Search yields more evidence in boy's death

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WOOMBYE, Australia, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- The search for the remains of an Australian teenager who vanished in 2003 yielded more evidence than police initially thought.

A man was charged with Daniel Morcombe's homicide in August, around the time investigators began combing an area near Woombye. Police initially said they found three bones, identified as Daniel's through DNA testing, and a pair of sneakers like those he was wearing when he disappeared. Investigators told Australian Broadcasting Corp. Monday they have also located Morcombe's shorts, underwear, a belt and other clothing fragments at the bottom of a creek.

Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson said experts had been consulted to make sure the search was as thorough as possible, the Brisbane Times reported in October. He said police officers and volunteers had "worked tirelessly in incredibly difficult terrain."

Daniel was last seen waiting for a bus in December 2003 in Woombye, a small town on the Sunshine Coast about 60 miles north of Brisbane. He was about to turn 14.

The evidence was found in mid-August in the bush near Beerwah, about 25 miles from Woombye.

Brett Peter Cowan, 42, is being held without bail on a murder charge.