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

[bruecbrian290]

‘I would be more worried about the unmarked wells and mines he may have fallen into,’ he said. ‘That’s the talk [among locals].’
I did think about the possibility of unmarked wells/mines in the area, but came to the conclusion that there wouldn't have been many since I couldn't find it mentioned anywhere, until now. Since it has been said by a local, that means there must be at least a few in the area, is there any way to find out how many unmarked things there are? (The fact that they are unmarked makes me think that there isn't a way, but I am not very good at finding information that I am looking for, only for other people..)

Only one tragic clue left behind of boy, 4, missing in Australian outback

August 'Gus' Lamont, vanished from his grandparents' remote homestead 40 kilometres south of Yunta.

metro.co.uk

 

[HoneyBunOne]

The whole "yard" looks like a safety hazard to me,
it actually looks like a building site or something

JMO

Exactly! I had concerns about the trampoline and its placement back in the beginning, along with all the "stuff" lying around.

 

[Lady-J]

It virtually was told earlier and reported by the advertiser that Shannon was the last person to see Gus. I guess the other 2 didn't need to be mentioned as they simply weren't at the homestead at the time IMO

It gives a reason for Gus leaving the sandpit - to go see his mum

 

[jessicalouise]

So if only one adult was present and wasn't watching him for half an hour how is it possible to know for sure someone hasnt arrived on the property and taken him?

I don't have a theory either way on whether someone did or didn't but how would they be able to rule that out?

 

[Lady-J]

Yep if the larger salt bushes aren't being checked then something could easily be missed.

How distracted was Shannon with Ronnie? Distracted enough to maybe not hear or see a car arrive and leave in that 30min time span?

How long had the other 2 been away from the homestead for? When did they arrive back or when did they receive word Gus was missing?

Good questions.
Here are some I prepared earlier;
Could the mum and grandparent see a car arrive and leave the homestead from where they were ?
Did Jess and Gran head towards Oak Park Road when they left the homestead to tend the sheep?
Did Gus follow them and wander out near Oak Park Road at the same time as someone drove past ?
IMO the homestead doesn’t seem far from Oak Park Road

 

[bruecbrian290]

So if only one adult was present and wasn't watching him for half an hour how is it possible to know for sure someone hasnt arrived on the property and taken him?

I don't have a theory either way on whether someone did or didn't but how would they be able to rule that out?

I don't think they can rule anything out, considering how long it has been since the original reported disappearance. Maybe they have somehow proved that Shannon should have been in earshot of any vehicle? A vehicle actually near the housing part of the properties would be weird for the area, so would have been noticed, probably. Maybe if it were a person, without a vehicle that took him (not saying someone took him, just a what-if), it could have been thought that it were mum or other grandparent? Considering they were handling sheep, that's probably not likely as I think they would be busy for a while.

Could mum and other grandparent have spotted anything since they were by the sheep? I think from what I saw on a video they would have been too far away to see anything, but who knows, as they may have been outside and sound would have probably travelled that far.

Imo, too late for them to rule anything out, honestly I am hoping someone did take him, and he will be found alive, and returned to his family, otherwise, anything could have happened.

 

[essareem]

Yep if the larger salt bushes aren't being checked then something could easily be missed.

How distracted was Shannon with Ronnie? Distracted enough to maybe not hear or see a car arrive and leave in that 30min time span?

How long had the other 2 been away from the homestead for? When did they arrive back or when did they receive word Gus was missing?

Do we know it was Shannon with Gus and not Josie? I have only seen it mentioned as "grandma" or "grandparent".

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Why does it matter which grandma was home with the children? Point is, watching a baby and a 4-year-old at the same time isn't easy, and she's being honest from what we know. She could have said he was only outside unattended for a shorter time but didn't. Does it matter which adult it was?

 

[Lady-J]

So if only one adult was present and wasn't watching him for half an hour how is it possible to know for sure someone hasnt arrived on the property and taken him?

I don't have a theory either way on whether someone did or didn't but how would they be able to rule that out?

Exactly. It can’t be ruled out and explains Gus vanishing without a trace

 

[Old Soul]

Sinister fears over link between missing Gus and wild-eyed man

Gus disappeared from his grandparents' remote South Australian property near Yunta on September 27 while playing near a mound of dirt.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Daily Mail’s latest sensationalist offering.
The notion that the “wild-eyed man” vanished close to the same spot as Gus is laughable.

