'It will be sad seeing Daniel leaving the church': Denise

Daniel James Morcombe

News was publish yesterday, 7th December 2012 by Sunshine Coast Daily.

BRUCE and Denise Morcombe say it will be hard watching their son Daniel being taken from the church to the cemetery today but they will be fulfilling a vow to see that he is buried with dignity.

The couple have spent a frantic few days trying to pull Daniel's funeral service together after having his remains released by the Coroner only late last week.

For the past two weeks they have also been attending the committal hearing of the man accused of abducting and murdering Daniel.

But yesterday they were confident they had done all they could to ensure a special farewell for their Dan.

"The service will be very beautiful,'' Bruce Morcombe said.

"Denise has spent a lot of time on that with a lot of helpers.''

"I'm sure it will be something respectful to remember Daniel as he should be - a fine young boy.''

"We hope to move forward to finally say goodbye.''

"It will be sad seeing Daniel leaving the church and going to the cemetery but we have always said we wanted him buried with dignity and the church service will be the best way we are able to give him that,'' Denise said.

"I think he will be pretty proud.''

In a wide-ranging interview with Channel 9's A Current Affair, the Morcombes opened up about the impact Daniel's loss had on not only them but his brothers Dean and twin Bradley.

They said while they had always put on a brave public face, privately there had been many 'dark days'.

"The faces you see are not the faces you see at the kitchen at home,'' Bruce said.

"There's certainly dark days and there's certainly tears at home.''

"We very rarely present that to the public.''

Asked if there had been rocky times in their marriage, they said there had been 'plenty of them', just as with other marriages.

"I think we have stuck together because we are both going through the same emotional turmoil,'' Denise said.

"If I have a bad day Bruce will 'kick me in the ribs' and say get up again.

"If he is having a bad day, I'll tell him off.''

Where I Found It?
Click Here

Daniel Morcombe farwelled in touching celebration of life

Baby Daniel

News was publish yesterday, 7th December 2012 by Sunshine Coast Daily.

THE funeral service for Daniel Morcombe has been a touching tribute to a young boy whose life was cut tragically short.

The service celebrated the life of a loved son, brother and friend.

It also paid tribute to the many who have been touched in so many ways since young Daniel first disappeared.

Police, SES volunteers and others who played a vital part in searching for Daniel were honoured and tributes were given by Daniel's brother Dean and father, Bruce.

The work of the Daniel Morcombe Foundation was celebrated for its role in increasing awareness of danger to thousands of children across the state.

Daniel's coffin left Sippy Downs to applause as his family headed to a private service.

Thousands who attended today's service joined in a guard of honour for Daniel's final farewell.

Daniel's parents arrived shortly before the scheduled start time of the funeral as family, friends and community members gathered to share in their grief.

Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and former Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson also made their way into the church.

The doors to the church opened at 10am and the steady stream of mourners continued through the morning, despite steady rain.

All people attending the church were expected to be seated at 10.45am, 15 minutes before the service was due to start.

>> View the Sunshine Coast Daily's front page tribute to Daniel

Work by volunteers early this morning, including students from Siena College, insured all was in readiness for the funeral.

Singing rehearsals were held and a media briefing was conducted early, ahead of the arrival of members of the public.

Rain fell steadily for most of the morning but the community worked together in a show of respect for Daniel and his family.

Where I Found It?
Click Here

Daniel Morcombe returned to his family's care

Mourners, including his immediate family, wore red as requested to farewell Daniel Morcombe, who was last seen alive in December 2003.

News was publish today, 8th December 2012 by The Australian.au.

THE bereaved father of murdered teenager Daniel Morcombe has implored Australians not to feel sad about his son's funeral because Daniel has finally been returned to his family.

Nine years after the teenager vanished from the Sunshine Coast, a 2000-strong funeral of family, friends and complete strangers gathered at St Catherine of Siena Catholic Church to commemorate Daniel's life.

Daniel's father, Bruce Morcombe, said nine years ago, to the day, a "moment in time that will live with us forever" occurred when evil was visited on them.

"I appeal to you all, please do not be sad," Mr Morcombe said.

"Appreciate that the evil act which took Daniel happened a long time ago. Today is about embracing his return to family and being reflective of what might have been."

Daniel disappeared from the roadside while waiting for a bus to go Christmas shopping on December 7, 2003, sparking the country's biggest missing persons investigation. Yesterday, Australians watched on through a live telecast as a still-wrapped Christmas present from 2003, a report card and a school photo that Daniel never got the chance to receive were placed on his coffin by his parents, Bruce and Denise.

The stoic and gently relentless pair sat between Daniel's older brother Dean and Daniel's twin Bradley for the requiem mass.

But when the opening song played an ashen-faced Mrs Morcombe sobbed. Her husband quietly held her hand.

Daniel's white casket, topped with red roses -- the colour that has come to symbolise a child-protection foundation in his name -- was draped in a pall during the service. Later it was borne by his brothers through a 150m honour guard of former schoolfriends and current students.

In a eulogy Dean said his little brother was a gifted student who loved animals and motocross.

A video montage of Daniel's short life showed the progression from a baby, through childhood, then ominously on to SES search crews, police divers and Daniel's image on the side of a milk carton.

It concluded with the words of former Queensland police commissioner Bob Atkinson when Daniel's alleged killer was charged. "It's an answer. It's a very sad answer but it's an answer," Mr Atkinson said.

Where I Found It?
Click Here

Daniel Morcombe finally put to rest nine years after he went out for presents and never came back

Daniel James Morcombe

News was publish yesterday, 7th December 2012 by Herald Sun.

ONE by one they start appearing. A woman with a red scarf, a man in a red shirt. The closer you get to the Sunshine Coast, the more people you see wearing red - red socks, red ties, red skirts, red dresses.

By the time you get to the beautiful school chapel at Sippy Downs where a 13-year-old boy was finally farewelled and laid to rest, a boy who should now be a young man starting out on life, there was a sea of red, a blazing red ocean of love.

See more pictures from the funeral here

Red was the colour of the shirt Daniel Morcombe was wearing the day he disappeared nine years ago.

It is the colour chosen by the foundation created in his name to symbolise safety awareness for children.

In the hands of the Morcombe family it has become the colour of hope and celebration.

Daniel Morcombe is forever frozen in the public imagination as a smiling, good-looking boy who went out to buy Christmas presents one morning and never came back.

Read the eulogies in full here

In the hard years since his abduction, his courageous and dignified mum and dad, Denise and Bruce, became Australia's most famous grieving parents.

But yesterday in a chapel open on all four sides to the air and the light, a chapel where an ordinary boy once sat just like all other ordinary kids who keep on being ordinary because the extraordinary mercifully never seeks them out, it was much-loved, ordinary Daniel who was remembered.

Daniel, champion arm-wrestler, fan of World Championship Wrestling, of dirt-bike riding. Daniel, mean maker of spaghetti bolognaise.

