The Daniel Morcombe Foundation honours 20th anniversary with new, emotional documentary
The Daniel Morcombe Foundation has honoured their 20th anniversary with an emotional 30-minute documentary.
Don't Waste It pays tribute to Daniel with an important focus on teen safety.
Daniel was 13 when he disappeared on December 7, 2003, while waiting for a bus under the Kiel Mountain Road overpass on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland.
Daniel's twin brother, Bradley, recalls Daniel had headed off to a local shopping centre to get a haircut and buy Christmas presents.
'He told us he'd be back soon. We never saw him again,' Bradley says in the documentary.
'On that hot Sunday afternoon, trouble found Daniel. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
'When the truth finally came it was worse than we ever imagined.'
Following extensive investigations, Daniel's remains were found in 2011, in bushlands in the Glass House Mountains on the Sunshine Coast.
Brett Peter Cowan, a known offender, was eventually convicted of his murder and sentenced to life in jail.
'He was only 13 years old when he was abducted, just a few days before our birthday,' Bradley says in the documentary.
'He was my best mate. He loved horses and we both loved motorbikes. We grew up doing everything together.'
The documentary also features Daniel's mother Denise, father Bruce, and older brother, Dean.
Denise and Bruce initially formed The Daniel Morcombe Foundation to help locate their son.
'We were driving past the underpass where Daniel had been abducted and I turned around to Bruce and I said, 'I think we need to start a foundation',' Denise says in the documentary.
The foundation is now a national leader in advocating for victims of crime, educating millions on childhood safety and teaching young people to protect themselves.
'I can't change what's happened to Daniel, but I can influence and change the future,' Bruce says in the documentary.
'I want everyone ... to stand tall like we have done and accept the challenge.
'You are incredibly important. So please don't waste your pain. You will help somebody else.''
The foundation has raised more than $20 million to allow schools to freely access and adopt education and awareness programs, with plans to continue releasing resources this year.
'We have to make sure all our programs and educational materials relate to what the children are actually doing online... and teach them the best way to go about things,' Denise says in the documentary.
Don't Waste It was released this week to the Daniel Morcombe Foundation Inc YouTube page.
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