Daniel Morcombe's mum
backs online safety game
Posted
Thu
Feb 5, 2009 12:31pm AEDT
The mother
of missing Sunshine Coast
teenager Daniel Morcombe
says a new online computer
game that promotes child
safety will help save lives.
The interactive game,
developed by the University
of the Sunshine Coast,
teaches 'stranger danger' to
six to eight-year-olds.
Daniel Morcombe was 13
when he disappeared five
years ago while waiting for
a bus at Woombye - police
believe he was abducted.
His mother, Denise
Morcombe, says the Being
Safety Smart website is a
great initiative.
"We've always said that
if there was something like
this maybe 10 years ago when
Daniel was younger he might
have been around today if
they learnt a bit more," she
said.
"But hopefully this
program can help other
children and help them keep
safe."
Morcombe
case
closer
than
ever to
arrest
12:00a.m.
30th
May
2009
| By
Mark
Furler
-
Sunshine
Coast
Daily
Bruce
and
Denise
Morcombe
are
more
hopeful
than
ever
of a
breakthrough
in
the
five-and-a-half
year
hunt
for
the
person
responsible
for
the
abduction
and
suspected
murder
of
their
son
Daniel.
As
the
deadline
closes
tomorrow
at
midnight
on a
$1
million
reward
for
information
leading
to
an
arrest,
a
major
investigation
by
the
Sunday
Night
program
is
expected
to
the
reveal
new
evidence
in a
special
report
described
as a
“jaw
dropper”
by
the
Morcombes.
Mr
Morcombe
was
tight-lipped
on
the
contents
of
the
program,
the
final
edit
of
which
he
is
yet
to
see,
but
has
urged
Coast
residents
to
watch
the
show
on
the
Seven
network
at
6.30pm.
“We
have
always
believed
that
someone
who
saw
something
back
then
may
not
realise
is
important.
I
know
the
Sunday
Night
investigation
has
been
extensive
and
it
will
be a
powerful
story,’’
he
said.
Denise
Morcombe
said
there
was
a
million
reasons
someone
should
come
forward.
Police
have
revealed
there
have
been
875
new
leads
since
a
$250,000
State
Government
reward
was
boosted
to
$1
million
following
pledges
by
private
business
leaders
and
developers
from
Brisbane.
The
reward,
which
will
expire
on
Sunday
night
at
midnight,
is
the
first
of
its
kind
in
Australia.
Daniel
Morcombe
was
abducted
on
December
7,
2003
while
waiting
for
a
bus
under
the
Kiel
Mountain
overpass
near
the
Palmwoods
exit
off
the
Nambour
Connection
Road.
He
was
going
to
Sunshine
Plaza
to
buy
Christmas
presents
for
his
parents.
Since
then
the
Morcombes
have
worked
day
and
night
to
help
promote
awareness
of
the
case
– as
well
as
launch
a
national
safety
program
for
schoolchildren
under
the
umbrella
of
the
Daniel
Morcombe
Foundation.
Queensland
Police
Commissioner
Bob
Atkinson,
who
spearheaded
the
investigation
into
the
brutal
murder
and
rape
of
Noosa
schoolgirl
Sian
Kingi,
has
made
a
personal
commitment
to
the
Morcombes
that
the
investigation
will
be
ongoing
for
the
foreseeable
future.
Investigating
officer
in
the
Morcombe
case,
Detective
Superintendent
Maurice
Carless,
said
police
were
hopeful
the
mystery
of
Daniel’s
disappearance
would
be
solved
–
“we
just
need
someone
who
knows
something
to
come
forward”.
“We’re
certainly
interested
in
any
media
coverage
that
acts
as a
catalyst
for
people
with
information
to
come
forward,”
Mr
Carless
said.
“I
haven’t
seen
the
program
Channel
Seven
is
airing
and
was
not
interviewed
for
it.”
In
the
last
month
the
Morcombe
family
have
released
a
clay
bust
image
of a
person
of
interest
made
in
the
likeness
as
identified
by
witnesses.
This
person
was
seen
standing
near
Daniel
on
the
day
he
disappeared.
Don’t
miss
Sunshine
Coast
Sunday
for
more
on
the
Daniel
Morcombe
investigation,
while
Monday’s
Daily
will
have
all
the
reaction
and
response
from
Sunday
night’s
program.
Anyone
with
information
on
the
case
is
urged
to
ring
Crime
Stoppers
on
1800
333
000.
Govt
slammed
over
paedophile's
release
Posted
Wed Jun
3, 2009
3:36pm
AEST
- ABC
The
State
Government
has come
under
criticism
in
Parliament
for
releasing
a
dangerous
paedophile
in 2003.
Sunshine
Coast MP
Peter
Wellington
asked
why
Douglas
Jackway
was
released
from
prison
after
the
Supreme
Court
had
presented
clear
evidence
of his
inability
or
unwillingness
to
control
his
criminal
instincts.
Teenager
Daniel
Morcombe
disappeared
a month
later on
the
Sunshine
Coast
and his
parents
want
Jackway
investigated
to see
if he is
linked
to the
case.
Attorney-General
Cameron
Dick
told
Parliament
that the
Dangerous
Sexual
Offenders
Act was
not in
place at
the time
of
Jackway's
release.
"The
prisoner's
April
2003
release
date was
prior to
the
commencement
of the
Act, and
therefore
the then
attorney-general
could
not make
an order
or seek
for an
order to
made in
respect
to the
prisoner
under
the Act
at that
time,"
Mr Dick
said.
Daniel
Morcombe,
then
aged 13,
disappeared
from a
bus stop
in a
presumed
abduction.
A $1
million
reward
for
information
about
the case
expired
at
midnight
Sunday
night.
Earlier
this
week,
Deputy
Police
Commissioner
Ross
Barnett
says he
cannot
say how
many
fresh
leads
have
been
generated
since
Jackway's
name was
linked
with the
case.
The
latest
publicity
has also
prompted
civil
liberties
groups
to call
for laws
banning
media
outlets
from
naming
people
they
link to
criminal
cases.
Article
from:
The
Courier-Mail
A
POLICE
informant
is
believed
to have
told
detectives
where
the body
of
missing
Sunshine
Coast
schoolboy
Daniel
Morcombe
may be
buried,
The
Courier-Mail
reported.
The
revelation
comes as
police
investigate
allegations
a
convicted
rapist
and a
man
awaiting
retrial
on a
murder
charge
were
seen
with
Daniel
the day
he went
missing.
Douglas
Jackway
and Ray
Davey,
both
serving
time in
jail,
are
believed
to be
persons
of
interest
in
Queensland's
most
resource-intensive
investigation.
The
Courier-Mail
has
learned
police
are
investigating
allegations
by
Davey's
then
girlfriend,
Anita
O'Brien,
that
Jackway
and
Davey
were
seen
with
Daniel,
13.
Davey
was
found
guilty
of the
murder
of
Donald
Rogers,
who died
about 10
days
after
Daniel's
disappearance
in 2003,
but the
conviction
was
overturned
on
appeal.
