AUSTRALIA • Daniel MORCOMBE, 13 (2003) ~ Brisbane

DANIEL Morcombe can now be buried with dignity after his parents received confirmation yesterday bones found at a Sunshine Coast crime scene were those of their son.

Just after 8am, Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson phoned Bruce Morcombe to deliver the news the family had both wanted and dreaded.

Seven years and nine months after Daniel vanished while waiting for a bus at Woombye on December 7, 2003, it was official: the 13-year-old schoolboy was dead.

The family's long-time lawyer and friend Peter Boyce said the Morcombes had gathered, as they had done so many times before, to comfort each other.

Mr Boyce said he had spoken to Bruce, who was "very low" after receiving the call from Mr Atkinson, who revealed DNA tests on three bones uncovered at the scene last Sunday had been matched to Daniel.

"It was the call they had expected, but that did not make it any less difficult," he said.

"From an investigation point of view, it's something that had to happen ... an achievement. From a personal viewpoint, it brought the stark reality that their son has been lying there (in Glass House Mountains bushland) for a very long time."

The Morcombes were extremely resilient and would "get back up again", Mr Boyce said.

They would now be able to focus on plans for Daniel's funeral and keep busy with the Daniel Morcombe Foundation.

Mr and Mrs Morcombe told The Courier-Mail on Thursday that the anniversary of their son's disappearance was being considered as a possible date for his funeral.

Mr Morcombe said that Daniel deserved to be farewelled "with dignity".

The couple will hold a press conference at Maroochydore today at 1pm.

Mr Atkinson yesterday told media that testing at a South Australian facility had provided a DNA match late on Saturday.

"This is an enormously significant result," Mr Atkinson said. "It's a very sad answer, but it's the answer."

He read a statement from Mr Morcombe on behalf of the family.

"Denise, Bruce, Dean and Bradley would like to thank the Queensland Police Service and the State of Emergency Service volunteers for their ongoing commitment to maintain the search for Daniel's remains," he read.

"Today's news is extremely sad for us all and although we knew in our heart the search area was Daniel's final resting place, the scientific confirmation is still enormously difficult to comprehend. For seven years and nine months it is that expected shock we have all been waiting for."

Deputy Commissioner Ross Barnett said the search at the Kings Rd crime scene would resume as soon as weather allowed.

Brett Peter Cowan, 42, has been charged with Daniel's abduction and murder.

http://www.news.com.au/bones-found-earlier-this-month-near-beerwah-belonged-to-daniel-morcombe-police-confirm/story-e6freoof-1226123790226


RELATED LINKS:

• Bones found during search for remains

• Shoes may still hold DNA evidence as hunt for Daniel Morcombe continues

• Police find second shoe thought to belong to missing teen Daniel Morcombe

Undercover police lived alongside Daniel Morcombe accused at Perth caravan park

UNDERCOVER police officers lived for months at the same Perth caravan park as the man accused of murdering Daniel Morcombe.

Brett Peter Cowan had no idea that almost every moment of his life was being monitored by detectives living just metres from him.

They watched him eat, work and interact with residents at the leafy Crystal Brook Caravan Park.


The caravan where Daniel Morcombe accused Brett Peter Cowan
lived in a Perth caravan park. Picture: Theo Fakos

Unaware of the covert operation, the former tow-truck driver was relaxed, spending some of his time doing odd jobs at the park, becoming the unofficial handyman for older residents.

Neighbours said he often walked around the van park with a parrot on his shoulder, but in early August Cowan decided he needed to return to Queensland.

Just days after his arrival, Cowan was charged on August 13 with the murder of the Sunshine Coast schoolboy.

In Brisbane Magistrates Court on August 15, Cowan pleaded not guilty to five charges: murder, deprivation of liberty, child stealing, indecent treatment of a child under 16, and interfering with a corpse.

The shocked father of three never saw his arrest coming, given he was due to testify later this year at the inquest into Daniel's disappearance.

Even before Cowan's arrest, a trusted group of police officers had secretly begun the tedious task of searching for Daniel's remains at Beerwah on the Sunshine Coast.

A second shoe, believed to match one found earlier last week, was found at the site yesterday. Both shoes will be DNA tested.

While scores of SES and police cram into the original 13m x 7m search site looking for clues, Cowan is mostly left, for his own safety, alone in his 11sq m cell at an Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre specialist unit.

It was in this cell on Thursday where he celebrated his 42nd birthday. There was no fanfare.

Cowan's possessions are minimal. He is given paper and pencil during the days, but they are taken away from him at night.

He can also call one toothbrush, one tube of toothpaste, a bar of soap and deodorant his own.

Last week, some police working on the case had the chance to blow off some steam at the 40th anniversary of the homicide squad.

It was not lost on them that the case they desperately want solved was now before the courts.

http://www.news.com.au/national/undercover-police-lived-alongside-daniel-morcombe-accused-brett-peter-cowan-at-perth-caravan-park/story-e6frfkvr-1226118881300

DNA testing has confirmed that bones found recently in an area of
swampy marshland are those of a missing Australian teenaged boy.


The bones were found as police
searched for Daniel Morcombe's remains

Daniel Morcombe, 13, disappeared in 2003 while waiting for a bus on the Sunshine Coast in the state of Queensland.
He was planning to go shopping for Christmas presents and to get a haircut, but was never seen again.
His disappearance sparked one of Australia's highest profile missing child cases.
In a statement, Daniel's father Bruce Morcombe said: "Today's news is
extremely sad for us all and although we knew in our heart that the
search area was Daniel's final resting place, the scientific
confirmation is still enormously difficult to comprehend.

As long as it takes, we are not going to walk away from that search until we have exhausted absolutely every area

Queensland Deputy Police Commissioner Ross Barnett

"For 7 years and 9 months it is that expected shock we have all been waiting for."
More than 100 emergency service workers, as well as volunteers, have
been scouring an overgrown area 20 miles from where Daniel was last seen
although the search has been hampered by bad weather.
As well as the human remains, a pair of shoes was also discovered,
although police have not said if they match those worn by Daniel.
Queensland Deputy Police Commissioner Ross Barnett said the search was
unlikely to start again for another 24 to 48 hours.
"Obviously we are keen to resume the search as soon as possible," he told reporters in Brisbane.


Daniel Morcombe, 13, disappeared in 2003
on his way to go shopping

"We are hopeful that more remains and other forensic evidence will be found; we can not be sure of course.
"As long as it takes, we are not going to walk away from that search
until we have exhausted absolutely every area of search that we can do."
Queensland MP, and Foreign Minister, Kevin Rudd used Twitter to urge Australians to spare a thought for the Morcombes.
"All of us should spend a while today thinking about the Morcombe family. May little Daniel now rest in peace," he said.
In recent years Daniel's parents have struck up a relationship with Gerry and Kate McCann.
Denise Morcombe wrote to Kate McCann after Madeleine went missing in 2007.
The two couples have met, united by their similar experiences.
Brett Peter Cowan, 41, from Perth has been charged with Daniel's abduction and murder.
http://news.sky.com/home/article/16058234