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

[CredibleSauce]

Much as the search has been thorough, I still wonder about the structures. Any trapdoors to spots under the buildings, that may have accidentally shut after going down?
Any silos or food structures? I guess there is no grain storage but maybe there is.
Is there a way for a 4 year old to climb the roof? I think of Harley Dilly and another boy Joshua Maddox who wasn't found for SEVEN years in chimneys.

Any buildings on stilts, piles? The school I went to in Toowoomba way back in the day, was built on stilts, at least the pilings were open and accessible. We used to hide under there to skip chapel, spooky hiding spots, piles of dirt etc.
I so wish little Gus would be found.

There would be heaps of these variables on the property. Maybe ruins from old buildings too on other parts of the property.
Shearing sheds are often built as raised structures, to “shed” sheep in underneath the working level of the floor (usually built with strong mesh or wooden slats) in case of rain during shearing time.

I’d imagine the structures were searched reasonably thoroughly in the first few days but it doesn’t mean little hidey holes can’t be missed.

Also for all of the armchair trackers in this thread, here are some photos of tracks for you to look at that I went outside and took just now. This is my driveway.

I haven’t stepped on this section at all this morning.

Can’t remember the last time I waked on this section, my kids were likely riding their bikes and running around here yesterday, or at least once in the last week.

This is the area I just walked across to take these photos. Can anyone tell which direction I just came from? I’m approx 80kg heavy, wearing sneakers.

 

[Marg944]

One of the screen shots I took from the 7news video that I posted earlier on here, shows a rather old, crumbling brick structure. Seeing as the property has been handed down through 5 generations, I assume there would be old buildings on the property. IMO

 

[su5ie]

There would be heaps of these variables on the property. Maybe ruins from old buildings too on other parts of the property.
Shearing sheds are often built as raised structures, to “shed” sheep in underneath the working level of the floor (usually built with strong mesh or wooden slats) in case of rain during shearing time.

I’d imagine the structures were searched reasonably thoroughly in the first few days but it doesn’t mean little hidey holes can’t be missed.

Also for all of the armchair trackers in this thread, here are some photos of tracks for you to look at that I went outside and took just now. This is my driveway.

I haven’t stepped on this section at all this morning.
View attachment 618274

Can’t remember the last time I waked on this section, my kids were likely riding their bikes and running around here yesterday, or at least once in the last week.
View attachment 618275

This is the area I just walked across to take these photos. Can anyone tell which direction I just came from? I’m approx 80kg heavy, wearing sneakers.
View attachment 618276

Here is my guess , your shadow would have one believe you walked towards the patch of dirt and stopped to take a photo but I think you turned around to take the photo I can see some light footprints with toe pointing towards your direction and also one sideways to your shadows left

 

[HoneyBunOne]

There is a small part of me that wonders when the last confirmed sighting of Gus by anyone other than his family was. Would a four-year-old typically be in school in Australia?

I'm sure the police have all that information, though

Our school year starts in late January/ early February, and kids generally start when they're 5-6. In cities and country towns, kids often go to kindergarten for 1-2 years, as a 3 or 4 year old before starting real school. So, no, a 4 year old would not be in school. Even if he was, he is likely too remote to go to a regular day school. Remote kids will generally either go to a boarding school or learn via "school of the air". I'm sure the last option has changed over time and with improvements in technology, but it used to be that kids would dial in to a radio, where they can interact with a teacher and other students, doing work that way.

 

[CredibleSauce]

Would be pertinent to keep in mind this community has weathered more than it’s fair share of tragedy for its small population, especially the pastoralists in the area and their children.

Several years ago Tanja, a young mother of two little children from literally a neighbouring station went missing and her husband (the boys’ father) shot himself there after police arrived at the property to investigate her disappearance.
I believe the little ones moved away to be cared for by family after these horrific events, but know neighbours and their children did help care for them in the initial days.
The general understanding is that she was likely the victim of a domestic homicide and that her body is hidden somewhere on the property.
There is no evidence to suggest she is alive, or that she left in the way that her husband described to police before his suicide.
Image source

For a community to suddenly lose 4 members in such terrible circumstances is something that would be difficult enough to come to terms with and move on from - to then have a small child go missing in essentially the same local area is just devastating.
These are children who would have likely played together at local race meets, shared parenting advice and anecdotes with, attended “play days” run by remote children’s services with… there are not an abundance of young people in these areas, to lose anyone from the community in any way is hard.
To lose anyone from the community in either of these circumstances is just unfathomable.

 

[packetgravy]

Much as the search has been thorough, I still wonder about the structures. Any trapdoors to spots under the buildings, that may have accidentally shut after going down?
Any silos or food structures? I guess there is no grain storage but maybe there is.
Is there a way for a 4 year old to climb the roof? I think of Harley Dilly and another boy Joshua Maddox, who wasn't found for SEVEN years in a chimney.