It was this ordinary kid who brought the oceans of people in red, many of whom never met him, but who felt an echo of the shock which ran through Daniel's parents, his grand-parents, his cousins, his older brother Dean and most especially his twin, Bradley, when the awful truth dawned that he might never come back.

GALLERY: The Daniel Morcombe story

It was Daniel from Siena Catholic College they came for in the rain.

The female police officer in her blue uniform with a slash of red lipstick because it was the only red thing she could find.

The two little girls in red shirts, India, 11, and Sienna, 8, sitting with their mum Tarn Davies from Peregian Beach, who works in child safety.

The girls have never been to a funeral before and have taken the day off school because their mum believes it's important they attend.

"There's just not enough child security in the world," she says. And here are other ordinary boys wearing Daniel's old school uniform, wiping down the rain-splattered chairs before the service.

See more pictures from the funeral here

Boys much like Daniel must have been, ribbing each other, careful of their hair in the wet.

Boys just beginning to notice girls, wearing red twists of ribbon pinned to their grey school shirts, or red cotton at their wrists.

Here are the Siena College girls, handing out red ribbons with safety pins.

Here are all the thousands of ordinary people - the SES workers, the police officers, the workers from nearby Australia Zoo, the volunteers, the mothers and fathers whose hearts went out to a frightened boy and his family.

The television crews have been setting up since 3am, and the traffic built up hours before the 11am service.

At the turn-off to the school road, a local business, T and G Sand and Gravel Centre, put out a sign reading "Farewell Daniel".

Soon, on the enormous wide screen set up outside the chapel so that the overflowing crowd can see the service, India spots someone famous.

"Who was the prime minister before Julia Gillard?" she asks. It's Kevin Rudd.

Then there's the white coffin of an ordinary boy, covered in red roses. Bruce and Denise are sitting in front of it, Denise's hands shaking, and the crowd watching outside on plastic chairs grows quiet.

Denise lowers her eyes, as if she can no longer bear to look up. Tarn Davies instinctively cradles her children. After the hymns, the liturgy of the sacrament, after his brother Dean and twin Bradley have spoken and all the prayers have flown up, there are cups of tea and biscuits for everyone in the school hall.

Then that immensely brave and unbreakable family bear the coffin from the chapel, down through the column of boys and girls, and out to the silver hearse, tied with red ribbons.

In private they will bury their precious child in the earth, the crowds dressed in red will separate and drift away, and life will go on.

The Morcombes want the short life of their son Daniel James not to be wasted, and for the darkness to be broken by the light.

SPECIAL PRESENTATION: Behind the search for Daniel Morcombe

Where I Found It?
Click Here

Daniel Morcombe funeral - Listen to the service

Daniel and his twin, Bradley

News was publish today, 7th December 2012 by ABC.net.au.

Final preparations are being made for Queensland teenager Daniel Morcombe's funeral on the Sunshine Coast tomorrow, nine years to the day since his abduction.

About 3,000 people are expected to attend the service at Siena Catholic College at Sippy Downs, which is the school Daniel and his brothers attended before the 13-year-old boy's murder.

Tomorrow there will be a requiem mass, a guard of honour, and a large television to broadcast the service outside the St Catherine of Siena church.

With approval from the family, ABC Radio will be attending the funeral and will be broadcasting the service online. The broadcast from the church will start at 8:30am with the funeral scheduled to begin at 11:00am (AEST).

Join the Morcombe family, the Sunshine Coast community and the ABC in farewelling Daniel Morcombe.

The Morcombe family has asked those attending the requiem mass to wear red, which was the colour of the shirt the teenager was last seen wearing.

College principal Graeme Hight says students and teachers from schools across the Sunshine Coast are doing everything they can to support the Morcombes.

"Our school students, past and present, will be doing the mass," he said.

"A number of our teachers will be involved in terms of the liturgy, handing out communion, a whole range of things there.

"There is a thing called the spirit of Siena and there is an enormous community spirit.

"We have had donations to assist one family actually gave a significant cash donation to help with this."

Mr Hight says the Morcombes have chose the right place to say goodbye to their son. "Daniel did year eight and nine here at Siena," he said.

"He had an older brother at the time, Dean, and Bradley was his twin.

"That says something to a lot of our staff who are very grateful that the Morcombes see Siena as an important part of their lives and have brought Daniel back here to say farewell to him."

Father Joe Duffy says the funeral will include a requiem mass and procession with a guard of honour.

"The first part we call the tributes and that's the part where there are some speeches made, and then there's a picture show," he said.

"The family asked for a requiem mass so that follows.

"There's what's called a commendation and after that the casket's carried in procession out of the church.

"There'll be a guard of honour that's at least 150 metres long and I think that's something that a lot of people will want to take part in."

Almost nine years after Daniel Morcombe disappeared while waiting for a bus on the Sunshine Coast, his accused murderer is set to face a committal hearing in the Brisbane Magistrates Court.

Look back on a timeline of the key developments in the search for Daniel, the police investigation, and the case against Brett Peter Cowan.

Where I Found It?
Click Here

Nine years ago today, Daniel Morcombe went missing. Today he will be remembered in a public funeral service

Bradley and Daniel

News was publish today, 7th December 2012 by The Australian.

DANIEL James Morcombe was a brave boy who made his parents proud.

Today, as Bruce and Denise Morcombe lay their son to rest, they hope he is proud of them - and they want the world to remember the life he lived.

His first steps. His favourite stuffed toy, old bear. His love of all creatures great and small.

His quiet, loving nature with a little bit of mischief and a large dose of strength and determination.

These are just some of the things that set Daniel apart, making him so special to his family and friends.

SPECIAL PRESENTATION: Behind the search for Daniel Morcombe

"All of us have gained strength from Daniel," Mr Morcombe told The Courier-Mail.

"He was a loving son, trusted friend and a good kid who enjoyed life.

"I think the Australian public have taken and embraced that little boy because of his eyes and his smile. In every photo they pick up, there's that happy kid.

"They have always wondered what happened to that boy in the red T-shirt.

"We are all better people for having Daniel come into our lives.

"He wasn't able to grow up into a young man but he had special qualities - he was very loyal and very loving.

"He was a cherished family member."

This week, Mrs Morcombe shared her memories of Daniel, reminiscing about his christening on a freezing winter's day in Melbourne in 1990, childhood toys and the last present he gave her before he disappeared.

"In Year 9, Daniel made a wooden box at school and gave it to me," she said.

"One day he said: 'Are you going to use it?'

"I said: 'Yes, one day I'll put some special things in it.'

"Little did I know. It's now filled with his special things."

His special things include drawings, letters and a toy motocross bike.

Mrs Morcombe still has Daniel's favourite stuffed toy.

"That was old bear. He loved old bear," she said.

"He was sewn and stitched and hot-glued back together. It's seen better days. The bear probably has a few stories."

In their own words, the treasured moments in Daniel's life that Bruce and Denise Morcombe most vividly remember; birth, first day at school, presents for mum, family holidays and birthday parties.

ONLY IN TODAY'S PRINT EDITION OF THE COURIER-MAIL.