He is
currently
in
remand
waiting
to be
retried.
Jackway,
32, is
in
Capricornia
Correctional
Centre
for the
rape of
a
nine-year-old
boy.
He has
committed
a string
of
offences
dating
back to
1994,
including
indecent
dealing,
deprivation
of
liberty,
carnal
knowledge,
indecent
exposure
and
indecent
treatment.
Daniel's
parents
said
they
were
aware
Davey
and
Jackway
could be
current
persons
of
interest.
"It's an
ongoing
line of
inquiry
we
understand
the
police
have,"
Daniel's
father,
Bruce,
said
yesterday.
Police
are
refusing
to
comment
on the
status
of the
investigation
but the
Morcombes
say they
are
encouraged
by the
information
given to
Crime
Stoppers
after
Channel
7 named
Jackway
as a
person
of
interest.
"We
understand
police
took
more
than 300
calls to
Crime
Stoppers
last
night,
which is
a
phenomenal
effort,"
Mr
Morcombe
said.
"They're
really
pleased
and we
thank
the
community
for
continually
searching
for
answers.
The
police
haven't
identified
to us
the
quality
of those
leads.
"Obviously,
there'll
be some
that are
a little
thin on
content.
But the
bottom
line is
the
police
are
working
through
each of
them and
prioritising
them and
working
as
quickly
as they
can on
the most
important
ones."
Attorney-General
Cameron
Dick
yesterday
said the
Government
would
consider
applying
to keep
Jackway
in
prison
on a
continuing
detention
order
amid
concerns
he could
re-offend.
But any
application
would
not be
made
until
the last
six
months
of his
imprisonment,
which
was not
until
2012.
Daniel
Morcombe twin
brother Bradley
breaks silence
Article from:

Sophie Elsworth
October 05, 2009
11:00pm
DANIEL
Morcombe's twin
brother has
broken his
six-year silence
and spoken for
the first time
about the
disappearance of
his teenage
brother.
Bradley, 19,
revealed the
pain he and his
family have
suffered since
his twin brother
went missing in
2003, but he
still holds hope
the mystery will
be solved.
"We all live
in hope it will
be solved," he
told New
Idea
magazine.
"Without
really knowing
what happened to
Daniel, there's
no final
closure."
Daniel, 13,
was last seen
about 2.10pm on
Sunday, December
7, 2003, under
the Kiel
Mountain Rd
overpass on the
Nambour
Connection Rd
about 2km north
of the Big
Pineapple.
Bradley said
that hardly a
day passed when
he doesn't think
of his twin
brother.
"I constantly
think of him, we
all do," he
said.
"He was not
only my twin,
but my best
mate.
"Birthdays
are the hardest.
It was our
special day,
blowing out
candles together
and taking turns
opening
presents. We
shared a lot of
good times."
He still
remembers the
day Daniel
begged him to go
Christmas
shopping with
him at
Maroochydore's
Sunshine Plaza,
but he chose not
to go.
"Daniel,
myself and our
older brother
Dean were home
together after
mum and dad had
gone to Brisbane
for a work
Christmas
party," Bradley
said.
"They wanted
us to go, but we
stayed back to
do some
passionfruit
picking on a
neighbouring
farm.
"Daniel was
really happy and
so excited about
heading off to
the Sunshine
Plaza to buy mum
and dad
something
special for
Christmas."
Bradley said
he pleaded with
Daniel to wait
until the next
day to go
shopping but he
refused and went
alone.
He said he
feels lost
without Daniel
by his side.
"I'll never
forget how sad
and lonely I
felt about being
dropped off at
school by myself
for the first
time since
Daniel's
disappearance,"
he said.
Bradley now
lives with his
older brother
Dean at Mountain
Creek on the
Sunshine Coast.
Despite many
leads to
Daniel's
disappearance,
his whereabouts
still remain a
mystery, with a
$250,000 reward
on offer to help
solve one of the
country's
biggest murder
investigations.
Morcombes hope lake search
yields answers
DANIEL HURST -
SMH
January 12,
2010
Daniel Morcombe's parents
are taking a keen interest
in a police search of a lake
near Ipswich, where they
believe the Sunshine Coast
schoolboy's body may have
been dumped.
Ipswich police last month
partially drained a lake at
an old quarry near Riverview,
west of Brisbane, to less
than half its normal depth
as part of a separate
missing person
investigation.
Police are looking for
clues following the
suspected murder of local
woman Dulcie Birt, 31, but
have refused to comment on
suggestions other bodies may
have been dumped in the
Greenlakes site.
Bruce Morcombe, whose
13-year-old son was last
seen waiting by a Nambour
bus stop in 2003, said he
would watch with interest
because of a tip-off he
received from a former
Corrective Services officer
several years ago.
"One piece of information
- out of a couple of hundred
we received - was that
Daniel's remains were rolled
up inside a piece of carpet
and that carpet was in the
boot of a vehicle, that was
dumped in a disused quarry,"
he told brisbanetimes.com.au.
"That quarry was filled
with water, and it was
somewhere on the western
side of Brisbane."
However, Mr Morcombe said
he had "no firm evidence"
the Greenlakes site could
hold clues to his son's
disappearance.
"I understand that this
location was a common haunt
or dumping ground for
criminals, stolen cars and
one can imagine what else,"
he said.
"Honestly, as the father
of Daniel, I'm keen for any
information that comes out
of that [search] just in
case that happens to be
where these abductors happen
to have disposed of Daniel's
body."
Detective Senior Sergeant
Tom Armitt, from Ipswich
Criminal Investigation
Branch, said he could not
comment on the possibility
of other bodies having been
dumped in the lake.
"Any speculation on that
is just pure speculation,"
he said.
However, he confirmed the
site had been used as a
dumping ground for vehicles,
making it a dangerous place
for divers to explore.
"It's obviously been used
as a dumping ground in the
area since it was flooded in
1974, so there is an
accumulation of material on
the bottom of the lake from
the last 36 years," he said.
Senior Sergeant Armitt
said the lake had been
drained from a depth of 38
metres to 15 metres in the
lead up to Christmas.
Police were talking to
the owners of the property
and the Department of Mines
and Energy about the
feasibility of draining the
lake further, he said.
Dulcie Birt, also known
as Darcy, was last seen at
76 Old Ipswich Road in
Riverview about 8.30pm on
October 21 last year.
She left her home in a
green 1998 Mitsubishi Triton
four wheel drive ute on the
night of her disappearance.
Police have reportedly
identified a person of
interest in her
disappearance, but no
charges have been laid.
Last month, officers said
they had located "potential
evidence" during their
searches of the Riverview
area, but would not reveal
what they had found.
Memorial to honour
Daniel Morcombe
By Jo
Skinner - ABC
Posted
6 hours 8 minutes ago
- April 9th 2010
Missing
teenager Daniel Morcombe,
from Queensland's Sunshine
Coast, will be the first to
be honoured in a new
memorial garden for
Australia's missing persons.