Any buildings on stilts, piles? The school I went to in Toowoomba way back in the day, was built on stilts, at least the pilings were open and accessible. We used to hide under there to skip chapel, spooky hiding spots, piles of dirt etc.
I so wish little Gus would be found.

That’s absolutely correct. Even when a dwelling and surrounding structures have been swept meticulously, a small child can go unnoticed within the perimeter of their own home/property.

The risk of (presumed) death increases exponentially if a child has failed to be located within the first 48 hours following disappearance.

(Of course this depends on the country/region and circumstances around the disappearance.)

For a small child like Gus - within the timeframe provided by his grandmother, IMO the likelihood of him travelling further than a couple km is minimal.

His grandmother stated he was not checked during a thirty minute window between 17:00-17:30. Gus is a busy farm kid, at this point in the evening I expect he’s had some rigorous and unstructured play throughout the duration of the day. His family have said it would be out of character for him to wonder away from the property, this does not exclude the exploration of the dwelling and surrounding buildings.

A lot can happen within a thirty minute window, suffocation can happen within 2 minutes, drowning can happen within one minute and loss of consciousness due to head injury can take seconds.

If the grandmothers story tracks, then IMO the child IS still on the premises and likely stuck/hidden in an inconspicuous area. I would be to getting down to the child’s level and searching the surrounding area AGAIN from his lens.

MOO

 

[BreakingNews]

I think the police expect people to contact them if they have some brilliant idea or information.

I suspect that the police are not reading social media comments - it is Gus' loved ones and the family's close friends and community who are finding that accusatory online speculation is adding to their pain.

imo

Just because police have stopped the search, doesn't mean they have given up. Major Crime returned to the property last night.

And regards to speculation, it appears to be coming from the local town. It's on many a site. None of which are WS approved. So we can't be blamed.

So sad for everyone involved.

 

[SouthAussie]

I remember when Daniel O'Keeffe (24) was found, after 5 years, by his father - wedged in a tight space between the wall of his home and a rock. The police and the family had searched everywhere for Daniel. They all missed him, until his dad stumbled on Daniel's remains 5 years later. (Daniel O'Keeffe found)

I hope this doesn't happen to Gus' family.

 

[sunspun]

I remember when Daniel O'Keeffe was found, after 5 years, by his father - wedged in a tight space between the wall of his home and a rock. The police and the family had searched everywhere for Daniel. They all missed him, until his dad stumbled on Daniel's remains 5 years later. (Daniel O'Keeffe found)

I hope this doesn't happen to Gus' family.

Why wasn't there any decomp smell noticed though?

 

[Puzzles]

I grew up in the Australian bush during the 'forties and 'fifties.

As a yongster, ten or eleven, I paddled around on a rubber dinghy supplying homemade biscuits and cakes to marooned car drivers when the only access road was badly flooded. My older sibling spent the afternoon driving our tractor back and forth towing the occupants of stranded cars to safety.

Our parents had directed us to do so, whilst they helped rescue the neighbours' cattle.

Australian bush dwellers count on each other to come together if a neighbour, no matter how far away, is hit by a fire, a flood, or another crisis of any kind. This time-honoured tradition embodies the quintessential, sacred Australian concept of mateship.

The official search has been scaled back, but we can be assured that all those who knew the beautiful, other-worldly little Gus - or his family members - will be looking for him until he is found. May the great Spirit guide them.

 

[packetgravy]

Why wasn't there any decomp smell noticed though?

I would assume he was stuck in a space that kept his body relatively cool, for quite some time.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

I would assume he was stuck in a space that kept his body relatively cool, for quite some time.

Yes on going back and reading some articles, Daniel disappeared in winter when it was cold.
He was found near a limestone wall under the house.
The coldness of the weather and the limestone wall combined to help prevent odours.

 

[Total_C]

I’ve been reading the Facebook comments and it’s unreal how many people think “get the Aboriginal trackers in” is the magic answer. Like someone staring at dirt is going to outperform thermal drones, FLIR choppers, satellite imagery, centimetre-level GPS grids, and full Defence coordination.

People love the idea of a mystical tracker who can see what technology can’t, but that’s not reality. Modern search teams are using tools that detect heat, ground disturbance, and pattern changes that no human could ever pick up.

What’s actually happening is people online comforting themselves with folklore because the truth is harder to face. The tech isn’t missing anything. If this kind of capability can’t find him, it’s because there’s nothing to find.

 

[jypsijemini]

If the grandmothers story tracks, then IMO the child IS still on the premises and likely stuck/hidden in an inconspicuous area. I would be to getting down to the child’s level and searching the surrounding area AGAIN from his lens.

