A retiree who searched bushland alone in the 48 hours after William Tyrrell went missing in 2014 has told the boy's inquest he has always done his best to help the police.
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Paul Savage lived across the road from William's foster grandmother's house in Kendall, on NSW's mid-north coast, where the three-year-old was last seen about 10.15am on September 12.
The 75-year-old widower, who has given several detailed statements to police about his movements that day, on Friday said his memory was "not real good" compared to five years ago.
He told the inquest into William's disappearance it was possible his memories of that day had blended with conversations he'd since had with people.
The inquest on Thursday heard there were some discrepancies among Mr Savage's multiple statements including one given in late September 2014.
"Had you known you'd been asked (some very detailed questions) five years later, you'd probably have wished they had been asked back then, wouldn't you?" Mr Savage's barrister, Chris McGorey, asked on Friday.
"Yes," the retiree replied.
On the morning William went missing, Mr Savage says he searched a nearby fire trial alone after seeing that other neighbours were looking in the street, the inquest has been told.
He didn't tell anyone that he'd found nothing and he assumed the boy was still missing because police were arriving in the street.
While he participated in SES and police searches later that afternoon, he said he took it upon himself the next day to search solo along a creek running through bushland behind his and neighbouring homes.
Mr Savage said he'd always done the best he could to tell police what he remembered, including in September 2017 when detectives arrived unannounced at his home and asked him to participate in a filmed walkthrough interview.
The widower choked back tears when he was asked about that police video showing a room with photos of his late wife, Heather, and flowers placed nearby.
Heather Savage died of cancer in April 2015.
"You set up it as a bit of a thing for her?" Mr McGorey asked.
"It was my ... yeah," Mr Savage replied.
He said her death had been "very hard" to cope with and he'd been further knocked around by his brother's death this year. The inquest continues.
Australian Associated Press
