Desperate Search for Missing Four-Year-Old Gus Enters Sixth Day: Australian Defence Force Joins Hunt in Outback South Australia
- The search for Gus has entered its sixth day, with the Australian Defence Force joining the hunt in outback South Australia.
- A shoe print found 500 metres from the homestead has given police a glimmer of hope, but no other evidence has been discovered.
- The family is being prepared for the possibility that the search may move from a rescue effort to a recovery operation.
- Missing persons expert Sarah Wayland has warned that online commentary can add to the trauma experienced by the family.
The desperate search for missing four-year-old Gus has entered its sixth day, with the Australian Defence Force joining the hunt in outback South Australia. Almost 50 ADF personnel arrived at the search ground on Thursday morning, about 40 kilometres south of Yunta, where Gus was last seen playing in sand at his homestead on Saturday.
Police found a shoe print about 500 metres from the homestead on Tuesday, which has given them a glimmer of hope. The print has a “very similar boot pattern to what Gus was wearing when he went missing”, according to Superintendent Mark Syrus. However, he cautioned that there were no guarantees the footprint was even from Saturday, as Gus lives on the property and may have left the print before he went missing.
The search effort has been bolstered by the deployment of an Aboriginal tracker, but so far, no other evidence has been discovered. Superintendent Syrus said that despite the footprint clue, no “other evidence” was found on Wednesday, and the search parties have been walking up to 40,000 steps every day, covering a vast area of terrain.
The family is being prepared for the possibility that the search may move from a rescue effort to a recovery operation. Superintendent Syrus said that police had spoken to the family about potential outcomes, and while they hold out hope that Gus is still alive, they are preparing for the worst.
Missing persons expert Sarah Wayland has warned that online commentary can add to the trauma experienced by the family. She said that social media commenters can say “really hurtful and traumatic things” about what might have happened to Gus, which can be devastating for the family.
Dr Wayland called for a compassionate and trauma-informed approach to the situation, saying that the community should avoid jumping to conclusions and instead focus on supporting the family. She said that the situation can have a significant effect on tight-knit regional towns, and that communities can “feel like they’re being viewed just as the space where this terrible incident occurred”.