Mrs Morcombe said Daniel was an affectionate son - he would pick flowers for his mum to show how much he loved her - and inseparable from twin, Bradley. They were born eight weeks premature on December 19, 1989.

"Daniel and Bradley were always together," she said. "They were a bit mischievous. Bradley was always the bigger talker. Daniel was a lot quieter and Bradley used to talk for him too.

"A couple of weeks after their first birthday they walked.

"I think Bradley walked first but they were pretty much at the same time."

Daniel also loved animals, especially his miniature horse called Bullet, and was always cradling their cats.

"When they were babies I had to shoo the cat out of their room because I was afraid he'd sleep on them," she said.

Thousands will gather on the Sunshine Coast today to celebrate Daniel's legacy and remember the short life of a boy who touched the heart of a nation, inspired a child-safety revolution and gave his parents the strength to go on. Daniel will be farewelled at Siena Catholic College, where the diligent student harboured dreams of one day becoming a vet.

Take up the Morcombe's invitation to attend Daniel's public funeral. Watch it here, streamed live from 11am local time (12pm AEDT).

The day after Daniel disappeared while waiting for a bus at Woombye nine years ago, his father made a vow.

"On the evening of Monday December 8, 2003, I silently promised to him I would never give up," Mr Morcombe said.

Today they will finally bury their boy, who was at the centre of Australia's highest-profile missing person's case, after almost a decade of searching.

"Even though we've had years and years of mental preparation, suddenly we had to go to a funeral director and have a look at a coffin and organise flowers and pick a grave plot at a cemetery," Mr Morcombe said.

"Even though we had years of knowing 'well, he isn't coming home' we had never done any of that - not one bit.

"It's horrible doing that for your own child.

"It's still bad preparing a funeral for an elderly parent but you know that's part of life's cycle.

"For a kid it's not the way it should be."

Beneath the Morcombes' bravery and behind their child-safety crusade remains their private pain.

Mr Morcombe urged others not to be sad about what was undoubtedly for them the saddest homecoming.

He has tried to remain positive as he wrote a eulogy and steeled himself to deliver it at a service that will be beamed into living rooms around the country.

"I have probably been a better father to Daniel in the last nine years than I was in his first 14," he said.

"It is a sad reflection but I, like most fathers, wish I had spent more one-on-one time with him and cherished those moments.

"This has been a huge motivating factor in my relentless search for the truth."

GALLERY: The Daniel Morcombe story

While Mr Morcombe appears stoic, dignified and patient, Mrs Morcombe's eyes reflect her perpetual torment.

The past 12 months have delivered her the answers she feared. She will no longer search for Daniel's face in the crowd.

"I've been pretty sad all week," she said.

"It's something that we wanted but not something you look forward to.

"I'm not looking forward to walking into that church and seeing the casket there. When they carry Daniel out - that's going to be the saddest part."

Last week Daniel was brought home to the Sunshine Coast after his family was granted permission to receive his remains.

The significant development followed months of legal wrangling over which authority had the final say on whether Daniel's remains could be released.

Brett Peter Cowan, 43, has been charged with child stealing, deprivation of liberty, indecent treatment, murder and interfering with a corpse.

His committal hearing was yesterday adjourned until February.

His lawyers said he intended to plead not guilty to all charges.

EDITORIAL: Morcombes in our thoughts

The Morcombes, whose lives were irrevocably changed on this day nine years ago, said their blue-eyed boy with the beautiful smile would not be forgotten.

"We've got to look at some positives going forward and the foundation is Daniel's legacy," Mr Morcombe said.

They said they could at least take comfort from knowing their son would now, finally, rest in peace.

Take up the Morcombe's invitation to attend Daniel's public funeral. Watch it here, streamed live from 11am local time (12pm AEDT).

Where I Found It?
Click Here

A day for Daniel

Daniel James Morcombe

News was publish today, 7th December 2012 by Brisbane Times.

Nine years ago today, a young Sunshine Coast teenager left his family home to buy Christmas presents for his loved ones.

It was a trip he had done many times before; after all, he would be 14 in another 12 days and he had grown up in the area. Walking down the road to catch a bus wasn't an unusual act for a child the boy's age.

This was Palmwoods; a small, picturesque suburb of the family-friendly Sunshine Coast.

Those things people read about in the news happened in other places.

He'd been fruit picking on a neighbour's farm with his brothers in the morning. The boys had meant to go to a Christmas lunch later in the day in Brisbane with their parents, but it had rained, delaying them, so the three siblings opted to stay on the Sunshine Coast instead.

The boy needed to get a haircut and wanted to sneak some gifts into the house. He asked his brothers to go with him, but they were busy, doing things teenage boys do, so the boy shrugged, and wearing a red T-shirt and his favourite sneakers, left the house.

It was December 7, 2003.

As he had countless times before, he walked along the Woombye-Palmwoods Road towards an unofficial bus stop under the Kiel Mountain overpass on the Nambour Connection Road.

He wanted to catch the 1.35pm bus, but he couldn't have known it was delayed, broken down at a nearby stop, sending the Sunbus time table into chaos.

At 2pm, the boy was seen on the east side of the road, still waiting for the bus.

At 2.14pm, or there abouts, the 1.35pm replacement bus finally went past. But the driver had been tasked with taking the people from the broken down bus directly to the shops. The driver saw the boy, but didn't stop. There was another bus right behind him, the driver had been told. The boy would be picked up.

That second bus, not even three minutes behind the first, had been sent to pick up those people, like the boy, waiting at the bus stops.

That bus driver was aware there was a boy waiting under the overpass. But when he drove past there, just 120 seconds or so later, the boy was gone.

In those 45 minutes, the boy, still nameless to so many on the Sunshine Coast, was seen by mothers, fathers, grandparents and teenagers waiting on the side of the road.

Later, many would report they saw a man, or a man and a woman, or two men, standing near the boy.

Later – much later – they would tell police officers taking their statements, that they were uncomfortable with the scene, that they had been concerned for the child. But no one stopped.

And now, nine years on, everyone on the Sunshine Coast, maybe the state, knows Daniel Morcombe's name.

A 42-year-old man has been charged with his abduction and murder. Brett Peter Cowan's arrest came in August last year, the same month when searchers found 17 skeletal elements, two sneakers and some scraps of clothes on a Glass House Mountains property on Kings Road.

But today, Friday December 7, 2012, the day Daniel Morcombe finally comes home to his parents Denise and Bruce and his brothers, Dean and Bradley, is not a day for Brett Peter Cowan.

It's not a day for regret or anger. Of accusations or recriminations. It's a day for the young boy with the striking eyes whose smile beamed down on us for years from posters and news reports. A day for the boy with a gentle nature, who loved animals and his family.

A day to celebrate the life of a boy, who, through his family, has left a legacy of protection and awareness, whose disappearance made a state stand up and say "never again", whose name has become a beacon of hope for the most vulnerable and fragile among us; children who have experienced unspeakable horror and must now find a way to move on.

