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

[BreakingNews]

The Advertiser made a point of saying that Major Crimes had attended, and had left. I think that is significant.

I remember Major Crimes (in WA) attended, then left, when Virginia Giuffre committed suicide.

If there is no indication that a Major Crime has happened, I think the Major Crimes detectives leave.

imo

That might be routine

 

[Bigditch]

No it wouldn't happen in a plastic one unless it was very deep, but they are usually shallow. It would be more of a self built one, a wooden frame to contain the sand straight on the ground type. They can be made deeper for digging...which is where the danger comes in

2 feet deep is dangerous

 

[tedtink]

Or maybe he was visiting for school holidays.

Gus lives at the property.

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

Yesterday at 6:39 PM

Royce Player used to be neighbours with the family and is also an experienced tracker who knows the area well.
"I would've thought they might've found him by now, you never know, this could be something someone's missed somewhere," he said.
"Under a bit of bush, a bloody hole in the ground, or an old motorcar … could be anywhere."
He said it could be easy to "miss a little four-year-old" if the searchers were spaced out even "20 metres apart".
Mr Player, like many of the volunteers assisting in the extensive search efforts, said he dropped everything to come and help with the search for a...

• tedtink

• 

 

[SouthAussie]

Or maybe he was visiting for school holidays.

"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," said the officer in charge of the Yorke and Mid North region, Superintendent Mark Syrus.

Community comes together as search for missing 4yo Gus enters day 7

The search for missing four-year-old Gus has entered its seventh day, with no new signs of the boy.

www.abc.net.au

 

[SouthAussie]

That might be routine

Yes, that was my point. Major Crimes attend to check off that there has been no indication of foul play. That squad has likely seen most every situation and knows the nuances to look for.

In this situation they attended, then left and came back to Adelaide - as per The Advertiser.

(If that is what you meant)

imo

 

[TMich6811]

2 feet deep is dangerous

Yeah it’s actually so easy for sand to cave in and suffocation to happen, that was my very first thought.

 

[SouthAussie]

Yeah it’s actually so easy for sand to cave in and suffocation to happen, that was my very first thought.

Wouldn't the police - and the indigenous tracker - have been able to tell if there was earth movement there?

I think the ground is likely pretty solid in that area. Which is why it is used for sheep grazing and has not been turned into agricultural land.

It is not easy to dig into our outback soil. It has been baked under a thousand suns. And apparently eroded by an inland sea in days long past.

The pic I saw of the sandpit (which I have been looking for, and can't find again) looks like it was pretty close to the house, surrounded on three sides by bushes/trees (likely for shade and wind protection), and quite shallow.
And I think the sand would have been placed on top of the hard outback ground, not actually a pit.

imo

 

[jypsijemini]

There are cases where the sides of a sand pit can collapse, burying whatever is in it.

Particularly considering the weather in that area lately.

AI Overview:
...the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) reported severe rainfall deficiencies in south-eastern South Australia from January to May 2025. Yunta is located in this affected region, which experienced rainfall totals in the lowest 5% to 10% of periods on record. You can find more detailed information and maps on the BoM website's drought archive for South Australia, which was the driest state in the first half of 2025.

BOM Yunta Temps Sept 2025 shows temps were occasionally straying into the 30°C-s (86°F) last month.

Considering the photos we've seen of the "sand pit" or rather, sand pile that Gus was said to have been playing in, the structural integrity of the sand would have been unpredictable and assumedly quite loose and dry, as it appears to be uncovered.

In that climate, it wouldn't have held much water or been rained on recently and therefore, could easily collapse on itself if he'd been digging holes.

MOO

 

[TMich6811]

Wouldn't the police - and the indigenous tracker - have been able to tell if there was earth movement there?

I think the ground is likely pretty solid in that area. Which is why it is used for sheep grazing and has not been turned into agricultural land.

It is not easy to dig into our outback soil. It has been baked under a thousand suns. And apparently eroded by an inland sea in days long past.

The pic I saw of the sandpit (which I have been looking for, and can't find again) looks like it was pretty close to the house, surrounded on three sides by bushes/trees (likely for shade and wind protection), and quite shallow.
And I think the sand would have been placed on top of the hard outback ground, not actually a pit.

imo

IMO - no, they may have not observed signs. There was movement there because he was in the sand so any movement there could have been put to that.

Sand doesn’t have to be natural piles of sand to cave in. Same piles of any kind are incredible dangerous and unstable. If you’re digging into it, they can collapse back into the hole at any time and cover things up. It doesn’t take much sand to cause suffocation because sand doesn’t have air pockets. So there isn’t much attempt at digging out

 

[TMich6811]

The news coverage showed this sand pit when mentioning where Gus was playing.

