Australia AUSTRALIA - 4YO AUGUST (GUS) Missing from rural family home in Outback, Yunta, South Australia, 27th Sept 2025

[HoneyBunOne]

is the third picture real? the first kangeroo is only half there - is it AI? or is the shot panned while the kangeroo is jumping?



what do you mean by 'dog fence'? are you referring to dingos as dogs? (I think an Australian dog fence is different than a Canadian one is why I'm asking)

I think that pic is just blurry in general, but the 2nd kangaroo appears to just be in motion to me.

 

[GraceG]

is the third picture real? the first kangeroo is only half there - is it AI? or is the shot panned while the kangeroo is jumping?



what do you mean by 'dog fence'? are you referring to dingos as dogs? (I think an Australian dog fence is different than a Canadian one is why I'm asking)

The clarity of the shot isn't what you see in AI in my opinion. I've had photos of my Labrador retriever like that where I don't have the shutter speed set correctly for the speed in which she is running and jumping after a ball and part of her is a blur that in poor light looks like nothing is even there (i.e. hind leg(s) or tail looks "missing").

 

[Total_C]

I’ve been following this case and I keep coming back to how unusual it is. A week in and still no trace of Gus.

The landscape around the station is sparse, not thick bush. Open ground, scattered trees, a few gullies. In terrain like that, searchers with horses, drones and thermal imaging should have picked him up quickly if he was out in the open. Thermal works especially well in these conditions.

At four years old, kids usually stay close to where they were last seen. They hide, they crawl into sheds or vehicles, sometimes they go to water. They don’t usually trek kilometres into open country without leaving a trace. The only reported clue is a single footprint about 500m from the homestead, and even that may not be recent. No clothing, no trail.

Some people are throwing around wedge-tailed eagle or wild animal theories, but does that really hold up? These are powerful birds but they don’t carry off four-year-olds. And if it was a dingo or similar, there would be tracks, drag marks, clothing. None of that has been found.

What strikes me as stranger is the family photo only coming out after five or six days. In most missing child cases the picture is released within 24 hours. Why the delay?

Police keep framing this as a simple wandering off, but is that just the public line? After all this searching with nothing found, is it more likely that something happened very close to the homestead and has been missed, or that Gus was removed by someone who came through?

Would be interested in what others think is the most realistic scenario here.

 

[LadyL]

I’ve been following this case and I keep coming back to how unusual it is. A week in and still no trace of Gus.

The landscape around the station is sparse, not thick bush. Open ground, scattered trees, a few gullies. In terrain like that, searchers with horses, drones and thermal imaging should have picked him up quickly if he was out in the open. Thermal works especially well in these conditions.

At four years old, kids usually stay close to where they were last seen. They hide, they crawl into sheds or vehicles, sometimes they go to water. They don’t usually trek kilometres into open country without leaving a trace. The only reported clue is a single footprint about 500m from the homestead, and even that may not be recent. No clothing, no trail.

Some people are throwing around wedge-tailed eagle or wild animal theories, but does that really hold up? These are powerful birds but they don’t carry off four-year-olds. And if it was a dingo or similar, there would be tracks, drag marks, clothing. None of that has been found.

What strikes me as stranger is the family photo only coming out after five or six days. In most missing child cases the picture is released within 24 hours. Why the delay?

Police keep framing this as a simple wandering off, but is that just the public line? After all this searching with nothing found, is it more likely that something happened very close to the homestead and has been missed, or that Gus was removed by someone who came through?

Would be interested in what others think is the most realistic scenario here.

welcome to WS! great first post

 

[Marg944]

is the third picture real? the first kangeroo is only half there - is it AI? or is the shot panned while the kangeroo is jumping?



what do you mean by 'dog fence'? are you referring to dingos as dogs? (I think an Australian dog fence is different than a Canadian one is why I'm asking)

Hi LadyL, I took a screen shot of the video so it is a bit strange. The whole video shows the 2 kangaroos hopping away.

And the Dog Fence is to keep dingos (wild dogs) out. It is a famous fence in Australia. The Australian Government employ Rangers whose full time job is to constantly travel along the Dog Fence to make sure it is in good order. I’ve met a few of these Rangers, and they have got fabulous outback tales to tell.

