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

[TardisGirl]

To answer your questions,
1. Yes snakes, spiders. Yunta is “inside” the dog fence, so dingoes sightings are fairly unusual, though not unheard of. Nothing that would eat a child without leaving a trace - closest you’d get is feral pigs (they’ll eat entire lambs, young goats etc) which are also unusual for the area but leave a lot of damage to the landscape so if they’ve been spending time anywhere on the station it’d be pretty evident.
The maps I’ve attached below are from the official reporting mechanism landholders must use to report feral animals, so you can see in the last 12 months there have been sightings near-ish to Yunta, looks like within a couple hundred kms, but not a huge amount.
Dingoes in pastoral areas are generally pretty wary of humans in my experience - but I’m not a lone 4 year old either.
No crocs etc this far south, looks like they’ve searched the dams very thoroughly regardless, and I’d expect tracks or signs of struggle around the dam if he did enter one and get stuck or slip under the water.
Kangaroos are surprisingly vicious if caught at the wrong moment, their claws will tear through skin, ligaments and veins like a knife, but again they don’t really attack unless disturbed or under perceived threat, so I wouldn’t say it’s likely option and would be quite surprised. Kangaroos are herbivores so they definitely don’t attack for a feed.
2. Mild spring temperatures at the moment, so 6°-12° degrees over night and up to 30° during the day, mostly around the mid 20°s though. Very blustery & windy during September, so the wind can make things quite chilly if you’re not out in the sun. Still quite a risk of dehydration regardless.
3. Yep, that’s correct.
View attachment 617796View attachment 617797

Thank you for your very informative message. My gut feeling is he’s in an abandoned mine shaft.
If he has access to water there is still slight hope maybe

 

[SouthAussie]

Taken from the reporter on this news video…. she said that Major Crime Police were back at the property today, despite denials of any foul play.

The Advertiser (3 hours ago) said Major Crimes attended on Wednesday as part of normal police procedure and had returned to Adelaide.

Also, a victim contact officer is providing professional support to the family.

And Robert Head - owner of Bobby’s China Bar, a mobile food van - has come from Peterborough. He and his staff have been donating burgers and sandwiches for the search volunteers.

https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/police-courts-sa/army-joins-desperate-hunt-for-missing-fouryear-old-gus-who-disappeared-from-his-homestead-at-yunta-in-sas-outback/news-story/081c3e3892dccc5b6ec4a6f7e210608f?amp

 

[zagadka]

Maybe this Oakvale Station?

https://nutrien.harcourts.net/au/office/adelaide/listing/lhl2388

But not sure. Google Maps says Oak Vale Station is just off Oak Park Road but Google Maps might be wrong about the station name

It would make more sense to be called Oak Park Station, that might be the real name

 

[SouthAussie]

Looks like Oakvale Station

https://nutrien.harcourts.net/au/office/adelaide/listing/lhl2388

Perhaps similar looking. Except your link says Oakvale station is "162km to Yunta" - and it is reported that the station where Gus lives is about 40km south of Yunta.


Eg:
August, also known as “Gus”, was last seen playing in sand at his family’s sheep station, about 40km south of Yunta, about 5pm on Saturday.

https://www.news.com.au/national/south-australia/hearts-are-aching-police-warn-recovery-phase-near-despite-footprint-breakthrough/news-story/34c1bc12209500fad69ad488e2a0941b

 

[zagadka]

Yeah, I think Oak Park Station is probably the real name of the property. Google Maps seems wrong about the Oak Vale Station name

It looks like some news outlets were calling this the Oak Park Station Search but have since redacted the name. If you search for Oak Park Station Search you will find all the articles though

 

[tedtink]

Can we link to google maps? There are 2 'dwellings' in close proximity on Oak Park Road. "Oak Vale Station" and another.

 

[zagadka]

32.84096° S, 139.60374° E in Google Maps matches the photos on the previous page (roof, water tanks, outbuildings, etc)

Google Maps currently calls this Oak Vale Station but I think the name is wrong and it is really Oak Park Station

 

[tedtink]

32.84096° S, 139.60374° E in Google Maps matches the photos on the previous page (roof, water tanks, outbuildings, etc)

Could that be another dwelling or more farm buildings to the SW?

32°50'27.5"S 139°36'13.5"E

 

[tedtink]

Then there's this, a few hundred meters away, where the is blurred out for some reason?

-32.84720751432094, 139.59191609382634

 

[zagadka]

View attachment 617784

32.84096° S, 139.60374° E in Google Maps

 

[kurtneverdied]

Have you been there? It might look flat from satellite images etc but it’s not that straightforward on the ground by any means. The landscape undulates, there are dry creeks, rises, caves & vegetation. It’s not like looking out at a flat ocean horizon or paddock used for cropping.

Yes I have worked at a station nearby in my younger years. It's not hard search country compared to some other unpopulated parts of the country. Sure there are some kinda hidden places, but not many within the search zone and they would of been checked already.

The station owners and those that work or have worked there would know of mine shafts and any places not visible from the air.

I'm really doubting he is out there.

 

[Itz_CrimsonYT]

Could that be another dwelling or more farm buildings to the SW?

32°50'27.5"S 139°36'13.5"E

it would appear to be so.

Perhaps he could've wandered to that building thinking it was his home.

 

[zagadka]

Yes I have worked at a station nearby in my younger years. It's not hard search country compared to some other unpopulated parts of the country. Sure there are some kinda hidden places, but not many within the search zone and they would of been checked already.

The station owners and those that work or have worked there would know of mine shafts and any places not visible from the air.

I'm really doubting he is out there.

Could be in a dam. There are lots of dams.

 

[Itz_CrimsonYT]

There is also another building SW of the other building

-32.84707720945644, 139.59094512917608

 

[musicaljoke]

Thinking there is more to this than meets the eye. One footprint. Where are the others?. Looks fairly sparce and visible so something is not making sense in my opinion. Where is the mother and father?

Footprints degrade rapidly in sandy soils. It's really amazing that they found even one.

 

[tedtink]

There is also another building SW of the other buildingView attachment 617818
-32.84707720945644, 139.59094512917608

Thank you for this. Could you kindly add a shot of -32.84720751432094, 139.59191609382634 (The blurred building) which is also close by. I'm rubbish at that kind of thing unfortunately.

 

[Serononin]

Footprints degrade rapidly in sandy soils. It's really amazing that they found even one.

Especially since I think it's been mentioned that it's been quite windy the past few days? So it wouldn't take long at all for another layer of sand/dust to blow over a fresh footprint

 

[Itz_CrimsonYT]

Thank you for this. Could you kindly add a shot of -32.84720751432094, 139.59191609382634 (The blurred building) which is also close by. I'm rubbish at that kind of thing unfortunately.

I'm unable to make the image less blurry, but here

 

[tedtink]

I'm unable to make the image less blurry, but hereView attachment 617820

Thanks so much. It just puts a different perspective on the 'remote' position for me. I mean, I realise it IS remote but I hadn't realised until now there could be other dwellings so close by.

ETA
I believe you can request a blur on google maps for privacy reasons.

 

[Itz_CrimsonYT]

Thanks so much. It just puts a different perspective on the 'remote' position for me. I mean, I realise it IS remote but I hadn't realised until now there were other dwellings so close by.

It leads me to believe there is a good chance he could've wandered to one of the nearby homesteads with the assumption that it has his home