The name Daniel Morcombe means a lot of things to different people. For parents, he's a reason to hold their own children a little tighter at night. For police, it became a mantra to never give up. For those who just followed the story on the news, his name was synonymous with those clichés we use when we don't have the words to articulate the horror “a loss of innocence”, “every parent's worst nightmare” and a call to arms to do what they could to help.

But for those who knew Daniel, the boy – not the symbol or the investigation – the name Daniel Morcombe means love, home and family. A lost boy, found. Broken hearts filled with renewed purpose.

Above all, Daniel James Morcombe was the beloved son of Bruce and Denise, adored brother of Dean and Bradley, doted-on grandson of Kevin and Monique and mischievous friend to his Siena Catholic College classmates, now adults themselves.

It's that Daniel who will be celebrated at 11am this morning, in the church inside the grounds where he went to school, surrounded by those who knew him best and love him still.

His family have asked those who attend to wear a splash of red in honour of their boy and the foundation which has become his legacy.

Instead of flowers, they hope people will send donations to the Daniel Morcombe Foundation, so they can continue helping those children that need it most and raising child safety awareness.

This goodbye, by no means final, has snuck up on the Morcombes. They only found out Daniel was to be released back to them and returned home this time last week.

They expect thousands to attend the memorial service they have planned. Nine years after he was that anonymous boy on the side of the road, Daniel's memory and story has been embraced by millions.

Today will mean one chapter in that story closes, but it will not bring closure.

That's an impossible ideal.

But for one day, the Morcombes, still so private a family despite their public profile, will be at the centre of millions of thoughts and prayers, as they share their son's life, not his disappearance, with those who never had the chance to know him.

They have asked for happy memories. For a celebration. And while there will be tears and grief, they hope there will be smiles.

And for a family who are sharing so much, a smile in response to the favourite memories of their little boy really doesn't seem too much to give.

Where I Found It?
Click Here

Daniel Morcombe's family speaks before funeral

Daniel's parents speaks before their much-loved son funeral

Daniel James Morcombe

News was publish yesterday, 6th December 2012 by news.ninemsn.com.au.

Daniel Morcombe's parents have opened up to A Current Affair's Tracy Grimshaw about the nine years since their son disappeared as they prepare to bury him tomorrow.

Friday marks nine years to the day since Daniel disappeared from a Sunshine Coast bus stop.

Denise and Bruce Morcombe spoke of their heartache when 42-year-old Brett Peter Cowan was charged with Daniel's murder in August last year.

"August the 13th was probably worse than the day when Daniel went missing, when we got the news that Daniel was actually not coming home," Mrs Morcombe said.

"I'd always had that little bit of hope in my heart.

"In my mind, I knew he probably wouldn't be coming home, but I always thought that maybe he would walk through the front door.

"But August 13 all that hope was shattered."

She said tomorrow's funeral might bring closure for those people nationwide who followed the search for Daniel and the recent court hearings over his alleged murder, but there would never be closure for his family.

"At least now we'll have a place to visit Daniel if we want to, our family and our friends as well," Mrs Morcombe said.

Where I Found It?
Click Here

Daniel Morcombe Condolence Book

Daniel James Morcombe

News was publish yesterday, 6th December 2012 by Brisbane Times.

Without rancour and sorrow, those touched by the plight of the Morcombes are encouraged to remember Daniel tomorrow.

The 13-year-old Sunshine Coast schoolboy will come home and be laid to rest - nine years to the day after he was abducted from a bus stop on the Sunshine Coast north of Brisbane.

The Morcombe family has invited the public to wear a splash of red and attend the service held at St Catherine of Siena Catholic Church in Sippy Downs on the Sunshine Coast from 11am [AEST].

They want the day to be celebration of Daniel's life rather than one of grief and sorrow for the forever-captured smiling boy with a shock of dark hair.

In lieu of flowers, the public is asked to donate to the Daniel Morcombe Foundation devoted to promoting the safety of children.

For those who can't attend the service, here is a place to leave your messages.

Where I Found It?
Click Here

'Grubby scumbag' approached Daniel Morcombe: witness

Daniel James Morcombe

News was publish yesterday, 6th December 2012 by Brisbane Times.

A Brisbane court's heard a witness saw a "grubby scumbag" walking towards Daniel Morcombe on the day the teen disappeared while waiting for a bus.

Troy Meiers told the Brisbane Magistrates Court today that he drove past the pair as he passed under the Kiel Mountain Road overpass on December 7, 2003.

He said the man was "grubby and unkempt", and appeared to be a drug user.

Mr Meiers said he saw the man, who he had seen waiting with his blue car on the opposite side of the underpass just 15 minutes earlier, walking towards the teenage boy.

He reported his observations to police a year later.

Mr Meiers was giving evidence in the committal hearing of Brett Peter Cowan, who's accused of murdering Daniel.

Mr Meiers was the 45th and final witness to give evidence in the hearing this year.

It will resume in February.

Where I Found It?
Click Here

Day eight of the Daniel Morcombe committal hearing

Daniel James Morcombe

News was publish yesterday, 6th December 2012 by News.com.au.

11.54am: The committal has been adjourned until February 4.

11.29am: Coolum Beach man Troy Meiers has described to the court seeing a car repeatedly circle a roundabout at the Kiel Mountain Rd overpass in the days before Daniel Morcombe's disappearance.

''You talked about a white van and it was driving in a particularly peculiar manner,'' defence lawyer Tim Meehan asked in cross examination.

''Yes,'' Mr Meiers said.

''It was a bit of a bizarre thing...so I took a bit of notice.

''(The driver) had long hair, like a hippy type of look.

''I sort of gathered it was female.''

Mr Meiers said he believed he saw the van on December 5 or 6.

On the day of Daniel's disappearance, December 7, Mr Meiers said he was again driving near the overpass when he spotted an old blue sedan parked on an exit.

''There was a man leaning against the back of the car just standing there looking back towards my direction with his arms crossed,'' he said.

''He had really pronounced cheek bones. To me he looked like someone who had been on drugs a long time.

''I remember thinking what a waste of breath this guy is.''

He said the man had an unwashed look and a goatee.

About 15 minutes later, he saw the car and the man again.

Mr Meiers said the man was walking towards a boy - who he believes was Daniel Morcombe - who was standing under the overpass.

''Daniel was standing on the south bound side of the Nambour Connection Rd, right in deep under the bridge,'' he said.

Defence lawyer Tim Meehan asked what the man was doing at that time.

''Just walking towards him,'' Mr Meiers said.

Mr Meehan showed the court a photograph of a white Mitsubishi Pajero 4WD.

''That's not the car you saw?'' he asked.

''No,'' Mr Meiers replied.

It was not until a year later that Mr Meiers called Crime Stoppers to report what he had seen after seeing a segment on television about Daniel's disappearance.

''(My wife said) you might have that one piece of evidence they need,'' he said.

9.42am: A man has described seeing a blue or grey car stopped on an exit lane near the Kiel Mountain Rd overpass on the day Daniel Morcombe disappeared.