“There is however a 600km dog-proof border fence along the NSW, Qld and SA borders.

The fence is crucial in keeping dingoes and wild dogs out of sheep, goat, and cattle grazing areas in western NSW according to the NSW Government website.

In 2023 a 32km extension to the NSW Border Wild Dog Fence closed the existing gap with the SA dog fence.”

Where are the wild dog fences and are they working? - Sheep Central

STATE and federal governments have spent millions of dollars on wild dog fencing around Australia, but has it made a difference? ..Read More

www.sheepcentral.com

 

[jypsijemini]

ABC News Australia: Police urge public not to contact them with 'opinions'

SA Police say their phone lines are being tied up with unwelcome speculation about the fate of missing four-year-old boy Gus in South Australia's mid-north.

On Thursday afternoon, police published a photo of the four-year-old as the search effort continues near the rural town of Yunta, in South Australia's remote outback.

The search entered its seventh day on Friday with no further clues leading to his whereabouts.

On Friday, the presence of police personnel, SES volunteers and the Australian Defence Force had noticeably decreased around the homestead.

However, SES, ADF and SAPOL vehicles were still observed driving around the property, with volunteers also seen on foot.

Senior Constable Peter Williams told ABC Radio Adelaide police phone lines had been "inundated" with information since the photo was released yesterday.

"I do remind people that the purpose of the image going out is for anyone who's got actual information that may assist the investigation," Senior Constable Williams said.

"We just ask people, we're not after your opinions. We're after help with the investigation."

"If it is just an opinion, perhaps keep it to yourself, but if you've got factual information, feel free to give us a call and provide that."

 

[Scooby-Doo]

It's unlikely a boy so small could have wandered the 40km to the Barrier Highway - a notorious, 1000km desolate stretch of Outback road that connects South Australia to New South Wales, mostly frequented by lonely truckies.

The only people who travel on the nearby road are station owners.

I could imagine the local goat herder, Royce Player, who says he has a 'gut feeling' that Gus is still in the area, his property has been searched with other local farmers, including any CCTV etc..

One advantage is that it is also probably the best time of year, regarding the weather, as it's not too hot or cold

water tanks and dams, infrared cameras, dogs, ATVs, and drones would all be checked

Police have cast doubt on the child's footprint found on Tuesday, 500m from the homestead.

'Now that we know that we can't find any other footprints around the place - that (footprint) could have been there a week,' Supt Syrus said.


a SA Police helicopter was deployed with an infrared camera to search for missing four-year-old August "Gus" Lamont on the night of Saturday, September 27, 2025, and police have continued to use PolAir with infrared cameras in the days since, though he was not located.

The use of thermal imaging from helicopters is a consistent element of the multi-agency search effort for Gus in the remote South Australian outback.

I find it strange that despite all the extensive efforts have still failed to find Gus and his beautiful blonde hair, not even one of his shoes has been found

I am hoping for a miracle

 

[TootsieFootsie]

MSN

ABC News Australia

Police urge public not to contact them with 'opinions' amid search for missing 4yo Gus​

SA Police say their phone lines are being tied up with unwelcome speculation about the fate of missing four-year-old boy Gus in South Australia's mid-north.

Senior Constable Peter Williams told ABC Radio Adelaide police phone lines had been "inundated" with information since the photo was released yesterday.

"I do remind people that the purpose of the image going out is for anyone who's got actual information that may assist the investigation," Senior Constable Williams said.

"We just ask people, we're not after your opinions. We're after help with the investigation.

"If it is just an opinion, perhaps keep it to yourself, but if you've got factual information, feel free to give us a call and provide that."

 

[Kemug]

I really can't blame people for making wild and unlikely guesses. Apart from desperately wanting little Gus to be found safe, if we don't know what happened, how can we keep our own children safe?

 

[jypsijemini]

Press Conference Update LIVE NOW

 

[TootsieFootsie]

I think people think that maybe they've come up with something that the police hadn't thought of.

And that they really think that they're helping the police by coming forward with their ideas on what may have happened.

 

[SouthAussie]

Press Conference Update LIVE NOW

Just listening to this on ABC TV News.

Missed a chunk of it but right now he is speaking of the amazing country folk who are rallying to help.
They are scaling back the search - not ending it, they are confident they have done everything to look for Gus, urging people on social media to stop speculating.

