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

[Doesitmakesense]

They reportedly searched for about 3 hours before calling the police. The article mentions that Gus’s parents are still a couple, just living apart. It’s strange the mum didn’t reach out to the dad during those 3 hours..

If the dad as stated thought the farm was too dangerous to have the children there, it may have taken so long because the mum was sure she was going to find him and not ever have to tell the father imo

 

[TootsieFootsie]

I wonder what part or parts of the property the father felt was dangerous.
Were there any old wells or mine shafts or just things like old cars, fridges etc.

Or was it wild life, like kangaroos, feral pigs, snakes etc.

Edited to add water sources, dams, etc

 

[Richo]

“Josh doesn't think it's safe for the kids to be out there, it's dangerous,' a family friend revealed.”

I haven’t lived in the outback but I do wonder what’s unsafe or dangerous for kids out there?
I know there would be machinery, snakes etc but would like to know why Josh feels that way?

Also with there being no footprints I hope the police go back to the start and search. He could be stuck somewhere close to where he went missing.

 

[Karin1974]

Yes I found that rather alarming as well. One would think you'd call dad after calling Police. Definitely sparks more questions, especially if dad didn't think it was safe for the kid's to live there. The family dynamics seem quite intense after reading that article IMO

IMO - Surely the other way around? Call the Dad to let him know before calling the police? This case is just getting curiouser & curiouser. MOO

 

[Karin1974]

If the dad as stated thought the farm was too dangerous to have the children there, it may have taken so long because the mum was sure she was going to find him and not ever have to tell the father imo

IMO - How utterly ironic, his Dad was right!! MOO

 

[Ellery84]

If the dad as stated thought the farm was too dangerous to have the children there, it may have taken so long because the mum was sure she was going to find him and not ever have to tell the father imo

That's also what happened in a similar case, that of missing toddler William Tyrrell. Foster mum and grandma took a while before calling police, and foster mum did not tell foster dad until he arrived home. She waited until the last minute to tell her partner that the child was missing.

 

[drsleuth]

Video in the Daily Mail article shows that it is not just flat land

Missing boy Gus' grandparents break their silence: 'Clashes'

The little boy vanished almost two weeks ago after playing in the yard of remote Oak Park homestead in the harsh South Australian outback, 300km north of Adelaide.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[whitelilac]

I wonder what part or parts of the property the father felt was dangerous.
Were there any old wells or mine shafts or just things like old cars, fridges etc.

Or was it wild life, like kangaroos, feral pigs, snakes etc.

Since 5 generations have owned that property (as was stated earlier) can we assume Jess and her mother are part of that family? Did Josh come from a non outback background, and felt uncomfortable about the isolation and lifestyle perhaps? Did the couple live elsewhere before and then moved to that property? Maybe that's why he felt it was dangerous for children.

 

[midnightreader]

"It is understood Mr Lamont only found out his child was missing when police woke him up at his home, hours after Gus had vanished."

If this is true, as a dad this is horrifying. I can’t imagine being asleep while my four year old was missing and no one called me. It raises a million questions about the timeline for me. Who knew what, when, and why it took police knocking on the door for the father to find out.

It could be that they were trying to get hold of him but he wasn’t answering his phone.

 

[KBlackRabbit]

That’s a nice looking homestead, despite its remoteness I think it’s a good place for a kid to grow up. They’ve been there for generations so they should know how to manage children in this environment. Gus’s disappearance is a bizarre fluke.

 

[HoneyBunOne]

To get from Adelaide to Oak Park Station Google maps says the route to take is to go up to Yunta and then down Sturt Vale Road and turn right onto Oak Park Road.
A few 100 metres from that turn off is Tiverton Station and buildings of that station are on either side of the road.
I would say cars along Oak Park Road are pretty rare. it would be interesting to ask Tiverton Station if anyone saw a car going along the road in either direction the afternoon/evening Gus disappeared.

Going out to Barrier Hwy the other way along Oak Park Rd is a quicker route to Adelaide but it must be very sandy and would take longer. The only sign of life going out that way is Grampus about half way along so cars might be going there from Yunta.

