He was alone for half an hour. Now police say there’s “no trace of Gus.”
South Australian police have deployed advanced forensic technology previously used in a high-profile murder case, but there is still no trace of 4-year-old Gus Lamont, who vanished without a sound from his family’s remote sheep station.
Augustus “Gus” Lamont was last seen playing on a mound of dirt around 5pm, Saturday, September 27, near the family’s Oak Park Station homestead.
He was reportedly left alone for about half an hour while his grandmother tried to call him inside — only to find him gone.
The family and police immediately launched an intensive search involving helicopters, state emergency services, and Aboriginal trackers, sweeping 60,000 stations of farmland for three days — but nothing was found.
SA Police Acting Commissioner Linda Williams confirmed that officers even used infrared technology and footprint analysis tools—methods previously applied in the Julian Story murder case (2010)—but still no sign of the boy.
Police still analysing drone footage as search for Gus continues
“The results of that drone analysis are still being analysed,” said Acting Commissioner Linda Williams.
The search for four-year-old Gus Lamont has so far yielded no results, despite extensive efforts from police, state emergency crews, and Aboriginal trackers.
Williams said investigators are still reviewing data from drones used in the operation:
“We hope to have those results in coming weeks. It’s quite complex technology, so it will take a little while to work through, but if any information directs us to conduct further searches in specific areas, we will be doing that in coming weeks.”
The property — located about 300 kilometres northeast of Adelaide, near the country town of Yunta — was formally scaled back on Tuesday, after days of fruitless searching.
Searchers Believe Gus May No Longer Be on the Property
News of the scale-back came after a volunteer who had joined the family in the search told The Adelaide Advertiser that he believed the boy was no longer on the property.
Jason O’Connell said that he and his partner Jen had spent over 90 hours searching the homestead but were convinced Gus wasn’t there.
“If he was in a bad way or if he had passed away, we’d listen for foxes … look for birds of prey,” O’Connell said.
“No birds of prey means he’s not there.”
Police Shift Gus Lamont Search to Recovery Mission
Jason O’Connell said he and his partner had been joined in the search by Gus’ father, whose son’s disappearance had “pretty much devastated him.”
South Australian Police Assistant Commissioner Ian Parrott said the family had been spoken to about a week ago regarding the boy’s declining chances of survival, but search crews had continued their efforts.
“Senior police spoke to Gus’ family and prepared them for the fact that Gus may not have survived due to the passage of time, his age, and the nature of the terrain he is missing in,” Parrott said.
Despite hopes for a miracle, Parrott confirmed that the search had now shifted to a recovery operation over the past 48 hours.
“We are confident that we have done all we can to locate Gus within the search area.”
He added that no trace of Gus has been found — no footprints, no hat, no clothing, no evidence indicating any direction of travel.
Police Defend Gus Lamont’s Family Amid Online Speculation
Assistant Commissioner Ian Parrott made his comments after a footprint was discovered on the property during the search — initially thought to belong to the four-year-old boy — but it was ruled out as unrelated to Gus’ disappearance.
Acting Commissioner Linda Williams stressed that Gus’ family had been cooperative and supportive throughout the investigation:
“The family have continued to cooperate fully with police and have consented to every request that we have made of them thus far,” she said.
Parrott also condemned online “keyboard detectives” for spreading baseless speculation and attempting to cast doubt on the family’s involvement.
“Can I just remind people that it’s not helpful,” he said.
“It is not appropriate to speculate in these circumstances. If you were to put yourselves in the shoes of a family who would be clearly distraught about the loss of a small child, it paints a bit of a different picture.”
Williams confirmed the case had now been handed to the Missing Persons Section of the Major Crime Investigation Branch, which she noted was standard procedure.
