It is the first tour of its kind, in a joint initiative between the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the Daniel Morcombe Foundation.

The tour will involve Day for Daniel ambassador and team leader of the AFP’s National Missing Persons Coordination Centre Rebecca Kotz presenting the Daniel Morcombe Keeping Kids Safe safety program to schools between Canberra and the Far South Coast during the last week in October.

Day for Daniel is inspired by 13-year-old Daniel Morcombe, who was abducted and murdered by Brett Peter Cowan on the Sunshine Coast in December 2003.

Ms Kotz, who has known Daniel’s parents Bruce and Denise Morcombe for years, is the first person the Morcombes have entrusted to use the foundation’s education truck Big Red and present the program. 

The program is based around keeping children safe, teaching them such things as how to identify if they feel something is wrong and knowing where there are people they can talk to if they feel unsafe. 

In addition to school presentations, the Capital to Coast tour will also involve night-time discussions on online safety for parents, teachers and the broader community.

Ms Kotz visited Tathra Public School on Friday, August 21, along with fellow Day for Daniel ambassador, missing persons advocate and best-selling author from Merimbula Melissa Pouliot.

Tathra Public was the first on the Far South Coast to register for Day for Daniel and was one of five schools from the Bega Valley to take part in Day for Daniel last year.

The school’s assistant principal, Kylie Leung, said Day for Daniel and the foundation’s safety curriculum were fantastic initiatives.

“For us it’s about the children, their wellbeing and being able to identify those situations where they might find themselves unsafe,” Ms Leung said. 

Ms Pouliot said as a parent and the family member of long-time missing person Ursula Barwick, she was proud to be chosen alongside Ms Kotz as a Day for Daniel ambassador, and to be working with the AFP to organise the tour. 

“We are both very privileged and honoured to be selected as ambassadors for such a wonderful foundation,” Ms Pouliot said. 

“This tour is an opportunity for us to show our dedication to raising awareness around the issues of child safety and missing persons.”

The week-long Capital To Coast Tour will leave Canberra after a launch on October 23, pass through Queanbeyan, Braidwood and arrive in Batemans Bay on October 27, before heading through towns along the Far South Coast. 

You can register your school, businesses or community event to become part of the Day for Daniel online at www.danielmorcombe.com.au. 

TEAM leader of the National Missing Persons Coordination Centre Rebecca Kotz said she had been involved in the Daniel Morcombe case since he went missing.

Ms Kotz was in Tathra on Friday, launching the Capital to Coast Day for Daniel Tour. 

“I think probably the toughest time over the years I’ve been affiliated with the case was the funeral service they had for Daniel,” she said. 

Held in December 2012, she said despite the rain the funeral was “inundated” with mourners – there were thousands of people there. 

After the funeral, Denise Morcombe told Ms Kotz that the rain they had on the day “was Daniel”.

“Denise said ‘whenever we would go to do something outdoors and Daniel wouldn’t want to do it, it would rain’,” Ms Kotz said. 

Ms Kotz said Denise and Bruce Morcombe were very strong people. 

“Their absolute goal is to make sure what happened to their son never happens to another boy or girl again,” she said. 

RAISING awareness and dispelling myths around missing persons was important, Rebecca Kotz of the Australian Federal Police said. 

For instance, there is a misconception in society that you have to wait 24 hours to report someone missing, when in reality you can inform the police as soon as you think someone could have vanished.

“In policing we always say don’t hesitate, every minute is crucial,” Ms Kotz said.