The Doorway of Hope
Missing Person's Remembrance
Garden will be launched on
Sunday at the Waronora
Cemetery in Sydney.
His mother, Denise
Morcombe, says she will be
honoured to receive the
first 'message of hope'
plaque, but it will be a
difficult day for the
family.
"It's pretty sad. It's
going to be a hard day.
We've seen the artwork
that's come and it's a nice
plaque and it's got a
picture on it. We've put a
poem on there and it's going
to be in like a little glass
case," she said.
Ms Morcombe says it will
be the first time her sons,
Dean and Bradley, will
attend such an event.
"It's the first time that
they've really said that
they wanted to come to
something like this, so
we're happy that hopefully
it might help the boys a bit
better," she said.
"We always say that we've
got two different lives -
one before and one after -
everything just changes from
birthdays to Christmas.
"It's hard to celebrate
Brad's birthday when
Daniel's not there, being
his twin."
Tentative date set for
Morcombe inquest
By Murray
Cornish - ABC
Posted
Fri Jul 9, 2010 7:33am AEST
The family
of missing Sunshine Coast
schoolboy Daniel Morcombe
says there will be a
coronial inquest into his
disappearance before the end
of the year.
The 13-year-old went
missing while waiting for a
bus at Woombye in December
2003.
The state coroner has set
a provisional date for a
formal inquest before the
end of the year.
The child's father, Bruce
Morcombe, said yesterday he
had been in contact with the
coroner and evidence was
being organised.
"There's been a date set
and certainly it's a working
date," he said.
"It enables our family a
bit of structure for the
remainder of this year but
that date is not set in
stone, there's still some
negotiating to happen."
He says the family will
continue to search for
answers even if a coronial
inquest fails to shed any
light on the boy's
disappearance.
Mr Morcombe says he is
determined to discover what
happened...
"Should the coronial
inquest not find an answer
we won't be giving up," he
said.
"We'll probably need to
find the answers that do
come up and see where that
takes us beyond that,
perhaps it opens up further
investigative work for the
police.
"That's ground we'll find
out in the months ahead."
He says there is a lot of
evidence to be presented.
"We're really hopeful
that the inquiry will be
pointed and focused at
certain people and those
persons of interest really
become a suspect," he said.
"That's the point of it
all at the moment, all we
have is persons of interest
and there's quite a few
people there.
"There is a mountain of
information but it really
takes some experts to sift
through that and find that
weak link and that weak link
may not be a career
criminal, it may well be a
family member that's
providing that alibi."
Morcombe family hopeful
for inquest lead
By Jo
Skinner - ABC
Updated
Mon Sep 6, 2010 10:38am AEST
The parents
of missing teenager Daniel
Morcombe from Queensland's
Sunshine Coast say they hope
a coronial Inquest into
their son's abduction and
suspected murder will
identify new suspects in the
case.
A coronial hearing on
October 11 in the
Maroochydore District Court
is expected to question a
number of people of interest
in the disappearance of the
then-13-year-old from a bus
stop at Woombye in December
2003.
The coroner says the
inquest has been set down
for five days.
However, Daniel's father,
Bruce Morcombe, says the
inquest could go for several
weeks.
"We are aware that it
starts on October 11 and
we're certainly aware of a
number of weeks that have
been booked at the
courthouse," he said.
"At the end of the day it
doesn't have a time period,
but it's expected that it
will be a number of weeks,
but it will certainly go for
as long as required."
Mr Morcombe says he hopes
the inquest will pinpoint
new suspects.
"We believe that State
Coroner Michael Barnes will
be hearing Daniel's case and
trying to gather the facts
and find the right person -
the people responsible for
his abduction and suspected
murder and try to get to the
bottom of just what happened
to Daniel and obviously
point the finger at the
people responsible," he
said.
Society today: none of
our business?
By
Madonna King
Updated
Mon Oct 18, 2010 5:54pm AEDT
- ABC
The Morecombes hold
no grudges. An
ordinary family,
thrown into an
extraordinary
situation, they just
want to know what
happened to their
son. (ABC TV News)
Last week,
I lost my five-year-old
daughter at a Brisbane
shopping centre. It was in
broad daylight, and she
wanted to run up a ramp,
next to a set of stairs. We
decided to meet at the top.
When I got up there, she
was nowhere in sight. I
watched her little blonde
curls for the two minutes we
were not holding hands, and
then suddenly, they
disappeared.
Most parents know the
feeling. It starts in the
stomach, and makes you
sweat. It's a sense of
dread, and then panic. I
rushed into the three
nearest shops, calling her
name. Nothing.
I watched the street, so
that if she ventured back to
the car, she wouldn't be
crossing in front of
traffic. I started to cry.
Eventually, after what
seemed like an hour, but was
more like 15 minutes, I
screamed her name. Over and
over, again and again. In a
big retailer, nearby, a
mother heard the fear
gripping my voice and
approached a little girl she
spotted running from aisle
to aisle.
She grabbed her hand, and
led her in the direction of
my voice. And I didn't let
go of her for hours.
It happened in the same
week witnesses were lining
up to tell an inquest into
the Daniel Morcombe
disappearance that they
might have seen him, just
before he disappeared seven
years ago, and 10 days
before his 14th birthday.
Daniel was last seen
waiting for a bus under an
overpass on the side of the
Nambour Connection Road on
Queensland's Sunshine Coast.
And since that day, 10,000
people have been
interviewed, and 18,000 job
logs created.
But it is what didn't
happen on that hot December
day that is weighing on the
minds of many people, and
prompting the rest of the
community to ask: when do
you interfere, and when do
you decide it's none of your
business?
A survey of 22,000
Australians recently showed
we'd prefer to mind our own
business: when confronted by
clear-cut cases of child
abuse, less than half of us
would take any formal action
to protect the child, and
only a third of us would go
to police with serious
accusations of sex abuse.
Last week, witnesses to
the Morcombe inquest told of
their guilt because they saw
something on December 7,
2003 that didn't look right,
and decided to continue on
their way.
One local said he saw
Daniel close to the road,
with his head bowed. A man
who looked like "a grub''
was standing a few metres
away.
In fact, the scene looked
so odd, the witness felt
uncomfortable and kept
looking in the rear vision
mirror.
A short time later, he
was overtaken by a vehicle
in which a young person
seemed to be involved in a
struggle. It could have been
entirely unrelated. But
every time he thinks about
it, it concerns him. If
only...
Another witness who drove
past the bus stop told the
inquest she saw two men
standing near Daniel. It
just didn't look right. If
only she'd stopped...
A bus driver also said he
was ordered not to stop for
any more passengers because
he was running 40 minutes
late. Another bus passed a
few minutes later - but it
was too late. Daniel was
gone. If only.
This is not to pass
judgment. Would I have
stopped? I honestly don't
know.
What would you do in the
circumstances? Would you
fear you were perhaps taking
on the father of a child by
stopping to ask questions?
Would you be wasting police
resources, by alerting them
to a number plate? Would you
be worried you'd be caught
up in some later legal
wrangle?
