Pre-trial hearing for man accused of kidnapping and killing Daniel Morcombe Daniel Morcombe who vanished while waiting for a bus on the Sunshine Coast on December 7, 2003. A DIRECTIONS hearing begins in Brisbane today for the man accused of abducting and murdering Sunshine Coast schoolboy Daniel Morcombe. Daniel Morcombe, 13, disappeared while waiting for a bus in December 2003. His remains were found in 2011 when Cowan was arrested.