probe into the 118 unexplained minutes between the time of the photo and when William vanished.
The 'proof of life' timeframe was based on when the image was taken (9.37am) and when his foster mother called the police (10.57am).
Why the last photo of William Tyrrell in his Spiderman suit could hold the key to solving mystery | Daily Mail Online