If the lesson out of the
inquest, so far, is that we
should care less about those
things, and more about
acting, then it's a lesson
police need to heed too.
So far a litany of police
oversights have shown how
the investigation got off to
a rocky start, and hit big
unprofessional road bumps,
along the way.
Police took the initial
report of the 13-year-old's
disappearance fairly
casually, telling his
parents to go home. They
didn't know what to do, or
where to turn.
Police also didn't follow
up leads, including a person
in an older-model blue car
being punched, for weeks;
lost 13 hours in the search
at the start by not
escalating the case to that
of a missing person, and
didn't track the movements
of a critical person of
interest.
They also didn't pursue a
mysterious call the bus
company received on the day
Daniel went missing, and
failed to implement all the
recommendations of an FBI
agent brought over to help.
The Morecombes hold no
grudges. An ordinary family,
thrown into an extraordinary
situation, they just want to
know what happened to their
son.
The inquest, which
doesn't have the same power
as a court, continues to
run.
But already it raises
this question: are we now
too frightened, or
unwilling, to get involved
in someone else's business?
At what cost?
Madonna King presents
Mornings each weekday
from 8.30am on
612 ABC Brisbane.
Killer 'knew Daniel
Morcombe's fate'
Oct 27, 2010 9:02am
BOY taken by
pimp, plied with drugs
before body dumped in
river, "person of
interest" claimed.
The coronial inquest
into the disappearance
of 13-year-old Daniel at
Woombye on December 7,
2003, yesterday heard
chilling details of key
"persons of interest",
codenamed P1 and P2.
Detective Senior
Constable Ross Hutton
told the inquest that
the man who became P1 in
the investigation had
been identified after
indicating to police he
knew what had happened
to Daniel.
Sen-Constable Hutton
said P1 made the
admission in "an
emotional state" as he
led police to his
victim's grave on the
Sunshine Coast in 2004.
The inquest, before
State Coroner Michael
Barnes, was told P1- now
in jail for manslaughter
- claimed a man called
"Adam Andrews" was
responsible for Daniel's
abduction and murder.
"Adam Andrews was
around 30, lived in
north Brisbane and was a
seller and user of
heroin in Fortitude
Valley," Sen-Constable
Hutton said.
He said P1 alleged he
and "Andrews" were pimps
in the Valley and
Andrews' motive was to
"use young Daniel as a
prostitute".
The inquest heard P1
had claimed to have seen
the boy "affected by
drugs" on December 12
and 13 of 2003 and that
on December 14 or 15 had
been present when
Daniel's body had been
disposed of in the
Brisbane River, near the
BP refinery.
Sen-Constable Hutton
said that police had
gone to great lengths to
find the "Adam Andrews"
implicated but were
unsuccessful.
An extensive search
was conducted of the
river where P1 had said
the body was dumped in a
"blue drum with number
23 on it", with no clues
uncovered.
The inquest was told
that P4, an associate of
P1, had identified from
a photo board a man whom
he knew as "Adam", who
had access to a blue
Nissan Pintara.
This person, who had
a long criminal history
including offences
against children, and
drug and property
convictions, was
codenamed P2.
A heavy drug user, he
was unable to give a
definite answer as to
where he was on the day
Daniel disappeared.
Earlier, the inquest
was told that an
independent review of a
"biological psychopath"
investigated as a person
of interest had raised
serious questions about
his alibi.
The vicious criminal
just released after
serving eight years for
snatching a boy from a
public place and
assaulting him was one
of the first targeted by
police.
Codenamed P5, he had
been driving a blue car
and was on the Sunshine
Coast shortly before and
after Daniel went
missing.
Abduction story was
a lie, court told
18:16 AEST Wed Oct
27 2010
By Christine
Flatley - Nine
MSN
A man wasted thousands
of hours of police time
by repeatedly lying
about abducting and
burying missing teenager
Daniel Morcombe, an
inquest has heard.
Giving evidence in
the Maroochydore
Coroners Court on
Wednesday, Detective
Senior Constable Ross
Hutton said the person
of interest (POI) known
as P1 told police on a
number of occasions
about how he had helped
to abduct the
13-year-old from a
Sunshine Coast bus stop
on December 7, 2003.
P1 said he, an
associate known as P2
and an unidentified
third man had bundled
Daniel into a car and
taken the teenager back
to Brisbane, where he
was abused.
P1 said he and P2
then disposed of
Daniel's body in
bushland.
The court was told
the tip-off sparked a
massive search -
including the use of a
cadaver dog flown up
from Victoria - of the
Beerburrum State Forest
but Daniel's body was
never found.
P1 - who is currently
in jail for the
manslaughter of another
man - backflipped on his
story when he was called
before a secret Crime
and Misconduct
Commission (CMC) hearing
in 2007, saying he had
lied about everything
because he wanted to
make trouble for police.
"P1 recanted all
versions and said he
wasn't involved and that
he'd made all those
versions up because he
despised police, and he
wished to annoy police,"
Det Sen Const Hutton
said.
Det Sen Const Hutton
agreed P1 had wasted
"thousands and thousands
and thousands of hours"
of police time with his
lies, and that he could
not be trusted.
He said P2 has
consistently denied any
involvement in Daniel's
disappearance.
Det Sen Const Hutton
said police had
struggled to link P1 and
P2 with each other prior
to the date of Daniel's
abduction, and had
difficulty tracking
their movements on the
day because they had
both used mobile phones
registered in false
names.
"If we could link
them it would be a
different kettle of
fish, but we just
couldn't link them there
on the 7th," Det Sen
Const Hutton said.
The court heard
another POI - known as
P33 - had also made
claims about having been
involved in abducting
Daniel.
Detective Senior
Constable Virginia Gray
said P33 was interviewed
by police on a number of
occasions about his
assertions that he and
his older male lover -
P32 - had snatched the
teenager from under the
Kiel Mountain Road
overpass.
In the interview, P33
said P32 had tied Daniel
up and sexually
assaulted him in a
wooden shed at the
Greenbank army reserve,
in Brisbane's south,
before killing him.
The court was told
P33 then said he and P32
wrapped Daniel in chains
and dumped him in the
Brisbane River.
Det Sen Const Gray
said P32 has continually
denied any involvement
with Daniel's
disappearance, but said
neither man could be
eliminated as potential
suspects.
She said
investigations were
still ongoing in
relation to both men.
The inquest continues
on Thursday.
TV
report 'damaged'
investigation
27th
October 2010 - Sunshine
Coast Daily
A MEDIA organisation
was criticised yesterday
for publishing “wildly
inaccurate information”
which “damaged” the
police investigation
into a key person of
interest in Daniel
Morcombe’s
disappearance.
Detective Senior
Constable Emma MacIndoe,
who led an independent
review on person of
interest five, said a
Channel Seven report on
P5 meant an exhaustive
18-month investigation
was damaged. Police had
to rush through vital
steps because of the
“potential contamination
of evidence” about to
occur when the show
aired.
