Graffiti about missing toddler William Tyrrell has been spray-painted onto a tree stump in a NSW forest near where he was last seen in 2014.
"Jesus saves William Tyrell (sic)" was found on the stump in the state forest about 10km south of Kendall on the NSW mid-north coast on Sunday, police said.
A number of small items were found in a jar beneath the stump, which are believed to be part of a geocaching game.
Geocaching is a GPS-based treasure hunt game where people swap small items for items previously hidden at the geocache site by other players.
A member of the public alerted police to the cryptic message.
"How's this, driving through Middle Brother state forest and we came across this stump. A bit odd don't you think?" Bob Carnes said in a Facebook post with photos of the tree stump.
"Fresh paint mate ain't been there long," Mr Carnes said in a comment.
After searching the area, police said they believed the items and graffiti were part of a geocaching site.
"Given the circumstances of William's disappearance, police are disappointed that it has been included in a recreational game," a NSW police spokeswoman told AAP.
Three-year-old William went missing from his grandmother's backyard at Kendall on the NSW mid-north coast in September 2014.
Inside the container at the tree stump was a black compass put there by geocacher Shannon Kershaw, who said she was the last person to find that geocache site.
"Gazzy and I put that compass in there a few weeks back - there was no graffiti on the stump then though!" Ms Kershaw said on Facebook.
