William Tyrrell 'could have been murdered by stranger', inquest told

The inquest into the disappearance of William Tyrrell has been told he was most likely taken and driven away in a car.

Opening the second section of the inquest, Counsel Assisting Gerard Craddock SC said even if he had been moving quickly, it was 'not rational' to think the three-year-old would have kept ahead of emergency services.

He said it was possible the NSW toddler was murdered by a stranger, despite international studies showing 97 percent of perpetrators were family members or acquaintances.  

"The present state of the evidence is that if William was murdered, and that's a big if, then it may be one of those rare three percent of cases," he said.

He said cases like William's were among the most difficult to solve, but detectives were still following active leads and believed the case can be solved.

William disappeared from his foster grandmother's house on the NSW Mid North Coast in 2014.

Several 'persons of interest' had been identified since then and some could be among the 50 or so witnesses called.

The second section of the inquest has been set down for three weeks, which includes five days in Taree.

The court was told some persons could have more information, but not all.

"It would be a mistake to believe a particular person who we call to give evidence is guilty of abducting William, Counsel Craddock, said.

"We expect to lead evidence that tends to contradict that one or more such persons had some involvement or know of the circumstances of William's disappearance."

Former lead investigator Gary Jubelin was among those in court today.

He was sensationally removed from the case before being charged with offences under the surveillance act.

He has pleaded not guilty to the allegations.