Det MacIndoe said
they had to rush through
photoboard
identifications with key
witnesses to avoid
prejudiced
recollections, and
curtailed a covert
operation being run by
the homicide crew. She
said she had to prepare
an interview with P5,
using new information
gathered, in just four
days.
“He already knew we
were on our way because
he had seen the
(promos),” she said.
Maroochydore
Coroner’s Court heard
the news program had
shown a 15-year-old
photo of P5 to an
alleged witness who
identified him as the
person she had seen.
The court heard she
had seen this person
before Daniel went
missing but police had
confirmed P5 was in jail
at the time.
“The
female person in that
program was not an eye
witness to Daniel’s
disappearance,”
barrister Michael
Nicolson, acting for the
police, said.
Mr Nicolson said Det
MacIndoe’s ultimate
conclusion was that P5,
who had previously been
jailed for sex offences
against a child, could
not be eliminated from
the investigation but
there were difficulties
establishing his actual
movements the day Daniel
disappeared.
The court heard new
versions from P5’s
associates, who had
claimed they were
pressured into giving P5
an alibi, opened up a
potentially wider time
frame for him to get to
the Sunshine Coast and
back to Goodna.
“If there’s another
piece of the jigsaw
puzzle, it could advance
the investigation?” Mr
Nicolson asked.
“Because of the time
passed, there’s an open
possibility but it can’t
be taken any further?”
Det MacIndoe agreed.
The court heard P5
had been described as “a
biological psychopath”.
“I don’t think he is
capable of telling the
truth, even to simple
questions,” Det MacIndoe
said.
State coroner Michael
Barnes asked that
assistant police
commissioner Mike
Condon, who was the head
of homicide during the
review, discuss how
investigators could
prevent a similar media
report.
Mr Nicolson said
media outlets played a
valuable role in missing
persons cases but “this
is an example of jumping
the gun which has caused
serious damage”.
Morcombe family
lawyer Peter Boyce said
his clients could give
evidence about who knew
about the media story in
the police force.
“It was an attempt to
make sure the public
awareness was very much
out there,” he said.
'Adoptive
father snatched Daniel'
Rae Wilson | 28th
October 2010
A
'PATHOLOGICAL liar' has
claimed his 'adoptive
father' snatched Daniel
Morcombe from the
Sunshine Coast, sexually
abused him in a timber
shed in Brisbane and
then killed him.
Detective Senior
Constable Virginia Gray
told a coronial inquest
that the man was 14 or
15 when he was “rescued
from the streets” in
Victoria by a
50-year-old man, who are
labelled P33 and P32
respectively, and
developed a sexual
relationship.
“P33 and P32 are
sexual partners but they
indicate to the
community that they are
adopted father and son,”
she said.
Both are persons of
interest in the
13-year-old’s
disappearance seven
years ago at Woombye.
Witnesses describe
seeing one or two
scruffy looking men near
a blue car. Some report
seeing a white van too.
P32 was convicted
interstate of soliciting
a 12-year-old boy for a
sexual purpose in 1980.
P33 has convictions
for possessing child
pornography, arson and
sexually abusing his
daughter.
The latter came to
police attention because
of information from P32.
P33 is in jail over
those offences.
Det Gray said police
felt P33’s motive, apart
from the truth, in
giving police
information could be as
a vendetta against P32
or his attention seeking
tendencies.
“He said P32 had been
driving a white van and
he was driving a blue
car, that P32 had a
conversation with a boy
under the underpass and
the boy got in the van
with P32,” Det Gray
said.
“He was saying the
child got in the van
voluntarily.”
Det Gray said P33
later changed his
version of events saying
P32 had asked him to get
rope to tie up the boy’s
legs while P32 held him
in a bear hug.
She said P33 told her
the boy was then put
face down in the
passenger side of the
van but he was screaming
and P32 told him to put
something on his mouth.
Det
Gray said he left in the
blue car and P32 left in
the white van.
She said he never
saw the boy in P32’s
Park Ridge home but he
was driven to “a small
wooden shed” in the
Greenbank army reserve,
in Brisbane’s south.
“He said the child
was tied up in the shed
and covered with a
blanket,” she said.
“He said P32
sexually assaulted that
child (there).”
Det Gray said the
army reserve was a huge
area with numerous sheds
which were often moved
around.
She said workers
told her sheds that
fitted P33’s description
had burned down during a
fire in the area.
Det Gray said
police found two
batteries at a spot in
the Brisbane River where
P32 claimed P33 had
dumped Daniel’s body
wrapped in chains and
weighed down with car
parts.
But she said they
proved too new and
appeared to be truck and
boat batteries, not from
a car.
Det Gray said P33
lied consistently and
P32 has always denied he
was involved but they
could not be eliminated
as persons of interest
because of their access
to vehicles of interest
and their behavioural
histories.
“He has a
consistent pattern when
he is contradicted, he
apologises for lying,
modifies that version
and moves on,” she said.
“His
family ... indicated a
number of times he came
up with stories and
versions of things that
were untruthful”.
Morcombe inquest reveals
how paedophile networks work
By Bruce
Atkinson and Murray Cornish
Updated
Fri Oct 29, 2010 9:15am AEDT
The father
of missing teenager Daniel
Morcombe says today's annual
'Day for Daniel' takes
on new significance amid the
coronial inquest into his
son's suspected murder.
The inquest into the
disappearance of the
13-year-old boy, who waiting
for a bus at Woombye on the
Sunshine Coast in December
2003, has heard graphic
evidence about how
paedophile networks target
their victims.
Coroner Michael Barnes is
considering a request to
have 10 'people of interest'
face questioning over the
suspected murder.
Counsel assisting the
coroner and the Morcombe's
solicitor have submitted the
names of 10 people in the
police investigation they
want called when the hearing
resumes in December.
After sitting through two
weeks of evidence, father
Bruce Morcombe says this
year's 'Day for Daniel',
aimed at raising child
safety awareness, takes on
extra importance.
"I didn't know people
like that existed and it's
just a real eye-opener," he
said.
"We have to take that on
board and understand these
people are out there and
they're preying on our kids
and we have to do something.
"It's also a show to the
community that child safety
is important and nothing
could be underlined more
than what we've heard in the
last couple of weeks about a
number of paedophiles and
predators that exist in our
community."
Child safety education
Child protection advocacy
group Bravehearts hopes the
coronial inquest will shock
authorities into doing more
to stop paedophiles.
Bravehearts research
manager Carol Ronken hopes
the revelations make parents
and the Queensland
Government better understand
the problem.
"One of the things that I
would like to see coming out
of this inquiry is better
cooperation between
government and
non-government - people who
work in this area getting
together and talking about
how we can best address the
issue of child sexual
assault," she said.
"Getting a taskforce
together of people who work
in this area where we can
actually look at responses
that will effectively deal
with child sexual assault."
She says the inquest
highlights the importance of
child safety education.
Ms Ronken says
paedophiles are confident of
retaining anonymity in their
secretive networks.