Palmwoods man Ian Gotham said he was driving from Nambour to Maroochydore on December 7, 2003, when he spotted the car.

He later called police to tell them of the vehicle after Daniel's disappearance was reported.

Mr Gotham told police the car was ''boxy shaped'', possibly a Ford XD, a Corolla or Corona, blue or grey in colour.

Defence lawyer Tim Meehan showed Mr Gotham a picture of a white 4WD Pajero.

''This is not the car you were describing?'' he asked.

Mt Gotham agreed it was not.

Brett Peter Cowan, 43, has been charged with Daniel's murder.

Where I Found It?
Click Here

Morcombe witness tells of 'low-class citizen' approaching boy Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/morcombe-witness-tells-of-lowclass-citizen-approaching-boy-20121206-2ax8d.html#ixzz2EHnF6ZPF

Daniel James Morcombe

News was publish yesterday, 6th December 2012 by Brisbane Times.

The last day of the Brett Peter Cowan committal hearing for 2012 opened with a closed court.

The public and media are to be excluded from parts of the remainder of the committal hearing next year, and the defence and prosecution spent part of Thursday morning working out those details. The result of those submissions will not be known until January 17 but it is understood that more of the committal hearing will be heard in open court than originally thought.

After 30 minutes, the court was reopened to the public and, in the shortest session of the past two weeks, just two witnesses gave evidence and were cross-examined.

The first, Ian Gotham, told the court he remembered seeing a "boxy" car parked near the Kiel Mountain Road overpass on the Nambour Connection Road on December 7, 2003, the day Daniel Morcombe went missing.

Mr Gotham could not remember any details independent of his statement and was questioned mostly about the car, its make and where he saw it.

After a one-hour break to allow Troy Meiers to travel from the Sunshine Coast, court resumed to hear Mr Meiers's evidence about two vehicles he saw around the date the Sunshine Coast teenager went missing.

He said he saw a white or off-white courier-style van, with no windows on the sides, being driven by a scruffy-haired person.

That had caught his attention and struck him as strange.

He said that on the Sunday, December 7, he saw a blue vehicle parked on the side of the road, near the overpass.

He said he saw a "grubby, unwashed" man, who had the appearance of having "been on drugs for a long time" leaning against the car.

"I remember thinking, 'What a waste of breath this guy is,' " Mr Meiers said of the man he described as a "very low-class citizen".

Mr Meiers said that 10 or 15 minutes later he saw the same car parked on the southbound side of the Nambour Connection Road and saw the man he had seen approaching a boy.

"I saw the same guy, standing with [who I believed to be] Daniel, no, he was walking towards him," Mr Meiers said.

Mr Meiers said he did not give a statement to police until a year later because he believed investigators had already been given similar information.

Prosecutor Glen Cash asked Mr Meiers why there was no mention of Mr Meiers having seen a child in his original statements.

Mr Meiers said he did not know why, because "that's what I saw". The committal was adjourned until February 4.

Where I Found It?
Click Here

Morcombe family think of others `worse off' as they prepare for Daniel's funeral service

RED HONOUR: People attending Daniel Morcombe's public funeral service tomorrow have been urged by his family to wear a touch of red.

News was publish today, 6th December 2012 by The Australian.

AS thousands don a dash of red tomorrow to celebrate the life of murdered schoolboy Daniel Morcombe, his parents will be thinking of those whose loved ones remain lost.

Bruce Morcombe said while his family had to face the "finality" of a funeral for Daniel, there were other families "worse off".

"There are families who have suffered loss and haven't had the opportunity to say goodbye," he said.

"We've met them.

"We didn't know they would have an impact on us and that we would have an impact on their lives, but we draw parallels and strengths from them.

"Some of those people will be there tomorrow."

Mr Morcombe said he was "relieved" Daniel would finally be laid to rest, nine years to the day after the 13-year-old disappeared while waiting for a bus in the Sunshine Coast hinterland. "It's hard to put it down in words. It's more relief that we've got to this point," he said.

"We all knew the result was not great. We've known that for the best part of nine years."

More than 2000 people are expected to attend the service, which will include tributes and a procession with a 150m guard of honour.

Mr Morcombe and Daniel's older brother Dean will read the eulogy while three relatives will take part in readings throughout the Requiem Mass.

"The sadness and evil that happened was nine years ago and we really need to be thankful for the position we're in today," Mr Morcombe said.

"We're not here to be sad. We're here to say goodbye and have some meaning on his life and to talk about his legacy."

The Morcombes have asked attendees to wear red - the colour of the shirt Daniel was last wearing - symbolising the Daniel Morcombe Foundation.

Mr Morcombe said it also reflected his son's personality.

"Red is a fiery colour and really described him," he said. "He was determined, strong-willed and, on occasions, stubborn.

"He wasn't a wimpish kid."

"We're suggesting people wear respectful clothing with a hint of red, whether it's a little piece of ribbon or red socks, a piece of red material in the hair or red earrings."

Mr Morcombe said the public was invited to the first ceremony, at 11am at St Catherine of Siena Church Sippy Downs, at Siena Catholic College where Daniel attended.

A large screen television will broadcast the service outside the church.

People have been urged to wear hats and bring sun screen, fold-up chairs and water.

The family has requested that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Daniel Morcombe Foundation.

Daniel will then be buried privately at Woombye Cemetery, 300m from where he went missing in 2003.

Brett Peter Cowan, 43, has been charged with Daniel's murder.

His defence lawyer Tim Meehan said outside court last week that his client will plead not guilty to all charges.

Where I Found It?
Click Here

Morcombes to farewell Daniel at last

Daniel James Morcombe

News was publish today, 6th December 2012 by Herald Sun

DANIEL Morcombe's parents will wake on Friday with bittersweet relief, knowing their long wait to lay their son to rest is finally over.

It will be nine years to the day since the 13-year-old failed to return from a solo shopping trip, catapulting Bruce and Denise Morcombe into a nightmare of grief.

Up to 3000 people are expected to attend Daniel's public funeral on the Sunshine Coast on Friday.

The 90-minute service will be held at Daniel's old school church at Sippy Downs and is expected to include a mass, speeches, a pictorial tribute and a procession with a guard of honour as long as 150 metres.

The Morcombes have asked mourners to wear a hint of red - the colour of the T-shirt Daniel was wearing when he disappeared.

Instead of flowers, they have requested donations to the child safety foundation that bears his name.

"Things just seem to be lining up," Mr Morcombe told reporters this week.

"And that's all because so many people are offering their assistance, from media, to car parking, to traffic management issues.

"Certainly, we are catering for well over a thousand."

A private funeral will follow the public service and will be held at Woombye, a few hundred metres from Daniel's childhood home.

The family has had just a week to plan the services, after Daniel's remains were unexpectedly released to them by the state coroner last Friday.

They had resigned themselves to wait many months longer, but lawyers for the man accused of Daniel's murder indicated last week the defence no longer required Daniel's bones.