Possible, but there were K9s out there - likely tracker and cadaver dogs. I know even the best trained dogs aren't flawless, but assuming they were given fresh/recent scent from Gus' belongings in the home, I'd think that they'd have a good chance of locating him on the premises if he was *that* close-by.

MOO

 

[ChatteringBirds]

If this kind of capability can’t find him, it’s because there’s nothing to find.

People are missed within search areas, though, even with modern technology. What's your speculation?

 

[inkpink]

I’ve been reading the Facebook comments and it’s unreal how many people think “get the Aboriginal trackers in” is the magic answer. Like someone staring at dirt is going to outperform thermal drones, FLIR choppers, satellite imagery, centimetre-level GPS grids, and full Defence coordination.

People love the idea of a mystical tracker who can see what technology can’t, but that’s not reality. Modern search teams are using tools that detect heat, ground disturbance, and pattern changes that no human could ever pick up.

What’s actually happening is people online comforting themselves with folklore because the truth is harder to face. The tech isn’t missing anything. If this kind of capability can’t find him, it’s because there’s nothing to find.

Tech can't see broken twigs, displaced stones etc...

They can compliment eachother.

 

[Ellery84]

You raise some good points. I'm thinking that in the terrain Gus should have been found before now. I'm interested in how well the pile of sand was searched. And now I am wondering about criminal intervention. Hope we don't have another William Tyrrell on our hands. MOO

That's why Major Crimes are on the scene. The procedures for missing children are a lot more robust in 2025 than they were in NSW in 2014. Imo

 

[Puzzles]

I’ve been reading the Facebook comments and it’s unreal how many people think “get the Aboriginal trackers in” is the magic answer. Like someone staring at dirt is going to outperform thermal drones, FLIR choppers, satellite imagery, centimetre-level GPS grids, and full Defence coordination.

People love the idea of a mystical tracker who can see what technology can’t, but that’s not reality. Modern search teams are using tools that detect heat, ground disturbance, and pattern changes that no human could ever pick up.

What’s actually happening is people online comforting themselves with folklore because the truth is harder to face. The tech isn’t missing anything. If this kind of capability can’t find him, it’s because there’s nothing to find.

You might be interested in this, Total C:

An Australian doctor, a member of my family, was sent by the government to an area in Northern Australia where Whites had not previously made known contact with the Indigenous. He travelled by 4-wheel drive with an Indigenous driver and an Indigenous translator.

On the second day, the translator explained they had to leave their preplanned route and drive about three hours off track as there was an injured White man needing medical assistance.

My uncle scoured the horizon, expecting to see smoke signals.

Nothing.

Almost three hours off the track, they found a White gold prospector with a severe compound fracture of the femur and resultant heavy blood loss. He was being tended by a small group of Indigenous.

This is an example of Indigenous "modern technology", unmatched by that of Whites, IMO, and perhaps referred to in your post "folklore".

 

[Ellery84]

You might be interested in this, Total C:

An Australian doctor, a member of my family, was sent by the government to an area in Northern Australia where Whites had not previously made known contact with the Indigenous. He travelled by 4-wheel drive with an Indigenous driver and an Indigenous translator.

On the second day, the translator explained they had to leave their preplanned route and drive about three hours off track as there was an injured White man needing medical assistance.

My uncle scoured the horizon, expecting to see smoke signals.

Nothing.

Almost three hours off the track, they found a White gold prospector with a severe compound fracture of the femur and resultant heavy blood loss. He was being tended by a small group of Indigenous.

This is an example of Indigenous "modern technology", unmatched by that of Whites, IMO, and perhaps referred to in your post "folklore".

There are definitely things that occur in Australia and in particular in the Australian bush, that most white folk do not understand.

When you've been on Country, and had local stories and experiences explained to you by an Elder, it really opens up one's view.

Aboriginal trackers and traditional owners are and can be so incredibly helpful.

Imo

 

[BreakingNews]

I grew up in the Australian bush during the 'forties and 'fifties.

As a yongster, ten or eleven, I paddled around on a rubber dinghy supplying homemade biscuits and cakes to marooned car drivers when the only access road was badly flooded. My older sibling spent the afternoon driving our tractor back and forth towing the occupants of stranded cars to safety.

Our parents had directed us to do so, whilst they helped rescue the neighbours' cattle.

Australian bush dwellers count on each other to come together if a neighbour, no matter how far away, is hit by a fire, a flood, or another crisis of any kind. This time-honoured tradition embodies the quintessential, sacred Australian concept of mateship.

The official search has been scaled back, but we can be assured that all those who knew the beautiful, other-worldly little Gus - or his family members - will be looking for him until he is found. May the great Spirit guide them.

That is exactly what country people do. Everyone bands together. That is the community spirit. Doesn't matter what you think of them, it's a community in need and everyone helps. City people can learn a lot from our hard working country people. Work hard and long and look after each other