"We are having this
attention on the formation
of child sex offender
networks means that
hopefully we can look at
resourcing and ensuring that
we address this issue and
they don't stay hidden," she
said.
"These groups are just so
well hidden in our community
that we've got to do
everything we can to bring
it out into the open and to
ensure their children's
safety."
Ms Ronken says the
inquest's revelations have
shocked even her and she
hopes it alerts parents to
the dangers children face.
"I think that one of the
most important things that
can come out of these types
of inquiries is the fact
that we an focus on
prevention, we can focus on
education," she said.
"We can start talking to
children about basic
personal safety issues at a
very early age.
"We can equip them with
the knowledge and the skills
that they need to stay
safe."
Morcombe's father calls
for children distress signal
By Jo
Skinner - ABC
Posted
Mon Mar 21, 2011 11:38am
AEDT
The parents
of missing teenager Daniel
Morcombe on Queensland's
Sunshine Coast are trialing
what they hope will become
an international distress
signal for children in
trouble.
The 13-year-old
disappeared more than seven
years ago while waiting for
a bus on the Sunshine Coast.
His father, Bruce
Morcombe, says many people
saw his son on the day he
disappeared, but did not
know he was in trouble.
Mr Morcombe is now
testing two different hand
signals at schools on the
Sunshine Coast this week.
He says creating a
special hand signal for
children to use when they
are in danger could save
lives.
"We need a signal - we
need some sort of a command
or identification that is
easy for a child to use and
is easy for a passer-by to
understand and recognise
where it's a clear-cut
indication - 'mate, I need
help - come and attend'," he
said.
"They're basically hands
above your head.
"One forms a lower case
'd' and we've suggested that
the hand is actually opening
and closing in a sort of
blinking fashion.
"The other option is
crossing of the wrists with
arms stretched above your
head, again with the hands
blinking - opening and
closing."
Suspect accused: 'You killed
Daniel'
Kieran Campbell | 2nd
April 2011 - Sunshine
Coast Daily
A SERIAL liar and
child molester sat
stony-faced as he was
yesterday accused of
taking Daniel Morcombe
into bushland,
assaulting and killing
him.
The prime suspect was
the last person of
interest to give
evidence in the inquest
into Daniel's
disappearance seven
years ago.
The man, known as P7,
has a history of
abducting young boys
from public areas and
molesting them.
He told police he
drove on Nambour
Connection Road at the
time Daniel was waiting
for a bus on December 7,
2003.
P7 admitted he looked
identical to sketches
drawn from witness
descriptions of a man
seen standing near
Daniel.
Counsel assisting the
coroner, Peter Johns,
put to P7 that he
murdered the
13-year-old.
“To have us believe
you didn't see (Daniel)
is like suggesting that
a snake might slide past
an injured mouse and
take no notice,” Mr
Johns said.
Mr Johns said P7
parked his car and went
to speak to Daniel, who
did not know his bus was
delayed because it had
broken down.
Mr Johns said P7 used
his “very well-honed
skills to convince
children to do things
they might not want to
do”, but that he had
difficulty convincing
Daniel.
“And then you had a
stroke of luck because
the bus went past and he
didn't understand why,”
Mr Johns said.
“And that's just what
you needed to push him
over the edge.”
He said Daniel
trusted P7 because he
had probably been told
he'd take him to the
shops or to his home so
that he did not have to
walk.
“But you took him to
some of the bushland
that you know like the
back of your hand.
“You assaulted him
and in the course of
that assault you either
accidentally or
intentionally killed
him.
“And even if … you
didn't have time to do
something with the body
that day, driving your
tow truck around the
Sunshine Coast in
subsequent days, you had
every opportunity to do
something with the body.
I say you intentionally
killed him.
“You found out it was
very annoying to have a
victim survive and come
and identify you.
“That's the set of
circumstances more or
less, isn't it?”
P7 replied, “No it's
not. I had nothing to do
with Daniel's
disappearance.”
Mr Johns said Daniel
Morcombe was the only
case in Queensland in
P7's lifetime where a
juvenile boy had been
abducted and neither his
body nor a perpetrator
was ever found. “As of
December, 2003, you were
one of the very few
people in Queensland, if
not Australia, who had a
criminal history of
kidnapping and sexually
assaulting young boys,”
Mr Johns said.
“You, with this
extensive history of
kidnapping boys … happen
to be in the very place
at the very time that
this once-in-a-lifetime
event occurs.
Unbelievably unlucky,
would you agree?”
P7 replied: “Yep.”
“So the bastard who
did this … not only
happened to do this
unfortunately while you
were driving right by
but you're unlucky
enough that he actually
looks like you as well,”
Mr Johns said.
“As if this isn't
some great celestial
joke that God's playing
on you, someone's gone
and parked a car like
yours 100m from the
scene at the same time.
You are the unluckiest
man around, aren't you?”
P7 shrugged his
shoulders.
“I was not involved
in Daniel's
disappearance,” P7 said.
There was a 35-minute
gap in P7's statement to
police that gave him
time to abduct Daniel.
Morcombe inquest resumes on
Coast
4th April 2011 -
Sunshine Coast Daily
THE inquest into the
disappearance of Daniel
Morcombe, which resumes
in Maroochydore today,
is centred on four
objectives.
State Coroner Michael
Barnes will eventually
make a finding on
whether Daniel is
deceased and if so, how
he died, when and where
he died, and what caused
his death.
But the inquest is
also an opportunity for
the public to get a
detailed look at the
police investigation
that started on December
7, 2003 when the Coast
youngster disappeared.
The case remains
Queensland’s biggest
missing person
investigation, involving
10,000 interviews.
This week questions
will be asked of senior
police about the
adequacy of the
immediate response by
police when Daniel was
reported missing, and
the adequacy of the
overall investigation.
A senior officer will
also be asked questions
about how the police
investigation should
proceed after the
inquest.
There is also
expected to be evidence
from some associates of
a person of interest in
the investigation.
Morcombes may have stared at
killer
Mark Bode | 3rd April
2011 - Sunshine Coast
Daily
BRUCE and Denise
Morcombe believe they
could have stared their
son’s killer in the eye
on Friday.
It was an emotional
day for the parents as
they listened to
evidence from the last
person of interest to
take the witness stand
in the inquest into
their son Daniel’s
abduction.
The prime suspect,
known as P7, told the
court that he used
cannabis on the mornings
before he gave evidence
this week.
Mr Morcombe told
media outside Brisbane
Magistrates Court that
there was “a definite
chance” that P7 was
responsible for the
abduction and murder of
Daniel on December 7,
2003.
“We’ve got a long way
to go but it’s very
interesting for sure,”
Mr Morcombe said.
Mrs Morcombe said
before Friday she
thought another person
of interest, P5, could
have been responsible
for their son’s
disappearance.
“We had our mind set
on it being P5 and then
when this one (P7)
walked in yesterday,
he’s exactly like the
sketches,” she said.
