The niece he’ll never meet: Daniel Morcombe’s brother welcomes a little girl – and reveals her sweet name
The eldest brother of Daniel Morcombe has welcomed a baby girl.
Dean and Alice Morcombe have brought Iris Ella Morcombe into the world – nearly 20 years after Daniel vanished in a mystery that captivated and horrified Australia.
Daniel, then 13 years old, disappeared on December 7, 2003, after leaving his home on the Sunshine Coast to buy his family Christmas presents at the local shopping centre.
The eldest brother of Daniel Morcombe has welcomed a baby girl. Daniel’s parents Bruce and Denise are pictured with little Iris
Daniel Morcombe (pictured) was abducted and murdered on December 7, 2003, on his way to buy his family Christmas presents
His parents Denise and Bruce spent years tirelessly working to keep the missing person investigation active until his killer was finally arrested in 2011.
Since their son’s disappearance, they have dedicated their lives to providing safety education to children through a foundation they launched in their son’s name.
Daniel was waiting at the bus stop when he was abducted by serial paedophile Brett Peter Cowan, then 34, and taken to an abandoned house where he was molested then strangled.
His disappearance sparked one of the biggest missing person investigations in Australian history, culminating in Cowan’s arrest eight years later.
The child killer subsequently led police to where he had dumped Daniel’s remains, and the teenager was recovered from bushland at Glass House Mountains in August 2011.
Daniel was waiting at the bus stop when he was abducted by serial paedophile Brett Peter Cowan
He was sentenced to life behind bars in Brisbane’s Wolston Correctional Centre in 2014, with a minimum non-parole period of 20 years.
Cowan, now 53, remains an unpopular inmate due to his horrific crimes – which include an extensive rap sheet of child sex offences prior to Daniel’s murder.
The convicted paedophile has been the target of several brutal attacks at the hands of fellow inmates, including being doused with boiling water in 2016 which left him with permanent scarring.
In May 2018, he was stabbed in the ear and neck with an ‘improvised implement’ and suffered superficial injuries.
Cowan will be eligible to apply for parole in 2034.
Dean and Alice had their first daughter, Elsie May, in 2021.
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