 

[Absoluterubbish]

What I found interesting is after only 7 days there will be no police presence at the property. Also a massive search with 50 people on the ground. 450 people were on the ground in the search for Dezi Freeman.

 

[SouthAussie]

Just to add ... mentioned in the after-presser reporting by ABC TV News. This is from the first part that I missed.

The Assistant Commissioner said that every piece of information that the police has points to Gus having wandered off, they don't have any information pointing to anything else.
They don't have any indication about which direction he went. But they will keep looking until they find him.
They have spoken with the family about the survivability of a child in these environmental conditions and in the clothes he was wearing.

 

[Total_C]

I just watched today’s press conference and the messaging felt very unusual.

The officer spent a large part of the briefing warning against speculation, directly referencing social media and even calling people “keyboard detectives.” That choice of words is telling. Normally police just sift through whatever comes in, filter out the noise, and keep going. They rarely stand at a podium and tell the public to stop theorising unless they are very aware that the official story they are presenting is already under strain.

What stood out even more is how this messaging sat alongside the rest of what was said. On the one hand, he repeated firmly that “everything we know is that Gus has wandered off onto the property and cannot be located.” On the other hand, he announced the search is being scaled back and stated that expert advice is Gus could not have survived this long. That is a very odd balance, presenting the outcome as grim with absolute certainty while still tying it only to the wandered off explanation even though no supporting evidence has been found.

There were also some telling slips in language. At one point he almost said “Gus’s disappearance” before stopping and correcting himself to “missing from the property.” That is a big difference. “Disappearance” carries the weight of something unexplained, possibly suspicious. “Missing from the property” pins it narrowly to the wandering off line. The fact he had to catch himself shows how tightly the wording is being managed.

Then came the question about major crimes detectives being on the property earlier in the week. His response was, “with the evidence we have at the moment we believe he has wandered off.” That phrasing is careful and conditional, not the language of someone convinced by their own theory. It leaves the door wide open for the narrative to change later. If police really believed their own line, would the answer not have been much firmer?

Put all of this together and the position police are taking is strange. They are doubling down on “wandered off” while scaling down the search, pre-emptively warning against speculation, correcting their own wording mid sentence, and carefully hedging when pressed. To me it feels less like confidence in the wandered off theory and more like deliberate narrative management while other possibilities are being worked quietly behind the scenes.

 

[Ellery84]

Maybe he is in foster care. This case feels like DeJa'Vu to me.

 

[SouthAussie]

I just watched today’s press conference and the messaging felt very unusual.

The officer spent a large part of the briefing warning against speculation, directly referencing social media and even calling people “keyboard detectives.” That choice of words is telling. Normally police just sift through whatever comes in, filter out the noise, and keep going. They rarely stand at a podium and tell the public to stop theorising unless they are very aware that the official story they are presenting is already under strain.

What stood out even more is how this messaging sat alongside the rest of what was said. On the one hand, he repeated firmly that “everything we know is that Gus has wandered off onto the property and cannot be located.” On the other hand, he announced the search is being scaled back and stated that expert advice is Gus could not have survived this long. That is a very odd balance, presenting the outcome as grim with absolute certainty while still tying it only to the wandered off explanation even though no supporting evidence has been found.

There were also some telling slips in language. At one point he almost said “Gus’s disappearance” before stopping and correcting himself to “missing from the property.” That is a big difference. “Disappearance” carries the weight of something unexplained, possibly suspicious. “Missing from the property” pins it narrowly to the wandering off line. The fact he had to catch himself shows how tightly the wording is being managed.

Then came the question about major crimes detectives being on the property earlier in the week. His response was, “with the evidence we have at the moment we believe he has wandered off.” That phrasing is careful and conditional, not the language of someone convinced by their own theory. It leaves the door wide open for the narrative to change later. If police really believed their own line, would the answer not have been much firmer?

Put all of this together and the position police are taking is strange. They are doubling down on “wandered off” while scaling down the search, pre-emptively warning against speculation, correcting their own wording mid sentence, and carefully hedging when pressed. To me it feels less like confidence in the wandered off theory and more like deliberate narrative management while other possibilities are being worked quietly behind the scenes.

