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

[jessicalouise]

You are right.

I have no idea to be honest.

I just assumed there are some workers.
But
who knows???

Its a fair assumption given the size of the place and time of year. Very curious why the media havent been clear on this.

Even small farms often have help even if its on a casual or as needed basis.

 

[Serein]

want to point out (idk if anyone has said it or if its helpful at all) that i find it strange that there are no footprints or tire tracks at all. in the outback all of that stuff is visable in the sand/dirt. i have only glanced at the case but it kind of stood out to me that they only have 1 footprint and its on its own and is a footprint in a shoe. It seems strange to me.

JMO

 

[MelmothTheLost]

There's been no reports in the media about workers on the property. I find that to be curious since it is such a vast property and, from what we can assume, a working sheep station. Nothing's been mentioned about that, the only focus has been on the 3 family members living at the homestead.

Because if there were workers on the property it would be common for them to be coming and going, no?

Are we sure this is a working station? It would be coming towards the of lambing season Down Under, wouldn't it?

 

[Serein]

Are we sure this is a working station? It would be coming towards the of lambing season Down Under, wouldn't it?

apparently (according to google) the lambing season here (AUS) is july - september with its peak in july/august

 

[jessicalouise]

want to point out (idk if anyone has said it or if its helpful at all) that i find it strange that there are no footprints or tire tracks at all. in the outback all of that stuff is visable in the sand/dirt. i have only glanced at the case but it kind of stood out to me that they only have 1 footprint and its on its own and is a footprint in a shoe. It seems strange to me.

JMO

It's not really sand or dirt. The terrain surface is more like gravel. It's rough. If you take a closer look at it it becomes very obvious why little footprints weren't left.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Seeing how big the property is I wouldn't be surprised if there are some people who sneaked onto the property to search, maybe even set up camp.

Away from the house area.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

apparently (according to google) the lambing season here (AUS) is july - september with its peak in july/august

Thanks. I know from my contact with sheep farmers in the UK, lambing season is pretty labour intensive (ha!) in human terms with someone on duty in the lambing sheds round the clock to help out any ewe or lamb that gets into difficulty. It would be pretty tough for the three known adults at the station to cover that for months so it seems likely that there were temporary workers on site for the season, and that these may have recently left it. Always assuming this is indeed a working sheep station.

 

[Warwick7]

The family didn't want people helping from the get go. They wanted to deal with it themselves. So it was the police who were in charge of the search and, from what I gather from media reports, approved the volunteers searching. Even the guy who'd had 20 years SES experience had to get approval to search.

This is what I understood also. LE are approving certain people. Yes, they are strangers, but they've been approved by LE. If a stranger showed up on my property that weren't LE approved, I wouldn't be irritated with them for being there I would be grateful, but I would tell them to go see law enforcement let them make the decision.

 

[rvlvr]

Normally I would feel the same way, but if my little kid went missing and the police had called off the search, I'd take anyone. I don't care. Come one, come all. Even if it had been too long for him to survive. I'd still have hope. I would be delusional.

We all deal with grief and tragedy differently and some people are capable of thinking clearly and sensibly even in their lowest moments. It certainly wouldn’t be sensible for random members of the public to show up in a place like that and start ‘searching’ for a child after police officers, soldiers, divers, sniffer dogs, drones and helicopters have all failed to locate him. It’s a bit bizarre imo that the family are being judged negatively for *not* being delusional and for making the correct call here.

Let’s just see how this plays out, typically Australian police don’t make a song and dance out of their investigations (thankfully), they’re not going to provide a running commentary or leak tidbits of information, and quotes from unnamed sources in the Daily Mail should generally be taken with a pinch of salt. All anyone with an interest in this case can do is wait.

 

[twomoresmores]

You are right.

I have no idea to be honest.

I just assumed there are some workers.

But,
who knows???

Perhaps fewer workers on a weekend when maybe the family shoulder the workload with the majority of jobs done during the week when workers are present?

 

[Dotta]

" 'No trace of Gus has been located'
– boy still missing in South Australia."

"No trace of Gus has been located" - boy still missing in South Australia

A baffling mystery continues to unfold on a remote property in rural South Australia. Police and search and rescue experts have unsuccessfully been working to locate a missing four-year-old boy who has somehow seemingly disappeared from his family’s farm. Augustus Lamont, who’s known as Gus, was...

www.times.co.nz

"Footprints, fake AI images and few clues:
Mystery over four year-old boy
who vanished in the Australian Outback."

