Parents' promise to remember murdered Daniel Morcombe detailed in new book

In the days following their son Daniel’s disappearance, Bruce and Denise Morcombe made a promise: they would never stop looking for him.

The couple launched their book Where Is Daniel? The Family’s Story today.

It details their quest for justice from the panicked hours following Daniel’s disappearance through the strain as days turned into months and eventually years and to the police sting that finally brought the boy’s killer down.

On December 7 2003 Daniel Morcombe disappeared while waiting for a bus on the Sunshine Coast.

It wasn't until almost a decade later that the boy’s killer, Brett Peter Cowan was brought to justice following a lengthy undercover operation carried out by Queensland police.

The case was followed closely by media across Australia, generating headline after headline and the Morcombe family was trapped in the national spotlight. But Where is Daniel? The Family's Story reveals the immense stress and strain the couple was under following the disappearance.

Denise admitted she developed a drinking problem and suffered marital problems after her son’s abduction.

"Our whole family had changed, all our friends had changed,” she told A Current Affair this week.

"Everybody was getting back into their own life. It was very difficult, we did hit some really tough times."

The couple also use the book to dispute Cowan’s account of how Daniel died. The convicted child rapist and murderer has always denied sexually assaulting Daniel but has admitted to intending to abuse him.

In evidence he provided to undercover Queensland police officers he claimed the boy’s death was accidental, caused by Daniel’s struggling.

Their book Where Is Daniel? The Family's Story is out now.