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

[Lady-J]

Just adding to above re drought - if there are wild animals around they would have become more and more desperate for food and brazen as the drought has worsened.

I think the animal theory is plausible but unlikely for various reasons - it’s possible Gus encountered a wild dog, pig, maybe dingo or a big fox. But I think Gus was a good age to run and climb or use his little shovel and put up a good fight, and being a country kid would have some resilience and smarts in this situation. And secondly, even if the animal got the upper hand there should be evidence of an attack or at the very least evidence of an animal living in the area (scat, tracks, etc) and previous attacks on livestock, so the family, searchers and locals would be all over this theory if it had any merit.

But there’s a slim chance gus wandered away a good distance from the house - he could get a few km away in 30 mins - before encountering an animal or a snake. Or maybe out of curiosity followed an animal a few km before it turned on him. And the incident happened so far away the probability of searches finding the attack site is low.

But I really can’t see this being missed especially with aircraft searches, and having some faith in the police and experienced searches to run a thorough grid.

IMO

I’m sure there would be evidence left behind if an animal was involved in GL disappearance and this would’ve been found. Animals don’t eat boots

 

[Rumination1]

I am baffled with this one and can only hope there are answers for this family one way or another soon. Like the Cleo Smith case I find myself following it and hope for a result expecting the worst but yet the “best” arose ( still terrible abduction for her).

As her case showed , distance is a different mode out there…. It also shows we have to keep looking to get the answers

 

[Lady-J]

I am baffled with this one and can only hope there are answers for this family one way or another soon. Like the Cleo Smith case I find myself following it and hope for a result expecting the worst but yet the “best” arose ( still terrible abduction for her).

As her case showed , distance is a different mode out there…. It also shows we have to keep looking to get the answers

The police did an amazing job finding Cleo Smith. Hope they can track who was at Oak Park Station the same way with similar results.
I hope they find Gus soon

 

[whitelilac]

When I was a child living in the South Australian outback, redback spiders and brown snakes were the deadlies that we were taught to stay away from.

Redback spiders were in darkened areas ... I have seen them in many places, like under rocks, under play equipment (easily distinguished by a distinct red mark on their backs).
Brown snakes are active in Spring (which it is now) as they come out of hibernation and look for food and start to mate.
They don't attack unless feeling threatened - we were taught to leave them alone.

imo

The brown snakes were the worst...because they were fast. We had one in the garage in Toowoomba, that my father tried to get out with a shovel. That snake moved faster than we did.... and yes the redback spiders (and funnel webs later when we moved to Sydney), hidden under all sorts of stuff we had to take care with.
Surely Gus was educated as to the dangers, to be cautious and alert when playing and exploring.

 

[HoneyBunOne]

This case just seems to be at a dead end for use sleuthers. I think we've discussed everything we can without breaking the rules. Until we hear more, or new, details from police we're just rehashing the same ideas

I certainly hope police have leads to follow and haven't hit a similar dead end.

Where are you Gus?

 

[TootsieFootsie]

I'm not sure how much a four year old would take in in regard to keeping safe.
It's not like he would be skilled in survival methods.

He's only four years old, no matter where he lives.

 

[Toowong(s)]

My mind goes to all the dams and tanks on the property. It has to be the most likely non-sinister scenario right now for mine (IMO).

Do police divers always find what they are looking for? I imagine it’s a pretty difficult job. How often have police divers searched a water body only to have the body still turn up years later?

Or if not the dams, hiding/misadventure eg in an old barrel, tank, vehicle or ruins of an old building.

But there would be footprints / tracks surely?! And all of that should/would have been thoroughly searched.

And why would so many people involved in the search say with such conviction that he’s simply not on the property?

By extension that leads me to:
- abduction (but surely the police would have a massive PR case going, and appeals, like they did with Cleo Smith).
- murder / cover up, but by who? and why? Accident with vehicle or machinery - but in this case Gus’ remains would be crucial evidence and I’m sure police would have sealed off the place and be crawling all over it still.
- hiding/misadventure, falling down an old mine?
- animal involved? Plausible but unlikely as per earlier post.
- Gus was never there? Has he been hidden / removed for some reason? To keep him safe?

Aside from those none of which seem to fit, I’m starting to ponder if aliens do exist.

IMO

 

[packetgravy]

IMO only, just sharing some insights for those horrified at how desolate Oak Park looks. It looks like a typical Aussie sheep station to me, but drier that you’d like to see due to drought.

In her youth, my mother lived at stations as a nanny. She has great stories! Some families lived with the basics while others lived in opulence. She described the children as loving the outdoors, they were hardy kids.

My sister did a stint at one of the more extravagant stations up north. This was about five years ago but the way she described her experience you would assume it was the 1950s. She was a nanny, teacher, maid, driver, cook, farm hand etc.

And yes, private aircraft wasn’t uncommon.

 

[Dotta]

I'm not sure how much a four year old would take in in regard to keeping safe.
It's not like he would be skilled in survival methods.

He's only four years old, no matter where he lives.