Footprints, fake AI and few clues: Mystery over boy who vanished in the Outback

Four-year-old Gus Lamont went missing while playing in a sandpit in South Australia

www.independent.co.uk

 

[musicaljoke]

want to point out (idk if anyone has said it or if its helpful at all) that i find it strange that there are no footprints or tire tracks at all. in the outback all of that stuff is visable in the sand/dirt. i have only glanced at the case but it kind of stood out to me that they only have 1 footprint and its on its own and is a footprint in a shoe. It seems strange to me.

JMO

What do you find strange about this?

Sandy ground doesn't retain prints for very long. Grains of sand are constantly moving. A slight breeze brushes prints away. Neither does hard-packed ground show footprints. It would be like looking for footprints on a cement sidewalk. Unfortunately, many surfaces just don't show prints.

 

[PNW]

We all deal with grief and tragedy differently and some people are capable of thinking clearly and sensibly even in their lowest moments. It certainly wouldn’t be sensible for random members of the public to show up in a place like that and start ‘searching’ for a child after police officers, soldiers, divers, sniffer dogs, drones and helicopters have all failed to locate him. It’s a bit bizarre imo that the family are being judged negatively for *not* being delusional and for making the correct call here.

Let’s just see how this plays out, typically Australian police don’t make a song and dance out of their investigations (thankfully), they’re not going to provide a running commentary or leak tidbits of information, and quotes from unnamed sources in the Daily Mail should generally be taken with a pinch of salt. All anyone with an interest in this case can do is wait.

I mean, that’s your opinion, that they are making the correct call by not allowing searchers. Other people would argue that the more eyes, the better, and I don't think that’s a “delusional” position to take.

 

[rvlvr]

I mean, that’s your opinion, that they are making the correct call by not allowing searchers. Other people would argue that the more eyes, the better, and I don't think that’s a “delusional” position to take.

OK, define ‘searchers’ for me? Experienced amateurs? Random members of the public? How many ‘searchers’ do you think you’d need to be sure that every square metre of this vast site had been covered correctly? Who’d be vetting and coordinating these people? What makes you think this rag tag team would do a better job than the one already done by people who are actually trained to do it?

‘More eyes the better’ often isn’t actually the case, particularly in remote areas like this one, and in any case it’s always far easier said than done.

 

[Dotta]

OK, define ‘searchers’ for me? Experienced amateurs? Random members of the public? How many ‘searchers’ do you think you’d need to be sure that every square metre of this vast site had been covered correctly? Who’d be vetting and coordinating these people? What makes you think this rag tag team would do a better job than the one already done by people who are actually trained to do it?

‘More eyes the better’ often isn’t actually the case, particularly in remote areas like this one, and in any case it’s always far easier said than done.

All over the world
there are organizations structured to coordinate searches
and utilize volunteer efforts to locate missing individuals.
And nobody would call them "ragtag" teams (quoting OP).

These people are driven by compassion and goodwill.
They are willing to help.

Various non-profit organizations,
both local and national,
specialize in specific types of searches, such as those for missing children.

Searches and rescue efforts often rely on volunteers.

This is called Local Community Spirit.
Meaning:
helping one another.
Never leaving your neighbours in times of need.

JMO

 

[jessicalouise]

There was a 6 yo boy with autism who recently went missing in the Dandenong Ranges. A search by police and SES volunteers was conducted then called off.
In the morning he was found by a local mountain biking teen.

I think when it comes to missing children most people have their hearts in the right place and country people especially are very helpful with useful skills/knowledge.

 

[tedtink]

AFAIK the family friend only said they didn't want "strangers" turning up to search.

I'm not aware that any international organisations have offered help either. That hasn't been reported.
It's very often the case, that on public land, a member of the public, like 'a local dog walker', or mountain biker as above, will stumble across a dead body or misper, when not intentionally searching, even if a search has already been carried out.

 

[Ellery84]

Perhaps fewer workers on a weekend when maybe the family shoulder the workload with the majority of jobs done during the week when workers are present?

Maybe the station is not fully operational and is running only on skeleton staff consisting only of Jess, Shan and Josie?

 

[tedtink]

Maybe the station is not fully operational and is running only on skeleton staff consisting only of Jess, Shan and Josie?

Quite.
They may not even have a large flock. We don't know.

 

[Ellery84]

The family didn't want people helping from the get go. They wanted to deal with it themselves. So it was the police who were in charge of the search and, from what I gather from media reports, approved the volunteers searching. Even the guy who'd had 20 years SES experience had to get approval to search.

I think you're right and also the Australian Defence Force was brought in to help.

Hopefully the family didn't mind the Defence Force lending a hand?