 

[bruecbrian290]

I think that whoever was with the children at the time would have had some knowledge on where Gus was during at least the first part of the 30 minutes. We know he was last spotted in one of the sandpits, but could he have been, say, heard after that? He may be an imaginative kid who gives sound effects to his playing, and grandmother may have been within earshot, depends on whether they were in a room close to him with an open window or something, or the other side of the house.

I still think a vehicle approaching would have been too noticeable for the family, but again, if grandmother was the other side of the house, preoccupied by Ronnie, it may not have been heard.

-MOO-

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Still no luck in new search for missing boy Gus

No evidence has been uncovered during the second day of a renewed search for missing four-year-old Gus Lamont.

www.9news.com.au

9News Australia

Video

Still no luck in new search for missing boy Gus​

 

[Dotta]

Why does it matter which grandma was home with the children? Point is, watching a baby and a 4-year-old at the same time isn't easy, and she's being honest from what we know. She could have said he was only outside unattended for a shorter time but didn't. Does it matter which adult it was?

First of all
the duty of care lies with parents.
Gus has 2 parents.

A grandparent, being older,
can get overwhelmed while minding 2 young children.
It takes a lot of effort, energy and constant attention.

I'm talking in general sense.

Some older folks have problems with agility and concentration/focus.

Every stage of life
has its own rules and rights.

JMO

 

[FromGermany1]

Why does it matter which grandma was home with the children? Point is, watching a baby and a 4-year-old at the same time isn't easy, and she's being honest from what we know. She could have said he was only outside unattended for a shorter time but didn't. Does it matter which adult it was?

bbm
For the exact timeline it would be very helpful, IMO. Who was where when - it doesn't make much sense, when the female grandparents are constantly confused since start. I don't accuse anyone of the 3 adults at the station to have done something to little Gus, but honestly I want to know, who is who, when reading reports. MOO

 

[spiritualdreaming]

Do we know it was Shannon with Gus and not Josie? I have only seen it mentioned as "grandma" or "grandparent".

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.
For three desperate hours, the family searched, shouting his name into the fading light, before finally calling police at 8.30pm.

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?amp

 

[spiritualdreaming]

Good questions.
Here are some I prepared earlier;
Could the mum and grandparent see a car arrive and leave the homestead from where they were ?
Did Jess and Gran head towards Oak Park Road when they left the homestead to tend the sheep?
Did Gus follow them and wander out near Oak Park Road at the same time as someone drove past ?
IMO the homestead doesn’t seem far from Oak Park Road

If 7news direction is correct with the map they posted, they were attending sheep on the Northside of Oak Park Road. So on the junk yard side.

 

[spiritualdreaming]

Why does it matter which grandma was home with the children? Point is, watching a baby and a 4-year-old at the same time isn't easy, and she's being honest from what we know. She could have said he was only outside unattended for a shorter time but didn't. Does it matter which adult it was?

No it doesn't matter what grandma it was, but we know it was Shannon.

Being only 1 adult present can it be a truthful fact that Gus was only unattended for 30mins? 30mins could be 45mins or 1hr. There was no one else present to corroborate the time. When we are busy looking after kids time sure does get away.

 

[essareem]

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.
For three desperate hours, the family searched, shouting his name into the fading light, before finally calling police at 8.30pm.

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?amp

Oh right, I meant in the more recent articles. Lots of little details have changed around over time with this case over the past week or two. It sure is confusing.

 

[essareem]

Why does it matter which grandma was home with the children? Point is, watching a baby and a 4-year-old at the same time isn't easy, and she's being honest from what we know. She could have said he was only outside unattended for a shorter time but didn't. Does it matter which adult it was?

It is important to care about facts, even small ones. Knowing it was Shannon, not Josie, or the other way around, at the house matters because it’s a concrete detail about who was responsible for Gus that day / the last person to see him. Attempting to gather / crosscheck facts keep our discussions solid, not speculation.

 

[Serononin]

“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.”

The spine-chilling find metres from where little Gus Lamont vanished

Searchers have once again begun to scour the harsh South Australian landscape in their search for Gus Lamont, who went missing at his family's Oak Park Station homestead.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Mods please feel free to delete this if it's too off-topic, but I was curious about little John and found what I'm fairly certain are his birth and death records on Ancestry (although the date and age are slightly off from what is apparently on the headstone): John Ingals Smallacombe and his twin brother Clarence Francis were born on 21st October 1916, and John passed away on 25th May 1917. Clarence lived until 1962. (Ancestry link - hopefully that works!)

I don't think this baby is related to Gus or his family as it seems that the Smallacombes didn't stay on the property for very long, based on the birth records of their other children.