Christmas 2003

The search for Daniel Morcombe began almost immediately. The thirteen-year-old disappeared on Sunday December 7, 2003. With a small amount of pocket money,  his favourite old-fashioned fob watch, Daniel headed to the bus-stop at Tambour connection Road, Palmwoods, Queensland at 1.30 pm. Daniel wanted to buy his family some Christmas presents and also need a haircut. His and his twin brother Bradley's birthday was lass than two week away and Christmas only a few days after that.

Like any young teenage boy, Daniel dawdled on his way to the bus stop. He kicked up stones and watched the cars go by. He checks his watch and knew he had plenty of time to catch the 1.42pm bus to Sunshine shopping plaza at nearby Maroochydore. He had made the trip many times and knew he would just run his errands and be home well before tea time.

December was an exciting time for Daniel who had not a care in the world. However, Daniel did not know he was being stalked. A predator was also shopping that day, but nor for Christmas presents, this person was after prey.

Witnesses remember seeing Daniel standing at the bus stop under the bridge and many fatefully remember the other scene. A blue car with a man leaning against it on the other side of the road, directly opposite young Daniel.

The Bus

Daniel waited for the bus in the shade of the overpass. 1.42pm clicked past on the teens watch and he wondered how much longer the bus would be. Little did Daniel know, but the bus had broken down.

The bus-driver radioed back to base and two replacement buses were dispatched quickly. One was sent to collect the passengers stranded with the broken down bus and the second to collect the passengers waiting at the subsequent stops.

The first bus arrived at the breakdown and collected the passengers. It then quickly made its way to the shopping plaza, passing Daniel on it way.

Daniel attempted to flag down the bus but it continued. The teenager with the bright blue eyes and brown hair stood for a moment. He was unaware that the bus driver had seen him and radioed to the replacement bus two minutes behind him to pick up the young boy.

“What do I do now?” thought Daniel as he weighed up what to do next. He wondered whether he should wait for the next bus or head back home.

Gone…

It was the last time Daniel was seen alive. By the time that the second bus arrived at the stop, Daniel had disappeared. No trace of him, nor the suspicious man with the blue car has been seen since.

That evening when Daniel had not arrived home, his parents and two brothers began searching for him all over Maroochydore and Palmwoods. Daniel never stayed out late; if he had been delayed, he would have called. He had definitely not simply runaway or even went to a friends house.

From the very beginning, it was obvious to the Morcombe family that something bad had happened.

Denise Morcombe worried that her son had been hit by a car or been in an accident. They checked every known place Daniel could have been without luck.

The police were called that first evening and quickly began a search of the bus stop and the surrounding area. The media was also quick to pick up the story. It was as if everyone knew from the very start that this was not just an ordinary missing child case. Something sinister had happened to Daniel and his family, the police, indeed most of Australia want to find the person responsible.

The Media Frenzy

The entire country has been flooded with signs, flyers and emails outlining. Daniel's disappearance with drawings of the possible suspects and his sedan.

Police are almost certain that the man in the blue car abducted and murdered the thirteen year old shortly after the first bus drove past.

Since Daniel's disappearance, more than 3500 calls have been made to Crime stoppers about the case.

So far, hundreds of people have assisted police with the investigation and remote bushland areas have been searched following information from the public. There have also been several psychics who have offered the Morcombes and the police their skills.

Yet, as the years progress, the determination of the investigators and the Morcombes have not faltered, nor will it until there is conclusion to this mystery.