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

[Lady-J]

Gus fell in a hole and died. Another theory to add to your list.

Have I missed any other theories?

 

[jepop]

Have I missed any other theories?

This one? Gus wandered and has perished within the search perimeters already established; Gus has been missed due to the non-infallibility of tech and the human factor, in combination with unknown factors pertaining to Gus's position and state of consciousness during night one and day one of the searches.

 

[Warshawski]

I respectfully disagree. Our dogs bark at all our vehicles every time we pull in

Ok, I’ll stand corrected.
I’m used to dogs on our family properties, they’re trained only to react to strange vehicles & people.

 

[Warshawski]

Hypothetical scenarios here, but trying to keep them based on reasonable logic:


If someone was interested in inquiring about the prospect of work on the property, when would they likely turn up?

I would have thought the end of the working day would be logical - more likely someone there at the homestead. Would a Saturday or Sunday be more likely, given potential other commitments the person may have? Would choosing AFL Grand Final day make some sense, with the expectation that at least someone may have watched it and therefore be at the homestead (waiting until the game had finished, so as not to interrupt)?
Could such a person have already worked at the property in some other capacity, and have a knowledge of the dynamics? Josh not present, so maybe the need for some male assistance? Could be known to both Gus and the dogs? Could he have potentially parked at the gate, knowing it was only a 300 metre walk to the house?


What if such a person turning up, coincided with Gus having wandered down the driveway, even a short distance?

Would it make sense that Gus would walk on an established pathway/driveway, rather than wander aimlessly into the scrub? Could he have seen or heard a car pull up at the gate, and assumed it was mum and went to meet her?
Once the alarm went up, you would imagine the driveway would have been one of the first places of interest to search. That would have meant footprints everywhere, if the ground surface was receptive. That would make distinguishing individual footprints very difficult. Alternatively, the ground wasn't receptive to footprints, or the conditions meant that they were erased by the next morning.

Would tyre tracks leading up to the gate be distinguishable in the above scenario?

Who knows, but a number of other vehicles probably drove the same route before anyone had a chance to check.

If the person was carrying a phone, would it be detectable?

Probably, but to what extent? A mobile phone solved the Cleo Smith case relatively quickly, but only because she was present when the police first visited the owner of the phone. Russell Hill's mobile phone was the key to linking Greg Lynn to that crime, but it took over a year for the full diagnostic analysis to be completed. The police told no-one about the phone, including Russell's family.

It is still quite possible that Gus wandered beyond the search zone, but hearing nothing from police doesn't rule out a potential Greg Lynn-type situation. If there has been foul play, there is simply no advantage in police giving the offender a heads up.

Some very sound questions & suggestions Hercule Holmes…. and none that I think we have answers to.

Although I do now question the fact that the house is only 300 metres to what we thought was the main Oak Park Road since someone quite recently pointed out that the road situation is not as ‘simple’ as it seems and I don’t think the ‘main road’ goes anywhere near the house. Was it zesszess ?

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Some very sound questions & suggestions Hercule Holmes…. and none that I think we have answers to.

Although I do now question the fact that the house is only 300 metres to what we thought was the main Oak Park Road since someone quite recently pointed out that the road situation is not as ‘simple’ as it seems and I don’t think the ‘main road’ goes anywhere near the house. Was it zesszess ?

Personally, I've always assumed that any reference to the "main road" was to the Barrier Highway passing through Yunta 40km away rather than the unpaved Oak Park Road which serves a number of stations and outlying properties and which passes a few hundred yards from the homestead.

 

[RedHaus]

Have I missed any other theories?

8. Someone who knew Gus and the Saturday afternoon homestead routine, took Gus out of (real or imagined) concern for his welfare. IMO.

 

[Rosegold68]

I’m completely baffled by this one!

I’m thinking ‘wandered off’ but time will tell

 

[kiwi50]

I’ve totally changed my mind from my initial wandering off hope.
Firmly in the foul play camp now

 

[SouthAussie]

This image has always worried me. I posted it several weeks ago, and I also posted the link back then. Obviously old buildings are on the property. Gus could have tried to explore these ruins? IMO



View attachment 625706

1.7M views · 8K reactions | Major Crime detectives have returned to the country homestead where four-year-old Gus Lamont tragically disappeared. Despite police calling off the search, investigations are continuing. #7NEWS | 7NEWS Adelaide

Major Crime detectives have returned to the country homestead where four-year-old Gus Lamont tragically disappeared. Despite police calling off the search, investigations are continuing. #7NEWS

www.facebook.com

Everyone must be wracking their brains to think of a small place where Gus may have become trapped, asphyxiated.

imo

 

[BreakingNews]

Everyone must be wracking their brains to think of a small place where Gus may have become trapped, asphyxiated.

imo

How long had the area been without rain?
We had 3 years without rain on our property in Qld and large cracks appeared in the dry ground. My little sister would often get her feet stuck in one of these cracks.
Is it possible Gus fell down a crack in the ground. Old mine, or something? Just thoughts.

