HEARTBREAK IN THE OUTBACK: Desperate Search for Missing Four-Year-Old August ‘Gus’ Lamont Enters Second Week as Hope Fades
- Four-year-old Gus Lamont vanished from his family’s remote sheep station in South Australia’s Mid North on September 28, sparking one of the largest search operations in the state’s history.
- A second footprint found near a dam has been ruled out, leaving investigators with little to no evidence and no clear direction for the search.
- Police have scaled back the search, but the investigation remains active, with the missing persons unit and major crime leading the inquiry.
- Gus’s family has been left devastated, clinging to hope as the search for their ‘shy but adventurous’ child continues.
The search for missing four-year-old August ‘Gus’ Lamont has entered its second week, with hopes of finding the young boy alive fading fast. Gus vanished from his family’s remote sheep station in South Australia’s Mid North on September 28, sparking a massive search operation involving police, SES volunteers, and the Australian Army.
But despite scouring 60,000ha of harsh terrain by air and ground, investigators have been left with little to no evidence and no clear direction for the search. A second footprint found near a dam has been ruled out, leaving only a single footprint discovered on September 30 as a possible clue.
‘The print was subsequently not related to Gus,’ Deputy Commissioner Linda Williams said, adding that a significant aerial search of the property using a special drone with infrared capabilities had also yielded nothing.
The search has been scaled back, but the investigation remains active, with the missing persons unit and major crime leading the inquiry. ‘We will never give up hope of finding Gus,’ Williams said. ‘There are further lines of enquiry being undertaken, and the family have continued to co-operate fully with police and have consented to every request that we have made of them thus far.’
Former SES volunteer Jason O’Connell, who walked the property during the search alongside Gus’s father, said the case defies logic. ‘My heart breaks for him,’ O’Connell told 7NEWS. ‘It’s been searched. Gus is not there.’
Gus’s family has been left devastated, clinging to hope as the search for their ‘shy but adventurous’ child continues. He is described as Caucasian with long blond curly hair and was last seen wearing a grey sun hat, cobalt blue long-sleeve shirt with a yellow Minion on the front, light grey pants and boots.
Anyone with information is urged to contact police immediately. The family’s remote sheep station, about 40km south of Yunta, has been the focus of the search, with the Australian Army and SES volunteers scouring the harsh terrain.
As the search for Gus continues, his family remains hopeful that he will be found safe and sound. But as the days turn into weeks, the reality of the situation is becoming increasingly clear. Gus’s disappearance has left a community in shock and a family torn apart by grief and uncertainty.