Daniel Morcombe
Daniel Morcombe
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| Date | 7 December 2003 |
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| Location | Abducted from Nambour Connection Road, Woombye, Queensland Remains discovered near Kings Road Glass House Mountains, Queensland |
| Coordinates | 26°40′1.5″S 152°58′38.5″E / 26.667083°S 152.977361°ECoordinates: 26°40′1.5″S 152°58′38.5″E / 26.667083°S 152.977361°E |
| Outcome | Deceased |
| Inquiries | Ongoing |
| Convicted | Brett Peter Cowan |
| Charges | Murder Deprivation of liberty Child stealing Indecent treatment of a child under 16 Interfering with a corpse |
| Verdict | Guilty |
| Publication bans | Lifted after parents' request |
| Website | danielmorcombe |
Daniel James Morcombe (19 December 1989 – 7 December 2003) was an Australian boy, aged 13, who was abducted from the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, on 7 December 2003. In August 2011, Brett Peter Cowan (born 18 September 1969), a former Sunshine Coast resident, was charged with Morcombe's murder. In the same month, DNA tests confirmed bones, found in an area being searched by the State Emergency Service (SES) under the guidance of the police, were Morcombe's.
On 13 March 2014, Cowan was found guilty of the murder of Daniel Morcombe. Cowan was sentenced to life imprisonment for indecently dealing with a child and interference with a corpse. He will be eligible for parole in August 2031.
Morcombe was abducted from an unofficial bus stop under the Kiel Mountain Road overpass in the Woombye district of the Sunshine Coast approximately 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) north of The Big Pineapple on Sunday, 7 December 2003. Morcombe planned to catch the 1:35 pm bus to the Sunshine Plaza Shopping Centre for a haircut and to buy Christmas presents for his family, but he failed to return.
Witnesses reported seeing Morcombe at approximately 2:10 pm on the Nambour Connection Road under the Kiel Mountain Road overpass. The bus he was supposed to catch had broken down a few kilometres before his stop, and was behind schedule. When a replacement bus eventually arrived, Morcombe hailed the bus, but it carried on without stopping, due to its delay and the fact that his stop was only an unofficial request stop. The driver of the bus radioed the depot for another bus to go and pick up Morcombe. The bus driver and other witnesses later reported seeing a man standing a distance behind Morcombe and another man slightly further away at the time. When the second bus came a couple of minutes later, Morcombe and the man had both gone.
In 2011, Perth man Brett Peter Cowan was arrested and charged with Morcombe's abduction and murder. He confessed to having approached Morcombe to offer him a lift to the shopping centre.
Morcombe owned a distinctive fob style pocket watch with "Dan" engraved on it, which has not been found.
The death of Daniel Morcombe was one of the most extensively investigated crimes in Queensland's history.
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Wikipedia