Desperate Hunt for Missing Four-Year-Old Gus Intensifies: Police to Drain Dam in Remote South Australian Outback
- Policemen in a fresh bid to find missing four-year-old boy Gus, who vanished on a remote sheep station in South Australia a month ago
- Dam on the property to be drained in an effort to rule out the possibility that Gus may have drowned
- Investigators have combed through data and aerial imagery of the terrain but have yet to find any ‘object of significance’
In a heartbreaking development, police have announced that they will drain a dam on a remote South Australian sheep station in the hopes of finding missing four-year-old boy Gus, who vanished a month ago.
The dam, which is approximately 600 metres from the station’s homestead, is about four-and-a-half metres deep and has already been searched by divers. However, police believe that draining the dam will enable a “comprehensive visual search”, particularly in areas with underwater vegetation.
“The renewed search of the dam is being undertaken to rule out the possibility Gus may have drowned,” SA Police said in a statement.
The search for Gus has been ongoing for a month, with hundreds of people, including police officers, defence force members, SES volunteers, trackers, and local property owners, involved in two previous searches. The initial search covered more than 470 square kilometres, while the second search extended to a 5.5 kilometre radius from the homestead — equating to 95 square kilometres searched by foot.
Premier Peter Malinauskas has expressed his support for the police, saying they are “throwing everything” at the case. “This is one of the more heartbreaking cases that I can recall seeing in our state,” he said. “I mean, we’ve had plenty in the past, I know, but this one is, you know, an innocent little young boy who we want to find answers about where they are right now.”
Gus was last seen at the property on September 27. The isolated homestead, which is located about 350 kilometres north of Adelaide, spans about 6,000 hectares and is a complex mix of terrain.
Task Force Horizon is conducting multiple lines of inquiry to locate Gus, but so far, no evidence of foul play has been uncovered. Police remain hopeful that they will find some clue that will lead them to the missing boy.