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

  • #1,521
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"While no new evidence was found on the first day, efforts will resume on Wednesday and continue on Thursday.

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(An aerial view of some of the terrain near the search area)

South Australian Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said
the total search so far had
'covered approximately 470 square kilometres'.

'When you consider that the square mile of Adelaide is about just over four square kilometres
— that's 100 CBDs, over 100 CBDs,
that we are searching in quite unusual terrain,
so it is a significant effort',
he said on Tuesday.

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(About 80 ADF personnel took part in the search on Tuesday)"

 
  • #1,522
Also possible! But unfortunately doesn't help us figure out which direction he would go in that case.. Perhaps he would follow a road.

If he did go looking for the sun hiding place, as it was close to sunset, then that would mean a straight line to the west (depending on time of year)

This all of course assuming he did wander off, which is also not given.
Did some (not very extensive) research, found that sunset would have been 3° north of west at the right time of year. Almost a straight line to the west just at a very slight angle.

No way my angle is perfectly 3° north but it's close enough. Over a long area, the angle would make a difference from just straight west but that would take a while for one of them to be in the search area and one be out, IMO.
1760508730983.webp
 
  • #1,523
Did some (not very extensive) research, found that sunset would have been 3° north of west at the right time of year. Almost a straight line to the west just at a very slight angle.

No way my angle is perfectly 3° north but it's close enough. Over a long area, the angle would make a difference from just straight west but that would take a while for one of them to be in the search area and one be out, IMO.View attachment 619915
Thank you for entertaining my theory and checking which direction the sun set.
Coincidentally, this line goes over what I believe was presumed to be the scrap yard in earlier discussions (at about 0,8 km distance)

Edit: adding a closer up screenshot of the area on Google maps

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  • #1,524
DBM

Table of weather observations was a mess.
 
  • #1,525
Something that keeps coming back to me how sound travels in remote flat areas. I have spent time in similar locations and grew up in the country. We could hear the neighbours kids who lived 100s of meters away playing. In the outback with no road/ambient noise it is even easier to hear people. We were taught to koo-ee at a young age and to return a koo-ee if we heard one. Was Gus nonverbal or already incapacitated in the first few hours of being lost? I can’t shake the idea that he couldn’t have gotten out of a ‘koo-ee’ range during that first 30 minutes of being misplaced, and I find it hard to fathom that a potentially crying child couldn’t be heard in the vast stillness.

I tried to post the full table of Yunta weather observations, but it was a shambles.

Wind and weather conditions from the BOM below.

Wind predominantly from the west at the relevant time. 20kmph (W) at 3pm on the 27th and 6kmph (SSW) at 9am on Sunday 28th. That would suggest pretty light breeze at 5pm and through the night.
 
  • #1,526
Very motivated, walking in a relatively straight line, not doubling back on himself AND during loss of light.
I guess it’s possible, maybe we underestimate his endurance, but I’m still convincing myself he’s closer to home and they’ve missed him somehow.
Your comment sparked a thought.... I wonder if little Gus had it in his mind that he wanted to see his Dad :(
"Very motivated, walking in a relatively straight line, not doubling back on himself"
 
  • #1,527
Moo....kelpies are a herding breed. Police usually use malinois, dutch or German shepherds they are good ground trackers. I own a dutch he took off on me with a rope with a ten pound weight attached. So I used my catahoula to track him. It took 3 days but to my shock...she found him. ( Rope had got stuck) .she did it by air scent and ground, but air mostly. Catahoulas are American pig dogs, I know Australians have pig dogs, wonder if they have friends with hunting dogs. They are smart but stubborn which is probably why police don't use them...moo
 
  • #1,528
Does "stoic" possibly mean God-fearing re these people?
I think the term "stoic" would apply to most farmers of large, isolated properties
 
  • #1,529
Good point! I hadn’t noticed that second pile of sand/dirt, nor got such a good look at the second dwelling.

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That second dwelling looks newer, wonder if mum and the children lived in that one.Even the building in front has a satellite on it.
I wasnt expecting to see so many buildings so close to homestead.
 
  • #1,530
  • #1,531
Good point! I hadn’t noticed that second pile of sand/dirt, nor got such a good look at the second dwelling.

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Where exactly are the sheep 🐑??

I haven't seen a SINGLE sheep
in all photos presenting the farm/station/property.

🤔
 
  • #1,532
Moo...a kangaroo could hurt Gus. I watched vid of Aussie pig dogs (owners put gps trackers on dogs) a big joey had dog in a choke hold. The dog owner literally had to get into fight with roo to get it to release dog !!
 
  • #1,533
Moo...a kangaroo could hurt Gus. I watched vid of Aussie pig dogs (owners put gps trackers on dogs) a big joey had dog in a choke hold. The dog owner literally had to get into fight with roo to get it to release dog !!
Kangaroo's will definitely attack but only when they feel threatened. Emu's which there would be plenty of those in the area as well, will also attack if they have a nest of egg's.
 
  • #1,534
I don't think the boy is out there in the open.
IMO
he is either stuck somewhere in the yard's outbuildings/machinery/the house itself
or
hidden far away as a result of fatal accident cover up or foul play.
(I'm not pointing at anybody particular,
this is just my general assumption)

This new search looks exactly like Samantha M target searches
(with no trace of Samantha)
I have a feeling of deja vu reading reports.
High hopes but no results.

:(

JMO!!!
After this many days though, decomposition would have set in & the odour would be powerful
 
  • #1,535
I hope this is not too macabre. I am finding it hard to understand how after so long potentially in the open air that opportunistic carrion birds like buzzards, kites and native ravens have not been sited or heard. I also find the prospect of a sink hole or previously unknown mine shaft appearing within a km of the homestead to be incredibly unlikely given the family’s history with the property and likely deep knowledge of the terrain. Where are you Gus. I hope you are found soon.
 
  • #1,536
The newly established Taskforce Horizon, made up of 12 specialists, will analyse all information from the search and provide advice on the ongoing operation.

As the search resumed, Daily Mail made an eerie discovery just 400m from his grandparents Shannon and Josie Murray's house.

A meticulously maintained grave is partially hidden among a stand of scrub, behind a fence, with the cross-shaped headstone revealing a baby boy had previously perished in the area.

It's understood Shannon and Josie inherited Oak Park sheep station from Shannon's parents, Vincent - a WWII prisoner of war - and Clair Pfeiffer.

On the headstone, under the words 'My Jesus mercy', the inscription shows that a John Smallacombe had passed away aged eight months in July, 1917.

It is not known if the child was an ancestor of Gus and his family.

Clair's maiden name was Jones.

If Gus is somehow still alive, the property may one day be passed to him.

Gus' mother Jessica and his one-year-old brother Ronnie also live at Oak Park.”


 
  • #1,537
  • #1,538
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  • #1,539
Moo..if Gus is out on the land, he will be covered in red sand by now. Also it is highish temperature , so dehydration of his tiny body. It he is under a bush or rock, the birds won't see him. It is very arid out there so not sure of population of carrion birds. If he is in a building and in an enclosed or higher up area, that would stop much of the scent also...moo
 
  • #1,540
I cringe when I see little kids dressed in khaki or camo. I guess most of us believe a lost child could never happen in our family.
Most of us probably don't want to argue on a daily basis with a little kid who insists on wearing Camo or khaki.
 

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