Tracey Haneveld was the first to know for sure. She knew him as well as anyone. Knew what he was capable of. Knew what he’d done. His terrible past.

In 2005 she’d told them – if he was around when Daniel Morcombe was snatched from the side of the road, they’d best arrest him.

Peter Johns, an ambitious young coronial lawyer punching above his weight at the inquest into Australia’s most baffling crime, put it together too.

In the shower, thoughts of the case swirling with hot water and steam, it had suddenly become clear.

Pieces of an eight-year jigsaw had clicked into place. He had a new plan of attack.

He stood there for an hour, working that new plan through in his head, until his wife shouted for him to stop wasting water.

Two weeks later, Bruce Morcombe knew it too. The moment he saw him. The lankiness. The hair. The way the stubble peppered his face. He’d looked just like the sketches.

And the police. For so long the investigative wheels had spun in the dirt. The thousands of leads that had taken them to a thousand dead ends. Now, they stood silent and weathered the criticism, while behind the scenes, things were moving.

Nobody, not even Daniel’s parents, could know police were putting together the most elaborate of stings. Taking on the guise of the criminal underbelly, they were creating an intricate world of crime and glamour, brainwashing and blood diamonds – all to trap a devil into spilling his darkest secret.

Eventually, they trapped him.

After an elaborate undercover police operation, Brett Cowan was charged with Daniel’s murder in August 2011, almost eight years after the teenager disappeared. Now, more than a decade after Daniel died, justice has been done.

But that 10-year journey was a difficult one - for police and for Daniel's family.

Police were swamped with too much information: There were 33 persons of interest. One hundred detectives were on the case. More than 10,000 people were interviewed.

On a normal murder case, 500 jobs would be logged. The Morcombe case generated more than 18,000 separate jobs. It was the biggest in Queensland history.

For Daniel's parents Denise and Bruce, and his brothers, Dean and his twin, Bradley, the pain - of not knowing - was there etched on their faces.

Review the timeline of events below, and read on to the next  in-depth chapter in this six-part series - Daniel's disappearance.

Timeline of the 10 year path to justice