Images of missing child William Tyrrell with his foster family, taken at a McDonald's the day before he vanished, have been released to the public for the first time.

Key points: The CCTV stills show William's foster mother and father taking him to the Heatherbrae McDonalds on September 11, 2014

The CCTV stills show William's foster mother and father taking him to the Heatherbrae McDonalds on September 11, 2014 The three-year-old vanished the following morning, sparking a massive investigation

The three-year-old vanished the following morning, sparking a massive investigation A redacted statement by Senior Constable Wendy Hudson was also released, detailing William's foster mother's recollection of the day

NSW Deputy Coroner Harriet Grahame is overseeing an inquest into then-three-year-old William's disappearance from his foster grandmother's front yard at Kendall, on the mid-north coast, in 2014.

The CCTV stills show William's foster mother and father taking him to the Heatherbrae McDonald's restaurant, north of Newcastle, about 6:30pm on Thursday September 11, 2014.

William can be seen sitting on his foster father's shoulders.

The group orders a meal at the counter and sits to eat for about 10 minutes before leaving.

The three-year-old vanished the following morning, sparking an enormous police investigation and record $1 million reward for information.

On Tuesday, Ms Grahame also released a redacted statement by Senior Constable Wendy Hudson from October 2014, which details her involvement in the search operation.

The CCTV stills show William's foster mother and father taking him to a McDonald's on September 11, 2014. ( Supplied: McDonald's )

Senior Constable Hudson recalled a conversation with William's foster mother where she recalled William wearing a Spiderman costume and "roaring like a lion", until the playful noises stopped.

"I went looking for him around the front, there was nothing, just silent, no cars, nothing," the officer recalled the foster mother saying.

Finding William 'primary focus and greatest hope'

In August, the Deputy Coroner rejected an application for former detective Gary Jubelin, who led the investigation, to be added to the witness list.

Detective Jubelin was sidelined from the investigation over allegations he unlawfully recorded conversations without a warrant. He pleaded not guilty.

Ms Grahame said her "primary focus and greatest hope" was to find out what happened to William and it was not the time to look into the adequacy of the police investigation.

Earlier this month, washing machine repairman Bill Spedding broke his silence about his "shattered" life after being named as a person of interest.

Mr Spedding, who had visited the foster family's home three days before William vanished, told Four Corners the investigation ruined his life and destroyed his business.

The inquest has previously heard Mr Spedding was with his wife Margaret at a local cafe before attending a primary school assembly on the morning William vanished.

The court was shown a receipt from the cafe to back up the evidence and also heard from a parent who said they saw Mr Spedding at the school event.

The inquest adjourned in August and will resume in Taree in March next year.