I didn't get that impression at all from the presser.

imo

 

[Total_C]

I didn't get that impression at all from the presser.

imo

Fair point, but one thing that stood out to me was how the presser opened by describing Gus as shy, adventurous, but someone who has never left the property any considerable distance. Then straight after that they stuck to the line that he has wandered off.

To me those two statements do not sit comfortably together. If even his family say he has never strayed far, it feels odd to keep presenting “wandered off” as the only explanation.

 

[sunspun]

Well, none of the possibilities of what could have happened to him make any sense, but one of them has to be true, because he didn't just vanish into thin air.

Wandered off seems to be the most plausible, at least according to LE, but wandered off to where? Anywhere he could wander to should have been searched by now. Especially, at first, with the heat-seeking drones.

I know they say they've checked the water, but I'm afraid that's where I still think he might be found. Nothing else makes sense, but does that either?

At least most, if not all kinds of foul play should be able to be ruled out, because if someone did harm him, by now, the remains would give off the scent of human decomposition, and that can't be hidden easily. And if he were buried, it should be obvious to searchers anywhere the ground was dug up. It doesn't look like anywhere you could hide that. If someone tried dismembering anything, that too should leave plenty of evidence behind that LE would surely see, and they'd know that had happened, if it had, so it has not. I suppose bodies can be frozen to avoid the smell, but it's hard to hide a freezer big enough to hide a body, even a small one, and I'm sure LE would have inspected anything like that they might have seen when searching all these places on and near their property.

It's not possible for him to enter the sheep enclosure, is it? I don't know a thing about this, or if they are even kept enclosed at all, but if they are, and he made his way in there somehow, maybe they could have trampled him or something. Or fallen into their water trough or whatever they drink from. If that's not even possible, just ignore please. I'm definitely more of a city girl myself, so I don't know these things.

Does the timeline that has been shown to the public always start with the time the Grandma last saw him/noticed him missing? I'm wondering if they have talked about what he was doing before that time. Before he went to play in the sand. When did someone other than his grandma see him last? And again, were both parents home when he was first not found? Who actually called the police?

 

[HoneyBunOne]

I just watched today’s press conference and the messaging felt very unusual.

The officer spent a large part of the briefing warning against speculation, directly referencing social media and even calling people “keyboard detectives.” That choice of words is telling. Normally police just sift through whatever comes in, filter out the noise, and keep going. They rarely stand at a podium and tell the public to stop theorising unless they are very aware that the official story they are presenting is already under strain.

What stood out even more is how this messaging sat alongside the rest of what was said. On the one hand, he repeated firmly that “everything we know is that Gus has wandered off onto the property and cannot be located.” On the other hand, he announced the search is being scaled back and stated that expert advice is Gus could not have survived this long. That is a very odd balance, presenting the outcome as grim with absolute certainty while still tying it only to the wandered off explanation even though no supporting evidence has been found.

There were also some telling slips in language. At one point he almost said “Gus’s disappearance” before stopping and correcting himself to “missing from the property.” That is a big difference. “Disappearance” carries the weight of something unexplained, possibly suspicious. “Missing from the property” pins it narrowly to the wandering off line. The fact he had to catch himself shows how tightly the wording is being managed.

Then came the question about major crimes detectives being on the property earlier in the week. His response was, “with the evidence we have at the moment we believe he has wandered off.” That phrasing is careful and conditional, not the language of someone convinced by their own theory. It leaves the door wide open for the narrative to change later. If police really believed their own line, would the answer not have been much firmer?

Put all of this together and the position police are taking is strange. They are doubling down on “wandered off” while scaling down the search, pre-emptively warning against speculation, correcting their own wording mid sentence, and carefully hedging when pressed. To me it feels less like confidence in the wandered off theory and more like deliberate narrative management while other possibilities are being worked quietly behind the scenes.

I didn't see it, so maybe shouldn't comment, but a few things come to mind.

In no particular order:
- How experienced is this person in presenting press conferences?
- How much experience in general does he have in policing?
- Is this his usual role?
- He must be very tired and stressed too.
- He no doubt has to be very careful with his words, especially given how much speculation this case has had online.
- I think this case, given the secrecy around Gus' identity in the beginning, and the fact he's literally been missing so long without a trace, make it ripe for the public to run wild with every word, action, look etc.

MOO