DNA samples taken from the car belonging to Daniel Morcombe's killer were not examined for eight years, a coronial inquest into the schoolboy's disappearance has heard.

Key points: Hair, blood and fingerprint samples taken in 2003, tested in 2011

Hair, blood and fingerprint samples taken in 2003, tested in 2011 Call out for blue car near bus stop took focus away from Cowan

Call out for blue car near bus stop took focus away from Cowan Inquest hears Daniel's disappearance initially treated as simply a teenage runaway

Inspector Darren Pobar, a forensics expert with the Queensland Police told the inquest fingerprint, blood and hair samples were taken from Brett Peter Cowan's car in 2003, but were not examined until 2011.

When asked why DNA testing was not done on the hair found in the car, Inspector Pobar said technology at the time was laborious and often yielded little results.

Daniel Morcombe disappeared from the roadside in December 2003 while waiting for a bus in Palmwoods on Queensland's Sunshine Coast.

In 2011, Cowan confessed to the crime in a secret recording made by undercover police posing as criminal gang members.

He was sentenced to life in prison in March 2014.

The inquest into 13-year-old Daniel's abduction and murder reopened in Brisbane this week, with a new focus on the length of the police investigation that led to Cowan's arrest.

Despite Cowan being put behind bars, Daniel's parents, Bruce and Denise Morcombe, asked the coroner to reopen the inquest to prompt a closer look at some aspects of the case.

Inspector Pobar was the final witness at the inquest, which wrapped up on Thursday.

Blue car linked to Morcombe murder a 'red herring'

Peter Johns, counsel assisting Queensland coroner Terry Ryan, made his closing submissions, saying witness reports of a blue car seen at the scene was a "red herring" for investigators.

Mr Johns said there was overwhelming evidence a blue car did pull up near the site where Daniel was waiting for a bus and was at the pinnacle of information that needed to be pursued.

The blue car has never been found and Cowan drove a white four-wheel drive.

"It created an enormous red herring that understandably took the focus away in the early days from Cowan," Mr Johns said.

"Cowan was incredibly lucky in managing to coax Daniel away without leaving any notable forensic evidence but most of all without being identified in a definitive manner."

Daniel initially considered 'runaway teenager'

Mr Johns said when Daniel was reported missing there was an inappropriate assumption made that it was a case of a teenage runaway.

"It's open for you to make a finding that the initial response to the report that Daniel was missing was inadequate," he said.

"It was sufficiently out of character for Daniel to have disappeared for the extent and as long as he had."

But Mr Johns said as a whole the investigation into Daniel's death by Queensland Police was pursued with good faith and an enormous amount of resources.

He said evidence given on Wednesday by two former officers that Cowan should be considered a prime suspect was taken seriously and there was no evidence there had been an attempt to cover up their concerns.

Kenneth King and Dennis Martyn were the first officers to interview Cowan and on Wednesday told the inquest they believed further resources including surveillance and search warrants should have been directed to him.

Mr Johns said it was unlikely that would have lead to an earlier arrest.

"There's no evidence that Your Honour can rely on that a covert operation earlier would've lead to any admission being made," he said.

Evidence took 'far too long' to review: Bruce Morcombe

Bruce and Denise Morcombe hope the inquest will prompt a review of how evidence is examined. ( AAP Dan Peled )

Outside court, Bruce Morcombe said he hoped changes would be made to the process of reviewing evidence after the inquest.

"Almost a decade has passed before those tape lifts were eventually examined and everyone to their own judgement but from our perspective that's far too long," Mr Morcombe said.

Mr Johns noted many changes to missing persons procedures had already been made because of the hard work of the Morcombes.

The Morcombes have also been working toward a publicly accessible sex offenders register.

Outside court Assistant Commissioner Mike Condon said the inquest had been a valuable process.

"It is a positive path for the future in terms of the ongoing development of our protocols, we will take on board the issues that have been raised," he said.

Mr Condon was forced to defend the police work of the Morcombe case after the inquest heard Cowan was dismissed as a prime suspect early on in the investigation.

He said the allegations levelled at him were not true.

"It was an outrageous lie and that officer committed perjury on oath, Cowan was never dismissed."

The Morcombes will make written submissions to the coroner before Christmas, with police to respond after that.

The coroner will hand down his findings next year.