The long-awaited trial of the man accused of murdering Queensland teenager Daniel Morcombe on the Sunshine Coast begins in Brisbane today.

Daniel was 13 when he vanished while waiting for a bus under the Kiel Mountain Road overpass at Woombye on December 7, 2003.

He had been planning to go Christmas shopping.

It sparked the biggest police investigation in Queensland history, with the boy’s remains found in the Glass House Mountains eight years later.

Brett Peter Cowan, 44, is charged with murder, indecent treatment of a child, and interfering with a corpse.

Jurors will be polled on their knowledge of the case to aid the selection process and to ensure a fair trial.

The crown will then open its case.

The trial is expected to last six weeks and a pool of 100 potential witnesses may be called.

Daniel’s parents are expected to be among the first witnesses called to give evidence.