Daniel Morcombe went missing on Sunday, 7 December 2003, while waiting for a bus on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast in Australia.

Key details

  • Daniel was 13 years old when he disappeared from an unofficial bus stop near the Kiel Mountain Road overpass at Woombye on the Sunshine Coast.
  • He had set out to go Christmas shopping and get a haircut at a nearby shopping centre and was last seen around just after 2 p.m. in a red T‑shirt.

Ongoing relevance

  • The case led to one of Queensland’s largest investigations and later a major child safety legacy through the Daniel Morcombe Foundation and “Day for Daniel” education campaigns.