Agreed, that's the first thing I thought - it's possible dementia played a role. Sufferers in the early stages are usually quite aware of their cognitive decline. Just so sad for everyone involved.
Bush kids don't always need toys. They make their own fun.
This is the Australia bush. My sister at aged 3 would disappear for hours at a time, but always with the dog. Everyone else was busy on the farm. Mum always had a vague idea where she was. Out dog was her best babysitter. City folk may not understand this.
Same, actually I just remembered we were doing this even at Gus' age. Would disappear into the bush in the morning and come back when the sun was going down. Always something interesting / dangerous to do, didn't need toys. Nobody knew where we were. Those were the days.
ABC News Australia: Oct 2
This article states the footprint was found about 500 metres (1640 feet) from the home, and that it was near a road. No mention of this being an internal road/track, but the Superintendent in charge says it's "highly unlikely" anyone else was involved in Gus' disappearance.
Search for four-year-old Gus bolstered by ADF, but no 'other traces' of footprints
In short:
Police are entering the sixth day of searching for four-year-old Gus, who has been missing in South Australia's outback since Saturday night.
A missing persons expert says a trauma-informed response to the situation is needed.
What's next?
The search for Gus will continue, but police say it is moving into a "recovery" phase.
...Superintendent Mark Syrus, the officer in charge of the Yorke and Mid North region, said that despite the footprint clue, no "other evidence" was discovered on Wednesday.
"Unfortunately, in the searches yesterday, he [the tracker] couldn't find any other traces of any footprints in the area, which he said was really unusual," he told ABC Radio Adelaide.
"We keep on reviewing our search patterns, and we've actually gone back to the homestead and we've searched it again for a third time. We scoured this whole area again, just on the off-chance he's still within the 200 or 300 metres of the property here."
But police cautioned that there were no guarantees the footprint was even from Saturday.
"We've got to remember that he [Gus] actually lives on the property and that might have been a footprint that he might have left there a couple of days ago, even before he went missing," Superintendent Syrus said.
While the print was found near a road, Superintendent Syrus said he thought it was "highly unlikely" anyone else was involved in Gus's disappearance.
"That's another theory we do think about. At the start of any searches, we have an investigational component to it," he said.
"Yesterday, we had detectives up here speaking with people; they left yesterday. The road itself is not a public road — there's six gates to go through to actually get to the property.
"It's highly unlikely, but something the investigators are looking at."
(*underlines & colour emphasis mine)
Agreed. City folk would also be horrified to learn that kids in outback mining towns play in the mullock heaps around mine shafts.
Oops, I seem to have missed this line when reading the article.
www.facebook.com
Saturday, September 27
Gus was last seen playing in a mound of dirt with a little shovel in his hand at the front of the homestead on the remote station about 5pm, according to police.
When his grandmother went to check on him, he was nowhere to be seen.
Police said the family searched for about three hours before alerting police, who arrived about 9:30pm that night.
What we know about search for missing boy on sheep station
Authorities are searching for a missing four-year-old boy on a sheep grazing station in the mid-north of South Australia. Here's what we know about the search so far.www.abc.net.au
The “family” have requested that Gus’s picture is not released in this search for him. They have said there is no need, as he wouldn’t have been kidnapped.
Yet, the Police have released a picture of the tshirt Gus was wearing.
View attachment 617708
Police Comb Through Wilderness for Boy, 4, Last Seen Wearing Minions Shirt, Who Has Been Missing Since Saturday
Police are searching for missing 4-year-old boy August "Gus" Lamont, who went missing while wearing a Minions shirt from his family's home in the remote Australian outback. Gus was last seen on Saturday, Sept. 27.people.com
“South Australia Police have not released photos of Gus, as per his family's wishes.”
“Police are still working on the theory that Gus likely wandered off.
They do not believe Gus has been taken, as the only people who would travel on the nearby road are station owners.”
Survival expert gives hope to family of boy missing in the Outback
Alone Australia Season one runner-up Michael Atkinson has explained why little Gus could still be alive.www.dailymail.co.uk
I might have a good imagination