Mr Morcombe and wife Denise have said they want the public funeral to be a positive tribute to their son's short life, and not a sad or angry affair.

It will be attended by Queensland Police Minister Jack Dempsey and opposition police spokesman Bill Byrne.

It's understood former prime minister and Daniel Morcombe Foundation supporter Kevin Rudd will attend.

Queensland Labor Senator Claire Moore will attend on behalf of Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

The level of public support for the Morcombes reveals how they captured the hearts of their Sunshine Coast community - and the nation - with their stoicism in the wake of tragedy.

Rather than retreat into a life of private grieving, they threw themselves into a tireless campaign for child safety, launching the Daniel Morcombe Foundation, touring schools and creating educational resources.

Their hard work was rewarded when they were named Queensland's Australians of the Year in 2011 and the Daniel Morcombe Child Safety Curriculum was launched in state schools this year.

Where I Found It?
Click Here

Man and boy struggled in car, Morcombe hearing told

Daniel playing his computer

News was publish today, 5th December 2012 by ABC.net

Witnesses have testified at a Brisbane murder committal hearing that they saw a man and boy struggle in the back of a car the day teenager Daniel Morcombe disappeared.

Brett Peter Cowan, 43, is accused of killing Daniel after abducting him while the schoolboy waited for a bus under the Kiel Mountain Road Overpass on the Sunshine Coast in 2003.

Andrew Jackson told the Brisbane Magistrates Court that he saw a fight between a child and a man in the back of a car as he drove towards Caloundra.

Another witness, Gympie resident Belinda Russell testified about being overtaken by a blue sedan on the Nambour Connection Road.

She said a man was punching down into the seat and a shoe kicked up defensively at the man.

She wrote down the car's number plate but lost the piece of paper.

Meanwhile, Cowan has been denied an application to be excused from appearing in person at his Brisbane committal hearing.

Cowan sought to be excused from appearing in court on Thursday for the last day of the current sittings.

Chief Magistrate Brendan Butler denied the application to appear via videolink from jail, after hearing the request was made solely for Cowan's convenience.

ODD INTERACTION

In court on Tuesday, Caloundra man Gregory Smith recalled seeing a car parked under the overpass and a man in the driver's seat, while a second man spoke to a boy nearby.

Mr Smith told the court he has children and something seemed odd about the boy's interaction with the man.

Nambour resident Kerryn Siver saw a man walking towards a boy.

She thought the pair were father and son and had just run out of fuel because the man was walking away from a parked car.

Bernard Rumbel, told the court today he saw a boy matching Daniel's description in New South Wales almost a year after his abduction from the Sunshine Coast.

Mr Rumbel, from Port Macquarie in New South Wales, testified via video link at the committal hearing on Tuesday.

He said he was taking his son to the shops to buy lollies when he was approached by a boy and a well-dressed man in September 2004.

Mr Rumbel said the man spoke roughly to the boy.

He said the boy asked for help and claimed to be Daniel Morcombe.

Mr Rumbel said he went to the police after seeing Daniel's missing persons photo on a pizza box.

The hearing has now adjourned until Thursday for one more witness, and will then continue in the new year.

A funeral for Daniel will be held at the St Catherine of Siena Church in Sippy Downs on the Sunshine Coast on Friday at 11:00am (AEST).

The service will coincide with the ninth anniversary of his disappearance.

About 3,000 people are predicted to attend.

Where I Found It?
Click Here

Daniel's farewell a chance for Coast to pour out grief

Daniel with family cat

News was publish today, 5th December 2012 by The Satellite

FATHER Joe Duffy has called for a day of "mass grief" on Friday as Daniel Morcombe is finally laid to rest.

The parish priest of St Catherine of Siena Catholic Church - where Daniel attended - says it is "really an occasion for people to express mass grief".

"Why? Because Daniel's teenage exuberance that people didn't know about until after he died challenged their imagination," he said.

"Prior to his disappearance he was just simply another teenager on the Sunshine Coast. After it, he became a focus for the care and concern we need to have for young people.

"Every parent on the Sunshine Coast with teenage children has been deeply affected by what happened and what has followed."

While Father Duffy says people should use the opportunity to mourn what is lost, the funeral service will also be an opportunity to reflect on a future hope.

"I feel the Christian way of dealing with death and burial can be underestimated in today's society, which tends to favour secular outcomes.

"A secular approach to the death of a person is very much related to their past, their history.

"When you have a Christian celebration of death, it focuses on the future and it focuses on hope and a promise. There is a marked contrast between the secular approach to death and funerals and a Christian approach.

"The Morcombe family is focusing on the latter. I'm glad they have, it is worthy to share," he said.

Father Duffy will be assisting Father Jan Bialasewicz at the service.

"Father Bialasewicz was on the parish staff when Daniel disappeared and has kept in contact with the family ever since," he said.

The service is expected to consist of tributes, followed by a Requiem Mass.

Where I Found It?
Click Here

Rudd reschedules to be at Daniel's funeral

FORMER Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd

News was publish today, 5th December 2012 by Gympie Times.

FORMER prime minister Kevin Rudd has rescheduled overseas engagements to attend Daniel Morcombe's funeral on Friday.

Mr Rudd, who grew up on the Sunshine Coast, spent yesterday shuffling his flights and speaking commitments so he could pay his respects.

His spokesman said he was due to attend the Myanmar Dialogue in Bahrain, where he was to speak on Friday, but he delayed his departure. Mr Rudd's last meeting with Bruce and Denise Morcombe was in Canberra on October 30.

He has been a supporter of the Daniel Morcombe Foundation and the Day for Daniel.

"This will be a sad day for the Coast community which still feels the shock and horror of what happened to Daniel," his spokesman said. Queensland Senator Claire Moore will attend on behalf of Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

Where I Found It?
Click Here

'Daniel Morcombe' asked strangers for help

Daniel James Morcombe

News was publish today, 4th December 2012 by the News.Ninemsn.

Witnesses have recalled seeing strange men with a boy matching Daniel Morcombe's description, with one claiming the missing teen asked him for help nine months after his disappearance.

Six people gave evidence on Tuesday at the committal hearing of Brett Peter Cowan, who is accused of murdering Daniel.

Daniel was 13 when he went missing while waiting for a bus on the Sunshine Coast in December 2003.

Cowan, 43, is charged with murder, child stealing, deprivation of liberty, indecent treatment of a child and interfering with a corpse.

Bernard Rumbel told the Brisbane Magistrates Court he believed he saw Daniel in Port Macquarie in NSW on September 2, 2004.

He said he was waiting outside a shop for his son when a young boy approached him and asked for help.

Mr Rumbel said the boy twice told him his name was Daniel Morcombe before being berated by a well-dressed, tall man in his 40s with whom he left a short time later.

Mr Rumbel said he contacted the police a few months later after seeing a missing person advertisement about Daniel on a pizza box.

"I noticed a photo on the pizza box and I realised that was the same boy, as far as I was concerned, that I was talking to," he said, adding he was 90 per cent sure it was Daniel.

