Gus Lamont’s grandmothers ‘devastated’ after police declare his disappearance a major crime

Pair release statement through lawyers as search continues for four-year-old, from South Australia, last seen playing outside family sheep station in the outback in September

Missing four-year-old Gus Lamont’s grandmothers have released a statement through their lawyers, claiming they are “devastated” police have declared his disappearance a major crime.

Gus went missing from his family’s 60,000 hectare sheep station in September last year, and was initially thought to have wandered off.

He was last seen playing outside the homestead, which is about 300km inland from Adelaide.

An enormous search operation was launched, with ground crew covering almost 100 sq km and aerial searches covering more than 700 sq km.

After about a week, that rescue mission sadly became a recovery mission as hopes of finding Gus (August) alive waned.

During the search, police consistently said that the family was cooperating, that there was no evidence of foul play, but that they could not rule anything out.

Map showing the location of Oak Park Station

Four months later, and police believe someone in his family was involved.

South Australia police (SAPOL) declared his disappearance a major crime on Thursday, and said that the suspect was someone who lived at the station.

Lawyers have confirmed they are acting for his two grandmothers.

Andrew Ey, of Mangan Ey and Associates, is acting for one grandmother, Josie Murray. Casey Isaacs, of Caldicott + Isaacs Lawyers, is acting for the other, Shannon Murray.

On Friday, the lawyers released a joint statement saying that their clients would not be doing any interviews or making any comments, except for the following:

“We are absolutely devastated by the media release of SAPOL Major Crime. The family has cooperated fully with the investigation and want nothing more than to find Gus and reunite him with his mum and dad.”

On Thursday, Det Supt Darren Fielke, the officer in charge of major crime, said that after the extensive search, they now thought Gus had not wandered off, nor had he been abducted.

Suspect identified in disappearance of four-year-old Gus Lamont in outback South Australia

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Police had “identified a number of inconsistencies and discrepancies” in the information they received from family members, he said.

“As a result of these inconsistencies, and investigations into them, a person who resides at Oak Park station has withdrawn their support for the police and is no longer cooperating with us.

“The person who has withdrawn their cooperation is now considered a suspect in the disappearance of Gus.”

Police seized a vehicle, a motorbike and electronic devices in mid January.

When four-year-old Gus first went missing, a frantic search began immediately.

“Four-year-old Gus Lamont wandered off from the Oak Park Station homestead, approximately 43km south of the Yunta township on Saturday, 27 September,” assistant commissioner Ian Parrott said on 3 October.

“Gus was seen outside at 5pm on Saturday playing on a mound of dirt by his grandmother. At 5.30pm she has gone outside to call him in, only to find him missing.

“According to a family member, he is a shy but adventurous child. While a good walker, he has never left the family property previously.”

He disappeared from the homestead wearing a grey sun hat, a blue Minion T-shirt, light grey long pants, and boots.

Not long after he was last seen, police started searching the area with the help of a helicopter and infra-red camera. The next morning, a drone was brought in, then divers, to search dams and tanks.

Within days, trail bikes, all-terrain vehicles, dogs, a tactical unit, Australian defence force personnel, mounted police, police cadets, emergency services, community and family volunteers, and an Aboriginal tracker joined the search.

On 30 September, Gus’s family released a statement thanking those in the search, asking for privacy and describing their heartbreak.

“We are devastated by the disappearance of our beloved Gus on Saturday afternoon. This has come as a shock to our family and friends, and we are struggling to comprehend what has happened.

“Gus’s absence is felt in all of us, and we miss him more than words can express. Our hearts are aching, and we are holding on to hope that he will be found and returned to us safely.”

On 3 October, police prepared the family for the fact Gus might not have survived.

“While those involved in the search have been hoping for a miracle, over the past 48 hours, the search has shifted to a recovery operation,” Parrott said.

They had found no sign of Gus, except for a single small footprint that yielded no further information.

Fielke said police are still determined to find Gus and return him to his parents.

Suspect identified in disappearance of four-year-old Gus Lamont in outback South Australia

Gus was last seen playing outside home on family sheep station in September, with his disappearance declared a major crime

Someone who lived with four-year-old Gus Lamont is now considered a suspect in his disappearance, South Australia police said on Thursday as they declared the case a major crime.

Gus disappeared from his family’s outback home more than four months ago, sparking what SA police called “one of the largest, most intensive and most protracted searches” they had ever undertaken.

Mounted police, police divers, defence and emergency services personnel, drones and trackers searched the 60,000 hectare Oak Park station, near Yunta, which is about 300km inland from Adelaide.

Map showing the location of Oak Park station.

Det Supt Darren Fielke, the officer in charge of major crime, said police had effectively ruled out Gus wandering off and Gus being abducted. He said they were now investigating someone in his household – but stressed the suspect was not one of his parents.

Police had “identified a number of inconsistencies and discrepancies” in the information from the family members, Fielke said.

“As a result of these inconsistencies, and investigations into them, a person who resides at Oak Park station has withdrawn their support for the police and is no longer cooperating with us,” he said.

“The person who has withdrawn their cooperation is now considered a suspect in the disappearance of Gus. I do want to stress, however, that Gus’s parents are not suspects in his disappearance.

“You appreciate at this time I cannot make any further comment about the suspect, given that this is now a criminal investigation and a declared major crime. What I can say, however, is that we’ll continue to thoroughly and meticulously investigate the disappearance of Gus until we get an outcome.”

The family was “shocked” at the development, he said.

Gus, who a family friend described as shy but adventurous, was playing outside the family sheep station at 5pm on 27 September.

The blond, curly haired boy was wearing a blue T-shirt with a yellow Minion on the front, a grey sunhat, light-grey long pants and boots.

When his grandmother went to call him in half an hour later, he was gone, police were told.

Police executed a search warrant at the property on 14 and 15 January, and seized a vehicle, a motorbike and electronic devices.

On Thursday, police described the challenges of an investigation outside metropolitan areas, where CCTV, traffic cameras and witnesses can help. They also revealed extensive details of the search to explain why they had ruled out Gus wandering off or being abducted.

Eight separate ground searches over more than 20 days covered 95 sq km around the property, Fielke explained.

“The community should take comfort that no stone is being left unturned in this investigation,” Fielke said.

Polair used infrared thermal imaging across a 12km radius around the property. Drones covered the homestead, the dams, and nearby travel routes and aircraft with highly specialised camera equipment covered 706 sq km. Its imagery was processed using AI software and reviewed by Task Force Horizon investigators, and was so detailed that they could distinguish between sheep, goats, kangaroos and humans.

“Despite these extraordinary efforts, all of the combined searches have found no evidence, physical or otherwise, to suggest Gus has wandered off,” Fielke said.

A second investigation looked at the possibility Gus had been abducted by an unknown person.

Fielke said they had identified neighbours, people working on the station and nearby, and those travelling in the area, and they had all been discounted. Reports to Crime Stoppers and other information unearthed “no evidence to suggest that Gus was abducted from the property” and the remoteness of the station meant the “opportunity for anyone to abduct Gus is extremely low”, he said.

“So it leaves us the other part of the investigation, and that’s investigating whether people known to Gus were involved in his disappearance.

“We will continue to thoroughly and meticulously investigate the disappearance of Gus until we get an outcome. We’re all focused and determined to locate Gus and return him to his parents.

“Nothing is off the table as we work towards that outcome.”