That's interesting. That suggests that the portion of Oak Park Rd beyond Oak Park station is not considered a thoroughfare, even though it appears to go right through to near Grampus. I guess it could be a dry weather road only, but the area certainly looks dry at the moment, or otherwise it may become somewhat of a goat track that would slow you down so much that it's not worth going that way? Perhaps it's not maintained beyond that point or has some dangerous curves, or is set into the edge of hills making it dangerous?

 

[MelmothTheLost]

From the article:

However Mr Lamont himself lives two hours' drive away, 100km to the west in Belalia North, near Jamestown.

The Daily Mail has been told that while Josh and Jess remained a couple, he does not live on the station because of family clashes with Jess's parent, Josie.

'Josh doesn't think it's safe for the kids to be out there, it's dangerous,' a family friend revealed.

I wonder if Josh had raised any concerns about Gus's safety with any form of authority such as social services.

 

[HoneyBunOne]

It's perfectly easy for a person to hear a car a mile away in the outback. There's literally no other noise pollution.

Unless of course there is noise pollution coming from the property that would drown it out. Loud music or machinery are the first 2 things that come to mind.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

That's interesting. That suggests that the portion of Oak Park Rd beyond Oak Park station is not considered a thoroughfare, even though it appears to go right through to near Grampus. I guess it could be a dry weather road only, but the area certainly looks dry at the moment, or otherwise it may become somewhat of a goat track that would slow you down so much that it's not worth going that way? Perhaps it's not maintained beyond that point or has some dangerous curves, or is set into the edge of hills making it dangerous?

I suspect it's a private shared access road used by a handful of isolated properties but with a gate at the point it leaves the highway.

 

[Deleted member 371138]

That's interesting. That suggests that the portion of Oak Park Rd beyond Oak Park station is not considered a thoroughfare, even though it appears to go right through to near Grampus. I guess it could be a dry weather road only, but the area certainly looks dry at the moment, or otherwise it may become somewhat of a goat track that would slow you down so much that it's not worth going that way? Perhaps it's not maintained beyond that point or has some dangerous curves, or is set into the edge of hills making it dangerous?

If Gus was taken from the property, I don't think a car would be able to go past Oak Park Station, especially in daylight, without it being seen by the two properties on either side. The dust a car picks up would be noticeable and both of those properties on either side of the station are very close to the road.

If this experienced bloke Jason thinks Gus's not on the property at Oak Park:

Volunteer who helped search for missing boy drops bombshell theory

‘We are confident that we have done all we can to locate Gus within the search area.’

7news.com.au

Then to Gus I'd say where the bloody hell are ya:

 

[Absoluterubbish]

I suspect he is being hidden

By who though?

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Maybe the father just didn't want to live with the in-laws.
Seems many people wouldn't, even if they did get on with them.

 

[Ellery84]

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Video in the Daily Mail article shows that it is not just flat land

Missing boy Gus' grandparents break their silence: 'Clashes'

The little boy vanished almost two weeks ago after playing in the yard of remote Oak Park homestead in the harsh South Australian outback, 300km north of Adelaide.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Ohhhh they do have working dogs on the property.

 

[Sarahlou]

Is it known when anyone other than family saw Gus last? I can't remember reading it but thought I might have missed something.

 

[HoneyBunOne]

"It is understood Mr Lamont only found out his child was missing when police woke him up at his home, hours after Gus had vanished."

If this is true, as a dad this is horrifying. I can’t imagine being asleep while my four year old was missing and no one called me. It raises a million questions about the timeline for me. Who knew what, when, and why it took police knocking on the door for the father to find out.

I don't know how many hours after Gus went missing before his father was notified, but it does state that he was asleep at the time. This suggests to me that he may be a shift worker, if it was only after 2/3/4 hours or that it was more than 4 he might just be asleep during somewhat "regular" hours. Either way, he was asleep at the time. I imagine he must have had his phone on silent or do not disturb, requiring police to visit him to break the news. The family may have called him several times without getting an answer, and it seems to me that it must have been at least 3 hours - the timeframe it took to call police - before police in Adelaide were notified to do a welfare check/breaking the news visit. (I'm assuming that's how he came to know?) That seems a long time before notifying a parent, especially one that wasn't estranged, even if they tried calling many times.