 

[JLZ]

How long had the area been without rain?
We had 3 years without rain on our property in Qld and large cracks appeared in the dry ground. My little sister would often get her feet stuck in one of these cracks.
Is it possible Gus fell down a crack in the ground. Old mine, or something? Just thoughts.

Warning, unpleasant imaginings. That small building near the sand hills that looks like it's half buried in earth. I think of Gus climbing onto its roof and somehow sliding down and getting trapped between the building and the banked sides, causing a small landslide of earth on top of him.

 

[drsleuth]

Warning, unpleasant imaginings. That small building near the sand hills that looks like it's half buried in earth. I think of Gus climbing onto its roof and somehow sliding down and getting trapped between the building and the banked sides, causing a small landslide of earth on top of him.

I wonder if the police have been back with cadaver dogs & searched all around the immediate homestead???

 

[Greenestdays]

This image has always worried me. I posted it several weeks ago, and I also posted the link back then. Obviously old buildings are on the property. Gus could have tried to explore these ruins? IMO



View attachment 625706

1.7M views · 8K reactions | Major Crime detectives have returned to the country homestead where four-year-old Gus Lamont tragically disappeared. Despite police calling off the search, investigations are continuing. #7NEWS | 7NEWS Adelaide

Major Crime detectives have returned to the country homestead where four-year-old Gus Lamont tragically disappeared. Despite police calling off the search, investigations are continuing. #7NEWS

www.facebook.com

Why does it worry you? There’s obviously a policeman in the picture so I’d hazard a guess that LE also noticed other buildings on the property besides the main house.

 

[SouthAussie]

How long had the area been without rain?
We had 3 years without rain on our property in Qld and large cracks appeared in the dry ground. My little sister would often get her feet stuck in one of these cracks.
Is it possible Gus fell down a crack in the ground. Old mine, or something? Just thoughts.

I think they have been in drought for a few years. Their Upper Mid North region is considered to have been hit hard by the lack of rainfall.


"For cropping, the 2024/25 season had the worst rainfall in 18 years at 40 per cent below the South Australian average. For livestock, the lack of rainfall and pasture growth has led to hand and supplementary feeding or destocking.

The spring 2025 forecast indicates a 60% chance of above median rainfall for most of the state. However, during September, which is a critical time for pasture growth, there is just a 40 percent chance of above median rainfall. Even if these forecasts are realised, with multiple years of below average rainfall, it does not necessarily mean the end of the drought.

REGIONS HIT HARD: The Riverland, Murray Mallee, Upper Mid North and Eyre Peninsula regions are still experiencing below average rainfall."

https://pir.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/486844/drought-response-farmers-regional-communities-spring-2025.pdf

 

[Lady-J]

How long had the area been without rain?
We had 3 years without rain on our property in Qld and large cracks appeared in the dry ground. My little sister would often get her feet stuck in one of these cracks.
Is it possible Gus fell down a crack in the ground. Old mine, or something? Just thoughts.

One would expect the family to be aware of big holes and have them fenced off to protect the sheep.

 

[Lady-J]

If your child was missing and you weren't 100% sure what happened then I see no reason why you wouldn't want to keep it in the media. Privacy would come a distance second to finding your child.
The constant quotes of wanting privacy in my opinion is suspicious. I'll have people who disagree with me and that's fair enough.
No scenario should be off the table, especially with so little evidence he wandered off.

Josh Lamont was in a band - can’t see why he hasn’t made a plea, he’s not worried about being in the limelight.

 

[Lady-J]

Warning, unpleasant imaginings. That small building near the sand hills that looks like it's half buried in earth. I think of Gus climbing onto its roof and somehow sliding down and getting trapped between the building and the banked sides, causing a small landslide of earth on top of him.

That building gave me a funny feeling for some unexplained reason but there would be fresh dirt showing a land slide imo

 

[Woolly]

Josh Lamont was in a band - can’t see why he hasn’t made a plea, he’s not worried about being in the limelight.

Doing something you love in front of a happy crowd is a totally different situation to being in the news having everything you say picked apart and criticized while grieving an unimaginable loss. I can understand why he would feel comfortable with one and not the other.

Jmo

 

[_sleuthdog_]

Absolutely agree on this last point. They are completely separate things.

Additionally, while Josh is a musician and has been a performer in bands based in the Adelaide music scene over some years, he has not necessarily been active in the last couple of years.

Edit - Just wanted to add that it’s hard to imagine how this kind of event could impact you and how you would deal with it. IMO.

 

[Dotta]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1991389116638847408