I'm not sure about Australia
but in my country (in Europe)
according to law,
a child under 7 years of age cannot stay without adult supervision.

Leaving a child under 7 years of age unattended is prohibited and subject to penalty
because it puts a child in danger.

 

[Ellery84]

I'm not sure about Australia
but in my country (in Europe)
according to law,
a child under 7 years of age cannot stay without adult supervision.

Leaving a child under 7 years of age unattended is prohibited and subject to penalty.

Our laws in Australia are more lax when it comes to child supervision, sadly.

 

[Serononin]

My mind goes to all the dams and tanks on the property. It has to be the most likely non-sinister scenario right now for mine (IMO).

Do police divers always find what they are looking for? I imagine it’s a pretty difficult job. How often have police divers searched a water body only to have the body still turn up years later?

Or if not the dams, hiding/misadventure eg in an old barrel, tank, vehicle or ruins of an old building.

But there would be footprints / tracks surely?! And all of that should/would have been thoroughly searched.

And why would so many people involved in the search say with such conviction that he’s simply not on the property?

By extension that leads me to:
- abduction (but surely the police would have a massive PR case going, and appeals, like they did with Cleo Smith).
- murder / cover up, but by who? and why? Accident with vehicle or machinery - but in this case Gus’ remains would be crucial evidence and I’m sure police would have sealed off the place and be crawling all over it still.
- hiding/misadventure, falling down an old mine?
- animal involved? Plausible but unlikely as per earlier post.
- Gus was never there? Has he been hidden / removed for some reason? To keep him safe?

Aside from those none of which seem to fit, I’m starting to ponder if aliens do exist.

IMO

It wasn't years later, but it took three weeks for Nicola Bulley's body to be found, just a mile down the river from where she entered the water. I think that part of the river had been searched already, but she wasn't found until her body surfaced and she was spotted by members of the public. IIRC she was wearing wellies when she went missing, I was shocked at the time that they hadn't come off and been found earlier

 

[Dotta]

"Who - or what - ​

took Gus in the Outback? ​

One minute the angelic four-year-old was playing in a makeshift sandpit behind the family farmstead, ​

the next he was gone... ​

leaving only a footprint in the dust...​

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For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

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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.

Huge air and land searches have failed to find any trace of him apart from a single footprint in the desert scrub since he disappeared on the evening of September 27.

So while the mystery of Gus Lamont’s disappearance has yet to be solved,
the chances that the little boy with blond curly hair and a Minions T-shirt will be found safe and well are, sadly, getting smaller with every passing day."

 

[SouthAussie]

But there would be footprints / tracks surely?! And all of that should/would have been thoroughly searched.

And why would so many people involved in the search say with such conviction that he’s simply not on the property?

If you saw the photos in this post you would see that footprints don't really show on the property's kind of soil. It is calciferous soil in the SA outback. Rocky, hard, dusty not sandy, not prone to footprints. I think the photos are very true to our outback conditions.

Are so many people saying Gus is not on the property, or is it the published opinion of just a couple of people in many news outlets?

imo

 

[Toowong(s)]

Our laws in Australia are more lax when it comes to child supervision, sadly.

Yes I believe it is largely up to parental judgement in Aus, but the parent is still legally responsible for the outcome. Info here:

Leaving kids home alone: Australian laws

There’s no one law in Australia about leaving kids home alone. But the law says parents are responsible for children’s safety if they’re home alone.

raisingchildren.net.au

As our kids got older and more responsible, my wife and I used to apply the rule - if something goes wrong, and we end up as headlines on the front page of the paper, are we going to be comfortable and sleep at night with our friends and family reading the headlines.

Personally I think around 4 years old we would have started letting the kids play on their own inside or outside (safeish urban back yard) for short periods of time, with us not far away and within earshot. And usually with a trusty Labrador retriever or two watching on.

I am paranoid about snakes though so on a rural property I’m not sure I’d have been as comfortable letting kids and dogs roam free.

 

[Toowong(s)]

If you saw the photos in this post you would see that footprints don't really show on the property's kind of soil. It is calciferous soil in the SA outback. Rocky, hard, dusty not sandy, not prone to footprints. I think the photos are very true to our outback conditions.

Are so many people saying Gus is not on the property, or is it the published opinion of just a couple of people in many news outlets?

imo

Hello fellow South Aussie, I was more thinking if Gus went into a dam, the edge would be muddy and pick up prints. So debunking / reducing the possibility that he somehow went into one of the dams under his own steam. Unless one has a jetty or similar.

I’m sure the dam levels are pretty low as well, so not hard for police to search. I’m keeping all theories on the table but they’re all seeming low probability for one reason or another.

Agree around the homestead footprints would not have been left or lasted long in the wind, if they were (and any left would then be trampled on in the dark with the initial 3 hours of searching before police arrived).

People saying Gus is not on property - without going back over all the coverage, I feel there’s been more than one involved person (searcher, neighbour, friend) stating he’s not there, like this:

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

“My heart breaks for (the father),” O’Connell told 7NEWS.

“It’s been searched. (Gus) is not there.”

O’Connell was given police approval to use his tracking skills to help with the search.”