Mr and Mrs Morcombe
will return to
Maroochydore Courthouse
tomorrow for another
week of evidence in the
inquest.
“We’re a bit tired,
to be honest,” Mr
Morcombe said.
“We’ve probably had a
gutful of paedophiles
and druggies and scum,
but that’s what we’re
dealing with. It will be
good to get home and see
some normal people I
think.”
A FORMER prisoner
has told an inquest
into Daniel
Morcombe's
disappearance he
believes one of the
persons of interest
in the case was
responsible.
Giving evidence in
the Maroochydore
Coroners Court today,
the witness said he met
the man, dubbed P5 by
police, while they were
inmates of the Wolston
Correctional Centre,
west of Brisbane, in
about 2005.
He told the court he
had never spoken
directly with P5 about
13-year-old Daniel, who
went missing while
waiting for a bus on the
Sunshine Coast on
December 7, 2003.
But, he said, he had
heard many rumours that
P5 was responsible.
"I reckon I know who
it was ... (P5)," the
witness said.
"And that was based
on the rumours you heard
in jail?" asked Peter
Johns, counsel assisting
state coroner Michael
Barnes.
"And other things,"
the witness replied.
He told the court
that while he was in
jail, P5 had tried to
sell him a blue car
similar to one
reportedly seen parked
near Daniel shortly
before he disappeared.
He said the rumour of
P5's involvement was
fuelled when he and
fellow inmates learned
he had a history of
abducting and raping
children.
Giving evidence at
the inquest last week,
P5 denied any
involvement.
"I'm telling you I
had nothing to do with
Daniel's disappearance,"
he said.
Several witnesses
have told the inquest
they saw one or two men
standing near Daniel
while he waited by the
side of the Nambour
Connection Road under
the Kiel Mountain Road
overpass.
Daniel tried to hail
a passing bus, but the
driver did not stop
because he had been
ordered not to pick up
more passengers.
He radioed another
bus behind him to tell
the driver about Daniel,
the court has heard.
However, Stuart Rose,
who was on the second
bus, told the court on
Tuesday that when they
passed the spot less
than five minutes later,
Daniel had already
disappeared.
"We were looking
around for a person
standing under (the
bridge) or just past
it," he said.
"There was nothing
there."
Senior Sergeant Mick
Buckley told the court
on Tuesday that an
extensive forensic
examination - at least
twice the size of any
other in Queensland
history - was conducted
in the area, including
the roadside site where
Daniel was last seen.
He told the court
that police found
shattered glass along
with tyre and shoe
prints at the scene.
Three of the shoe
prints were believed to
be Daniel's while the
poor-quality tyre prints
were believed to have
been made by a truck.
However, the court
heard no definitive
matches had been made.
Sgt Buckley said
there was no sign anyone
had tried to conceal
evidence at the scene,
and conceded there had
been no forensic
examination of the
opposite side of the
road.
Forensics experts
also scoured the nearby
Woombye Motor Inn, where
P28 and her then husband
- who gave the evidence
about jailhouse rumours
regarding P5 - were
believed to be selling
drugs that weekend.
P28 was due to give
evidence via video link
from Victoria on Tuesday
but she failed to attend
court and police have
been unable to contact
her.
The coroner will
decide on Wednesday,
when the hearing
resumes, whether to
issue a warrant.
Read more:
http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/former-prisoner-accused-in-daniel-morcombe-case/story-e6frfku0-1226034243735#ixzz1Ina1GQqi
THE coronial
inquest into the
disappearance
and suspected
murder of Daniel
Morcombe has
been delayed
this morning
after one of the
witnesses was
arrested.
The witness,
believed to be an
associate of P1, is
being held in
custody in Brisbane
after a
fail-to-appear
warrant was
executed.
The witness is
now expected to give
evidence tomorrow.
The arrest came
after Daniel's
father Bruce
Morcombe said he
expected the
inquest to uncover
answers into his
son's disappearance.
''I'm sure the
information that's
come forward, the
police will be
working through
that, and I'm
reasonably confident
that the new
material will draw a
genuine focus on
someone and we'll
nail them in the
next time period,''
he said.
The inquest will
this week focus on
associates of P1 and
P2, as well as
police handling of
the case.
''Certainly mid
and later in the
week we've got some
experts from the
police regarding
forensic evidence
and missing
persons,'' Mr
Morcombe said.
''I think what
was interesting last
week was a possible
link between P7 and
P2 so I'm sure that
will be explored.
''Certainly any
link between the
persons of interest
will be quite
striking and of
importance.''
Mr Morcombe said
there was
potentially two
vehicles seen at the
bus stop where
Daniel was last seen
- a white square
shaped van and a
mid-80s
square-shaped blue
sedan.
''Some persons of
interest have this
type and some have
that type so we'll
wait and see if
there's a potential
link,'' he said.The
13-year-old was last
seen at a Woombye
bus stop in December
2003.
Denise Morcombe
said she expected
this week to be less
confronting than the
evidence heard last
week.
''Last week was
really awful,'' she
said. ''We just hope
that something comes
out if this week but
people can still be
questioned and
interviewed even if
they're not sitting
in front of the
coroner.''
The coronial
inquest will this
week look at the
adequacy of the
police response to
Daniel’s
disappearance and
the police
investigation.
Two persons of
interest – known as
P5 and P7 – were
called to give
evidence in the
inquest at the
Brisbane Coroners
Court last week.
Both convicted
pedophiles denied
involvement in
Daniel’s
disappearance.
Associates of
persons of interest
are also expected to
be called to provide
evidence.
The inquest,
before Coroner
Michael Barnes, is
expected to finish
on Friday.
A MAN nominated as
an alibi by a person
of interest in the
Daniel Morcombe case
has told a court he
cannot recall being
with him on the day
the teenager
disappeared.
Giving evidence in
the Maroochydore
Coroners Court today,
the 49-year-old said the
man known as P7 was a
regular visitor to the
Beerwah property he
shared with a female
friend.
He said P7 would buy
drugs from his friend on
at least a fortnightly
basis but would also
"drop in" regularly on
other occasions.
However, he said he
could not recall P7
visiting on Sunday,
December 7, 2003, when
Daniel went missing
while waiting for a bus
on the Sunshine Coast.
P7 told the inquest
last week he had gone to
the house around the
time Daniel disappeared,
where he had spent at
least 30 minutes buying
and smoking cannabis. P7
said he also took a
mulcher around to show
to his friends.
But the witness told
the court today he had
no recollection of ever
seeing the piece of
gardening equipment.
"Do you recall (P7)
ever coming to your
house with a mulcher in
the back of his Pajero?"
asked Peter Johns,
counsel assisting state
coroner Michael Barnes.
"No," the witness
replied.
He told the court it
was something he would
"definitely" have
remembered, as he had a
keen interest in
anything with a motor.
"Let me put it this
way, I've just spent
about two weeks working
on a ride-on mower to
make sure it's all going
like it should, and it's
not like I didn't have
anything else to do," he
said.
"I'd like to believe
that if I went out and
looked at that thing
that I would still, to
this day, know what
engine was powering it."
