NSW Police have found another piece of fabric as they continue to search for the remains missing boy William Tyrrell on the NSW Mid-North Coast.
The piece of fabric found near a creek bed has been sent to Sydney to be forensically tested.
It is among a series of items located at the site in Kendall which include two strands of red thread, a piece of light blue cloth and a hessian bag.
Late on Saturday afternoon, the main search area was lashed by a short but violent thunderstorm.
Officers spent Sunday morning cleaning up a site about a kilometre from the home of William's foster-grandmother in Kendall after it was hit by strong winds and heavy rain.
Police yesterday focused on clearing dense bush and debris across the square-kilometre site while the majority of digging and sifting has been put on hold.
Some of the gazebos police had put up to protect the site were blown over, others collapsed under the weight of rain.
The damage has now been cleaned up and the search has resumed but the focus will be on clearing undergrowth rather than trying to sift through sodden soil.
More rain is predicted over the next few days with the Bureau of Meteorology issuing an alert for potential minor flooding in the area.
A fresh team of 30 police officers yesterday relieved those who had spent the last week searching for William’s remains.
Police last week returned to where three-year-old William was last seen seven years ago — his late foster-grandmother's home in Kendall.
Police conducted fresh searches and it was expected their probe, which would focus on three never-before-scoured sites, would take about three weeks.
However, police say the operation will likely take longer than planned with only 15 per cent of the site searched so far.
Several forensic tools are being used by police to try to find William's remains, including ground-penetrating radars and cadaver dogs.
William disappeared in September 2014, and despite a massive police investigation, no one has ever been charged and no body has been found.
Last week, a car that once belonged to William's foster-grandmother was seized in Sydney's south and is undergoing forensic examination at a secure facility, with results not expected for several weeks.
A creek was drained in Kendall on Friday as police expanded the search site.