A number of other witnesses testified they saw one or two men with a blue car standing near Daniel while he waited for the bus under the Kiel Mountain Road overpass.

Two said they saw a blue car drive past them on the Sunshine Coast later that day with a man fighting someone in the back seat.

Belinda Russell said she wrote down the registration number on a shopping list, but had since lost the piece of paper.

The hearing won't sit on Wednesday. Two further witnesses will give evidence on Thursday before the hearing is adjourned until February.

Where I Found It?
Click Here

Gympie woman witnessed 'violent' Daniel struggle: court

Daniel James Morcombe

News was publish today, 4th December 2012 by the Sunshine Coast Daily.

11.30AM LATEST: A Gympie woman has recalled witnessing "violent" and "fast" movements in the back of a blue sedan as she drove on the Nambour Connection Road.

Belinda Russell told the court she was driving with her husband and two children on December 7, 2003.

She said she saw a man in the back seat of a blue sedan her punching downwards into the car's cabin.

"It was continual, violent and quite fast," she said.

Mrs Russell said she saw arms and a shoe come up "in a defensive action", trying to kick the person away. 

She said the driver did not seem to be disturbed about what was going on in the back.

Mrs Russell said the struggle stopped quite abruptly before the car turned into a side street.

Mrs Russell said she looked in the car for a pen.

But when she tried to write down the number plate of the car where the struggle occurred, the pen wouldn't work.

Mrs Russell said she imprinted the number plate details on a shopping docket but at the end of the day she threw it away.

The committal hearing has been adjourned for the day.

The court heard the final two witnesses would give evidence on Thursday.

The committal hearing will then be adjourned until February.

Where I Found It?
Click Here

Witness recalls seeing 'uncomfortable' Daniel Morcombe with man

Daniel riding his horse

News was publish today, 4th December 2012 by The Australian.

A SHABBILY dressed man was spotted talking to an "uncomfortable" boy believed to be Daniel Morcombe on the day the teenager disappeared, a court has heard.

Witness Gregory Smith told the Brisbane Magistrates Court he was driving along Nambour Connection Road on December 7, 2003, when he saw an early model blue sedan pulled over under an overpass.

A driver was sitting in the front seat and a man was standing near the boot talking to a young boy, Mr Smith said.

He said the scene was odd - it looked as if the boy did not know the man and was uncomfortable while the man was "relaxed".

"I don't think the young boy in question was comfortable, it just had the aura about it," Mr Smith said.

He told the court as soon as he got home, he told his mother he was unsettled by what he had seen. Mr Smith reported it to police on January 24, 2004, after Daniel's disappearance was publicised.

Brett Peter Cowan, 43, is charged with the abduction and murder of the 13-year-old on December 7, 2003. Mr Cowan faces a committal hearing to decide whether there is enough evidence to put him on trial.

He has not entered a plea but his defence team say he intends to contest the charges.

The hearing continues.

Where I Found It?
Click Here

Morcombe witness describes violence in car

Bradley and Daniel on their birthday

News was publish today, 4th December 2012 by BrisbaneTimes.

A woman has told the committal hearing for Brett Peter Cowan that she saw a man sitting in the back of an early model blue sedan and "punching down" into the back seat.

Mr Cowan is accused of abducting and murdering Sunshine Coast schoolboy Daniel Morcombe who will be laid to rest on Friday - nine years to the date after he went missing.

The 13-year-old was last seen attempting, unsuccessfully, to hail a bus under an overpass on the Nambour Connection Road, while wearing a red t-shirt.

In court today, Belinda Russell said she was travelling on the Nambour Connection Road from Gympie on December 7, 2003 - the day Daniel went missing.

She noticed the vehicle because it was "violently jumping" from side to side and up and down.

She said the driver of the vehicle did not turn around or show any concern about what was happening in the back seat.

Mrs Russell said she did not see what or who the man in the back seat was punching.

"He was leaning down, to the right and he was punching down," she said.

"[It was a] closed fist and quite a lot of violent movement.

"We saw arms and a shoe come up in a defensive action, trying to kick away the person who was punching down."

Mrs Russell said she and her husband were very concerned by what they had seen but had left their mobile phone at home.

She said she imprinted the car's registration number on her shopping list with a pen that did not work, but threw the paper away at the end of the day.

Mrs Russell did not make a statement to police about what she had seen until April 2007.

Her evidence was by far the most shocking. Gasps could be heard from the public gallery.

The committal hearing, which had been set down for every day this week, has been moving faster than anticipated.

Just two more witnesses are expected to give evidence this week.

The Morcombes, after sitting in the hearing for every day, have left Brisbane for their Sunshine Coast home in order to finalise preparations for Daniel's funeral on Friday.

Nine years to the day he went missing, the 13-year-old is finally going home.

In court earlier today, Mr Cowan opened the seventh day of his committal hearing with a request.

Through his defence counsel, Mr Cowan asked to be excused from appearing on Thursday, the last set day of the committal, because of the limited number of witnesses due to appear.

Mr Cowan has sat through the evidence and cross examination of each of the witnesses, in a dock which places him on the other side of the room to the Morcombes.

Through Tim Meehan, Mr Cowan asked to appear by video link instead of being transported to the Brisbane Magistrates Court.

Chief magistrate Brendan Butler denied the request.

The seventh day is set to hear from more of what are referred to as identification witnesses, as opposed to the forensic witnesses which took up much of the first four days.

These witnesses reported to police having seen a boy they believed to be Daniel Morcombe in the days, weeks, months and even years following his December 7, 2003 disappearance from the Sunshine Coast. 

Bernard Rumbel, who lives in Port Macquarie and appeared by video link, said he saw a young boy in September 2004 who asked him for help.

Mr Rumbel said he was at a Port Macquarie shopping centre with his son when a boy approached him and said "can you help me?" before a man walked towards them and spoke harshly to the boy "something like, 'I told you not to go anywhere'".

"He was looking at me like 'what was I talking to this little fella for?'," Mr Rumbel said.

"He gave me a stern look and I looked into his eyes and he was looking daggers at me.

"I felt intimidated."

Mr Rumbel said as the boy and the man left the boy said "my name is Daniel Morcombe" but he (Mr Rumble) "didn't know who Daniel Morcombe was".

Later, he saw an Eagle Boys pizza box which had information about Daniel Morcombe and a photo of the missing 13-year-old so the man went to the police.

The next two witnesses, Gregory Smith and Kerryn Smith, told the court of seeing a young boy, wearing a red t-shirt, standing under the Kiel Mountain Road overpass while a man stood behind him.

Where I Found It?
Click Here

Thousands to stand with Morcombes at farewell

Dean and Daniel with horses

News was publish today, 4th December 2012, by SunshineCoastDaily.

THOUSANDS of people are expected to cram into the St Catherine of Siena Catholic Church on Friday morning to pay their final respects to Daniel Morcombe.

Included in the list of invited guests is Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Premier Campbell Newman and other politicians and dignitaries from across the country.