How can one be so adamant he’s not there somewhere? Then where is he? Perhaps I’m reading too much into it. Would love to hear the locals theories other than vaporisation.

 

[musicaljoke]

Hello fellow South Aussie, I was more thinking if Gus went into a dam, the edge would be muddy and pick up prints. So debunking / reducing the possibility that he somehow went into one of the dams under his own steam. Unless one has a jetty or similar.

I’m sure the dam levels are pretty low as well, so not hard for police to search. I’m keeping all theories on the table but they’re all seeming low probability for one reason or another.

Agree around the homestead footprints would not have been left or lasted long in the wind, if they were (and any left would then be trampled on in the dark with the initial 3 hours of searching before police arrived).

People saying Gus is not on property - without going back over all the coverage, I feel there’s been more than one involved person (searcher, neighbour, friend) stating he’s not there, like this:

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

“My heart breaks for (the father),” O’Connell told 7NEWS.

“It’s been searched. (Gus) is not there.”

O’Connell was given police approval to use his tracking skills to help with the search.”

How can one be so adamant he’s not there somewhere? Then where is he? Perhaps I’m reading too much into it. Would love to hear the locals theories other than vaporisation.

I agree, that until they have put all the land through a sieve, they can never say for certain that the child is not out there. Just because they didn't find him does not mean he is not there, it only means that they didn't find him.

 

[Toowong(s)]

"Who - or what - ​

took Gus in the Outback? ​

One minute the angelic four-year-old was playing in a makeshift sandpit behind the family farmstead, ​

the next he was gone... ​

leaving only a footprint in the dust...​

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

View attachment 619163

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.

View attachment 619164

Huge air and land searches have failed to find any trace of him apart from a single footprint in the desert scrub since he disappeared on the evening of September 27.

So while the mystery of Gus Lamont’s disappearance has yet to be solved,
the chances that the little boy with blond curly hair and a Minions T-shirt will be found safe and well are, sadly, getting smaller with every passing day."

Thanks Dotta. This is a slightly different angle to previous narrative:

“The known facts are as follows: At 5.30pm, Gus’s mother, Jess, who lives on the secluded homestead with her parents, realised she couldn’t find him.”

Doesn’t change a lot though…

 

[spiritualdreaming]

From the daily mail.

His grandmother says she saw him playing there at 5pm two Saturday evenings ago.

Half an hour later, when Gus was called in for dinner, he had gone.

The known facts are as follows: At 5.30pm, Gus’s mother, Jess, who lives on the secluded homestead with her parents, realised she couldn’t find him.

Redirect Notice

From The Advertiser

Left alone for just half an hour, he was gone by the time his grandmother, Shannon, returned about 5.30pm. The sun was sinking fast, slipping below the horizon at 6.16pm, and panic set in.

https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/search-for-missing-4yearold-boy-gus-lamont-near-yunta-in-outback-sa-scaled-back/news-story/12c43101ab44e0371728513b5be78cfc

 

[Dotta]

Thanks Dotta. This is a slightly different angle to previous narrative:

“The known facts are as follows: At 5.30pm, Gus’s mother, Jess, who lives on the secluded homestead with her parents, realised she couldn’t find him.”

Doesn’t change a lot though…

Yes, I noticed it too

 

[Lady-J]

My mind goes to all the dams and tanks on the property. It has to be the most likely non-sinister scenario right now for mine (IMO).

Do police divers always find what they are looking for? I imagine it’s a pretty difficult job. How often have police divers searched a water body only to have the body still turn up years later?

Or if not the dams, hiding/misadventure eg in an old barrel, tank, vehicle or ruins of an old building.

But there would be footprints / tracks surely?! And all of that should/would have been thoroughly searched.

And why would so many people involved in the search say with such conviction that he’s simply not on the property?

By extension that leads me to:
- abduction (but surely the police would have a massive PR case going, and appeals, like they did with Cleo Smith).
- murder / cover up, but by who? and why? Accident with vehicle or machinery - but in this case Gus’ remains would be crucial evidence and I’m sure police would have sealed off the place and be crawling all over it still.
- hiding/misadventure, falling down an old mine?
- animal involved? Plausible but unlikely as per earlier post.
- Gus was never there? Has he been hidden / removed for some reason? To keep him safe?

Aside from those none of which seem to fit, I’m starting to ponder if aliens do exist.

IMO

Good points.
My mind also wanders to the dams .
Dams have a thick layer of silt on the bottom which can be a meter or so deep which would be extremely hard for police divers to find anything in. And like you said there would be some evidence of footprints leading to it wouldn’t there? The trackers would have seen some tracks if this was the case . Why are the searchers so adamant that dear Gus is not on the property if there’s a chance of him drowning in a dam?
If he’s not on the property this also leads me to abduction and I have the same question - why aren’t the police appealing to the public for help like they did with Cleo Smith.
This leads me to wonder if there’s been an accident and it’s been covered up by the family so Gus’s mother doesn’t lose custody of her other son. That’s the only plausible explanation I can think of.
Apart from that theres only an alien abduction theory left.