Mr Big: the covert technique that solved the Morcombe case

The 2003 disappearance of 13-year-old Daniel Morcombe in Queensland highlighted the difficulties police face when investigating a potential murder with no body and no crime scene. Ultimately, it was the application of a relatively new covert policing methodology that would lead to the arrest in 2011 and the conviction yesterday of Brett Cowan for Morcombe’s murder.

While not all missing-person homicides require the use of sophisticated undercover operations, it was ultimately necessary to catch Cowan. And although police have made no direct public reference to the technique in the Morcombe case, the covert methodology used is known as the Mr Big (or Canadian) technique.