Ms Gillard has already indicated she will not be able to attend because she is heading a COAG meeting of state and territory leaders in Canberra on Friday.

The Morcombe family has opened the service to everyone.

Senior police officers, funeral director Dean Gregson, Siena Catholic School deputy principal Paul Ford and Tracey McAsey from the Daniel Morcombe Foundation met yesterday to discuss logistics for the 11am service.

Inspector Darryl White, who co-ordinated Steve Irwin's funeral in 2006 and young ironman Matthew Barclay's service in April, is heading arrangements.

About 10,000 people attended Steve Irwin's service, and about 2000 attended Matt Barclay's - but no one can estimate the number expected to farewell the teenager who touched the heart of the nation.

The church building and its "verandahs" can cater for up to 800 guests.

However, Siena Catholic College, at which Daniel was a pupil, is planning for a much larger crowd.

A large screen television will be outside the church. Limited shade and seating will be available. People should wear hats and bring sun screen, fold-up chairs and water.

The service and communion is expected to last at least 90 minutes and if the heat continues later in the week, the risk of sun stress will be high.

Parking will be available on the school oval and those want to attend should take the route to the school along Sippy Downs Dr and follow the instructions of SES volunteers on site.

Access to the property will be available only from 9am.

Siena Catholic College will close on Thursday so its students can attend.

Mr Ford said many of the students would form a guard of honour.

Motorbike groups that have been involved in fundraising efforts for the Daniel Morcombe Foundation have said they would attend.

Students from Daniel's 2003 class also will be there. "We've even had a former student telephone from Melbourne to say he will be coming," principal Graeme Hight said.

> > DANIEL'S SERVICE < <

• Service starts at St Catherine of Siena Catholic Church at 11am sharp
• Access to the site will be strictly from 9am
• Television stations are expected to provide live coverage from the service
• Those attending must bring hats, sunscreen, fold-up chairs, and water
• SES will direct attendees to available parking on the school oval from Sippy Downs Drive. If it is raining alternative arrangements will be made for parking at the University
• No parking is allowed along Sippy Downs Drive
• The service is expected to last 90minutes. Daniel's family will leave the church for a private burial in Woombye

Where I Found It?

Click Here

Man told Daniel to get in car - witness

Daniel James Morcombe

News was published today, December 3rd, 2012 by Sky News.

A woman who claims she saw two men trying to bundle Daniel Morcombe into a car has told a court she suffered post-traumatic stress from what she witnessed.

Judith McIntyre told the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday that she drove past the Kiel Mountain Road overpass on December 7, 2003 and saw a man telling a boy in a red shirt to get in a waiting car.

'I heard the man yell 'get in the car' and the boy say 'you can't make me, I'm not gonna',' she said. 

Ms McIntyre told the court she saw the man dive for the boy while a second man tried to stop him from escaping.

She said she suffered post-traumatic stress from the incident, which she didn't start to remember until some months later.

Ms McIntyre was one of eight witnesses to give evidence in the committal hearing for Brett Peter Cowan on Monday.

Cowan, 43, is accused of murdering Daniel, who was 13 when he went missing in December 2003.

Cowan is charged with murder, child stealing, deprivation of liberty, indecent treatment of a child and interfering with a corpse.

Several other witnesses recalled seeing an unidentified male or males standing near a boy matching Daniel's description at the suspected abduction site.

Terry Theuerkauf and Katherine Bird described a man in his thirties standing behind Daniel as he tried unsuccessfully to flag down a bus on which they were passengers.

Both described the man as having dark hair and some facial hair.

They said he was wearing shorts, leaning against the overpass wall, and that he did not have any interaction with Daniel as the bus drove past.

However, Mr Theuerkauf and Ms Bird said they were not confident enough in their brief observations of the man to give police an adequate description to create a comfit picture.

'I was asked to, but I was unwilling to do the comfit as it was really quick,' Ms Bird said.

A number of other passengers on the bus gave similar descriptions of the man, while at least one other also described seeing a man with blonde hair.

The hearing will continue on Tuesday.

Where I Found It?
Click Here

Morcombe plans two funeral services for Daniel on the Sunshine Coast next Friday

Dean, Daniel and Bradley

News was published in December 1st, 2012 by Herald Sun.

DANIEL Morcombe, the boy who launched a child-safety revolution, will be laid to rest at Woombye, a few hundred metres from his childhood home.

The family will conduct two services next Friday, nine years to the day since the 13-year-old disappeared while waiting for a bus in the Sunshine Coast hinterland. Bruce Morcombe said the public was invited to the first ceremony, at 11am at St Catherine of Siena at Sippy Downs, on the grounds of Siena Catholic College where Daniel went to school. Attendees are asked to wear red, the colour of the shirt Daniel was last wearing. It has become a symbol for the Daniel Morcombe Foundation and its campaign to help keep children safe. "Everyone is welcome to come (to Siena). This, in part, will be a celebration of Daniel's short life, but also a thank you from the family to all those who never forgot Daniel and never gave up the fight to find him," Mr Morcombe said.

"There will also be a private burial for family members only at Woombye Cemetery. We ask this be respected. Denise and Bruce Morcombe at outside Brisbane Magistrates Court. They have announced details of funeral services for their son, nine years to the day since he went missing. "The cemetery is about 300m from our former family home and 1.5km from where he went missing. The Walk for Daniel goes past each year. It is significant because of its locality." Daniel's mother Denise said her son would be laid to rest near the home where he grew up, sharing many wonderful times with family and friends.

She said what he enjoyed most was riding his motocross bike on the property.

 

Dean and Daniel on their motorcross bikes

The public service will be conducted by Fr Joe Duffy and Fr Jan Bialasiewicz and the family has requested that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Daniel Morcombe Foundation.

This would support Daniel's valuable legacy, which was "working hard to protect other children, keeping kids safe and to help young victims of crime".

Outside court on day five of the committal hearing yesterday, Mr Morcombe said he had not lost sight of their main goal - justice for their son.

"But let's not forget where we are and why we're here," he said.

"All those years ago, Daniel was abducted, he was murdered, and that's the reason we're going through the legal process.

"Somebody has done this.

"And we need to find who is responsible and obviously they need to pay a price for that."

Tim Meehan, legal defence for accused killer Brett Peter Cowan, said he expected his client was headed to trial.

"The relevant test for a magistrate in determining whether or not to commit someone to trial is a very low threshold test," he said.

Mr Meehan said Cowan would contest the charges against him.

"He says that he did not do any of those things which have been alleged against him," Mr Meehan said.

"He is defending the charges and that's why we are undertaking the committal process."

The committal yesterday heard from a series of witnesses who spoke of seeing a young boy and a man waiting for a bus near the Kiel Mountain Rd overpass.

One witness, Wendy Burnett, told how she "locked eyes" with a man as she drove along the Nambour Connection Rd on December 7, 2003.

"He just looked so rough and unkempt that it caught my eye," she said.

"I was totally overwhelmed by what I saw in that man.

"It scared me a little bit."

Where I Found It?
Click Here