He told the court he
and his housemate were
often away from the
house on Sunday
afternoons, when P7
claims he was visiting,
while they went to the
local RSL club.
"We used to go there
pretty much every
weekend," he said.
The witness's
housemate, who has
confirmed she sold drugs
to P7, also told the
inquest last week that
she could not recall if
he had visited the house
on that day.
The inquest
continues.
Fresh evidence puts P7 alibi
in doubt
Kieran Campbell | 6th
April 2011 - Sunshine
Coast Daily
THE alibi for a man
accused of abducting
Daniel Morcombe appears
to have been blown by
new evidence heard this
morning.
The suspect, known as
P7, told the inquest
into Daniel’s
disappearance that he
showed his drug dealer’s
partner a plant mulcher
he had just picked up on
the day the 13-year-old
went missing.
However this morning
the man who would have
been an alibi said he
did not remember P7 ever
showing him a mulcher in
the back of his car.
The man said he was
“mechanically minded”
and believed he would
still know the type of
motor that ran the
mulcher if he had been
shown it by P7.
P7, who has a
criminal history of
abducting and molesting
young boys, told police
he drove on Nambour
Connection Road at the
time Daniel disappearaed.
When he was first
interviewed P7 could not
explain a 35-minute gap
in his movements on the
afternoon of December 7,
2003.
In 2006 he told
police for the first
time that he had bought
marijuana from his
dealer at Beerwah.
P7 was last week
accused of abducting,
assaulting and killing
Daniel.
The court heard that
P7 was one of a few
people in Australia who
had the ability or
inclination to commit
such an offence.
P7 denied he had any
role in Daniel’s
disappearance, but his
innocence was pinned on
an alibi from his drug
dealer and her partner.
The inquest
continues.
No DNA link
to Daniel Morcombe ever
found
DANIEL Morcombe’s DNA
was taken from his
toothbrush in the hope
that police could link
it to the teenager’s
abductor.
The forensic
investigation into
Daniel’s disappearance
is the largest in
Queensland history,
twice as big as any
other.
It involved a
fingerprint expert
sweeping Daniel’s room
to eventually develop a
full set of prints for
the 13-year-old.
Despite the mammoth
investigation, no trace
of Daniel or any link to
him has ever been found.
The inquest into
Daniel’s abduction heard
yesterday that every
piece of forensic
evidence looked at by
police had been seized
and preserved, including
“plant material” from a
prime suspect’s car
boot.
Police said that if
Daniel’s burial site was
ever found they had the
ability to examine the
scene and compare it to
evidence seized in the
past.
Senior Sergeant
Michael Buckley told the
inquest there was no
sign of “violence or an
altercation” at the
place where Daniel was
last seen alive.
He said there also
appeared to be no
attempt to clean up the
scene when it was first
examined by police on
December 8, 2003.
The area under the
Kiel Mountain Road
overpass on Nambour
Connection Road was
never roped off as a
crime scene.
Police found several
“items of interest” when
they searched the area,
including three tyre
impressions and five
partial shoe
impressions. Three of
the shoe impressions
were believed to be
prints from Daniel.
The other two shoe
impressions are believed
to have been left by a
Colorado boot.
Snr Sgt Buckley said
forensic police had
never been given any
shoes from persons of
interest to test.
The tyre impressions
have never been matched
to any vehicle
investigated by police
and officers have not
been able to accurately
identify what type of
tyre the tracks belonged
to.
Six years after
Daniel disappeared
police loaded the
teenager’s fingerprints
on to a national
database, a rare
practice which
automatically matches
his prints to thousands
collected by police
during other
investigations.
The court was told
forensic police never
examined both sides of
Nambour Connection Road
despite evidence that
Daniel was seen on both
sides of the road.
Dealer's evidence shreds
P7's alibi
THE nominated
alibis of the key person
of interest in Daniel
Morcombe's disappearance
have denied being with
him the day the teenager
went missing.
Person of interest seven
(P7) told the inquest last
week that he was at his drug
dealer's Beerwah house for
about 30 minutes on the
afternoon of December 7,
2003, when Daniel was last
seen.
He also said he had shown
his drug dealer and her
housemate a mulcher (or wood
chipper), which was in the
back of his car, during the
visit.
But his former drug
dealer and her housemate
yesterday said they would
have been at the Beerwah RSL
that afternoon and denied
having been shown a mulcher.
The housemate, who was
"mechanically minded", told
the court he was interested
in anything with a motor and
would have remembered seeing
a mulcher.
"I can't remember it and
honestly I think I should,"
he said.
"Something like that, if
I walked out and looked at
that thing, I'd still know
to this day what type of
engine was powering it."
The inquest also heard
more than 500 new "persons
of interest" were being
investigated in relation to
Daniel's disappearance.
Police Assistant
Commissioner Mike Condon
told the court two reviews
of the investigation, done
in January and February
(this year), had identified
another 502 persons who
"required closer scrutiny",
in addition to the 33
already being examined.
Queensland's top
detective came under
scrutiny yesterday over the
police response and
investigation into Daniel's
disappearance.
Solicitor for Bruce and
Denise Morcombe, Peter
Boyce, questioned Mr Condon
about CCTV footage obtained
from Forest Glen BP service
station 10 weeks after
Daniel went missing.
Mr Condon conceded a CCTV
disc, obtained as part of
the investigation, had gone
missing.
The inquest, before
coroner Michael Barnes, has
been adjourned until a date
to be set to investigate
fresh evidence.
Breakthrough in Daniel
Morcombe murder
investigation
Last Updated: 13/08/2011
As a result of ongoing
investigations a 41-year-old
man has been charged today
with the murder of Daniel
Morcombe.
Daniel Morcombe, 13,
vanished while waiting for a
bus along Nambour Connection
Road in Woombye, under the
Kiel Mountain Road overpass,
on December 7, 2003,
sparking the biggest
missing-person investigation
in Queensland Police
history.
The man has been charged
with one count each of
murder, deprivation of
liberty, child stealing,
indecent treatment of a
child under 16 and
interfering with a corpse.
He will appear in
Brisbane Magistrates Court
on Monday.
Update: Daniel Morcombe
investigation
Last Updated:
17/08/2011
Forensic testing will be
undertaken on a shoe which
was found at the site in
Beerwah where police and SES
are searching for the
remains of Daniel Morcombe.
The shoe was located at
approximately 3pm today as a
part of the ongoing search
of the area off Kings Rd,
Beerwah.
It was located within the
primary search site.
It will be subjected to a
range of scientific testing.
This process is expected to
take some weeks.
Police caution that the find
may be totally unrelated to
the current investigation,
however the Morcombe family
have been advised.
The search of the site
continues.
Anyone with
information which could
assist police with their
investigations should
contact Crime Stoppers
anonymously via 1800 333 000
or crimestoppers.com.au
24hrs a day.
Crime Stoppers is
a charitable community
volunteer organisation
working in partnership with
the Queensland Police
Service.