This post is the image that Sazza posted from the news. There is clear disruption here, hard to see how actually sandy it is

 

[Marg944]

Sand pile pic….

Family break silence as outback search for missing four-year-old continues

‘We are struggling to comprehend what happened.’

7news.com.au

 

[packetgravy]

Wouldn't the police - and the indigenous tracker - have been able to tell if there was earth movement there?

I think the ground is likely pretty solid in that area. Which is why it is used for sheep grazing and has not been turned into agricultural land.

IMO Perhaps the trackers found nothing outside as there was nothing to find.

Which brings me back to the structures around the premises, although I’m sure the area has been swept.

 

[Lucy6226]

2 feet deep is dangerous

Agreed. Which is why a solid base (that can't be dug through) sandpit with a shallow amount of sand is the safest option in my opinion. A foot of sand is more than enough to play in. I've read about too many collapses and children being buried or suffocating maybe!

 

[tedtink]

Looked like a pile of soil that hasn't 'caved in' in any way, to me.
It's not quicksand either.

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.

'Our hearts are aching': Missing boy's family releases statement as search continues

The devastated family of a missing four-year-old boy has released a statement saying it is holding on to hope "he will be found and returned safely" as authorities and community members continue the search in mid-north South Australia.

www.abc.net.au

 

[jypsijemini]

IMO Perhaps the trackers found nothing outside as there was nothing to find.

Which brings me back to the structures around the premises, although I’m sure the area has been swept.

Yeah, they stated that they've searched the property multiple times now.

"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."

It's all so confusing and heartbreaking.

Doesn't seem to be an abduction. Hasn't been found hiding in or around the home and surrounding buildings. A single footprint which may not have even been left by Gus since his disappearance...

He's "vanished without a trace". It's devastating. I can't stop thinking about him and his family. I wish I could drop everything and drive out there to help them search. I keep pleading with the Universe to lead someone in the right direction before it's too late. But the days just keep rolling by without any sign of Gus

(MOO)

 

[Lucy6226]

I guess there is the unlikely scenario that he wandered off...and then was abducted. Since abduction from the home, seems off the cards due to it's location MOO

 

[tedtink]

Here is the pile of soil/sand.

S

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

Wednesday at 3:53 AM

The news coverage showed this sand pit when mentioning where Gus was playing.

• Sazza

• 

 

[vicagi23]

The distance between Yunta and Oak Park station is 41 km.

 

[HoneyBunOne]

Here is the pile of soil/sand.

S

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

Wednesday at 3:53 AM

The news coverage showed this sand pit when mentioning where Gus was playing.

• Sazza

• 

Thanks for that, I went looking at news articles and videos this morning but all I could find was the same 4-5 pics recycled over and over.

As we can see, this is no regular "sand pit" that first comes to mind when you think of young children playing in sand. It looks to be a decent sized mound of sand, or dry dirt. It appears to me, by the vegetation growing around and on top, that it's been there for a long while. However, the part free from vegetation around the front looks to me to be a little disturbed. Whether that was the area he was playing in or not, we just don't know. However, to my untrained eye, it looks like this mound has not been dug through or flattened to be sure little Gus didn't somehow collapse into the mound.

Have we been able to determine how far this sand pile is in comparison to the house? Even if he was in ear shot of adults, I'm sure it wouldn't take long for him to collapse into the sand and die, therefore maybe not even crying out for help.

Poor little boy, he needs to be found today!

***EDITED TO ADD*** Just for scale: The rusty barrel to the right of the pile is likely to be a 50 litre drum, which in my opinion would be taller than a 4 year old, and big enough to contain a child that size. Not that I'm suggesting he is in one, I'm just putting it out there to show the size and likely how big Gus is in comparison. MOO

 

[whitelilac]

This is way out there and highly unlikely, ...but, with such an intensive search and not being found yet one wonders.
Wildlife was mentioned earlier, particularly dingos.

Another, though remote possibility is the wedge tailed eagle, an Australian apex predator. I learned through some investigating that they are present in SA. It is known for its huge wingspan of 2.8 meters and are strong and aggressive. They have been known to attack sheep, wallabies, kangaroos. They cannot fly off with a weight more than around 5kg, and I'd think a 4 year old would be at least 16kg.
Gus was wearing a grey hat, may have been mistaken for a wallaby or young kangaroo.
But...if a little boy out in the open was attacked and seriously hurt, could another ground predator have taken advantage, taken to a den...or ...consumed (so hate to type this) ?

I know....farfetched......but where is he???

https://www.news.com.au/technology/science/animals/crazy-to-watch-kangaroos-hunted-by-wedgetailed-eagles/news-story/34c8a54aae71be9d4eb13ee62ae92481

https://www.wildlife.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/115343/Wedge-tailed-Eagle.pdf