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

[MelmothTheLost]

We don't know if he does or doesn't have much contact with other chidren.

We don't know that, no, but we can reasonably conjecture it. His maternal family are pretty reclusive, he is below school age and the heart of the property is around 40km/28miles from the nearest settlement (population 60 according to wikipedia). He's not going to be going to birthday parties or other gatherings where he will have opportunities to meet and play with other kids in the way that a child from a town is.

 

[TMich6811]

Where are you buddy

 

[HaydenMackaa]

It would appear police have no reason to think he’s not there, it’s just they can’t find him. I wonder if that drone search used ground penetrating radar, I believe that can pick up humans but maybe not of his size.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Seems too obvious to even mention because it would be the first places to search but I wonder about cistern, wells, latrines. In particular, ones that might have been missed/dismissed for being too narrow for him to fall into. It could account for his disappearance, lack of odor, etc.

I would be very surprised if cameras haven't been used to look into these places.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

It would appear police have no reason to think he’s not there, it’s just they can’t find him. I wonder if that drone search used ground penetrating radar, I believe that can pick up humans but maybe not of his size.

Drones can also be used to detect decomposing human remains.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780128193945000031

New Dutch drone can find hidden graves and buried bodies

An autonomous drone developed at Saxion University of Applied Sciences in Deventer is set to revolutionize crime scene investigation. The CSI-Drone is able to comb a large area to track buried corpses or hidden graves, using sensors to gather and analyze data about heat, soil composition, and...

nltimes.nl

 

[Megnut]

I would be very surprised if cameras haven't been used to look into these places.

Agreed. But that's why I raised the possibility of one with such a narrow opening it wouldn't even be considered.

Then there's that recent case of a little girl who climbed into a feed barrel but wasn't able to get back out. Those things are designed to keep moisture and pests out. Airtight.

It's maybe not likely but it's always possible that he's somewhere they have overlooked altogether. And the very nature of the location masks odor.

JMO

 

[Warshawski]

As I understand it, Starlink is an affordable satellite phone system.

My apologies Melmoth, I totally missed your very sound suggestion of Starlink.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

My apologies Melmoth, I totally missed your very sound suggestion of Starlink.

Heavens - no problem. It's sometimes difficult to keep track of all the new technologies out there

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Agreed. But that's why I raised the possibility of one with such a narrow opening it wouldn't even be considered.

Fibre optic cameras are on the end of a cable no thicker than an ordinary mains cable so they can get them into anywhere.

 

[Megnut]

Fibre optic cameras are on the end of a cable no thicker than an ordinary mains cable so they can get them into anywhere.

Not the cable, I'm thinking of, say, a cistern with an opening of small diameter, where no one could conceive a child fitting.

In the same way no one would look for a missing child in a silverware drawer. Couldn't fit! Maybe he somehow fell into something that absolutely defies physics.

JMO

 

[Warshawski]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1978809347770642845

This actually disappoints me.

Until Pheobe went missing, her mother & family were unknowns (like most of us) but seems (IMO) that they’ve become front page ‘celebrity news’ at the expense of Pheobe’s passing.

I have no problem with them reaching out to support others e.g. Gus’s family, but my question is - how does the Daily Mail know about it ?

Given how silent & private Gus’s family have been, I struggle to see them being the mouth piece for this, who knows.

Am now wondering what the DM pay rate is ?

Yeah well, no use to me as I have absolutely nothing of interest to spill

 

[statt#1]

Not the cable, I'm thinking of, say, a cistern with an opening of small diameter, where no one could conceive a child fitting.

In the same way no one would look for a missing child in a silverware drawer. Couldn't fit! Maybe he somehow fell into something that absolutely defies physics.

JMO

I somehow have the thought that he went up, before he went down. Possibly a roof access, leading to a crevice between buildings, or a chimney, or vent, or eave....or an elevated grain storage bin, water tank, or some such.

I'm having doubts he was outside playing on a dirt mound. I'm having doubts there would be absolutely no evidence that he had arrived at, or departed, a dirt mound.

I'm also doubtful he went far from home, if he went at all.

All my opinion.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Not the cable, I'm thinking of, say, a cistern with an opening of small diameter, where no one could conceive a child fitting.

In the same way no one would look for a missing child in a silverware drawer. Couldn't fit! Maybe he somehow fell into something that absolutely defies physics.

JMO

There have been plenty of cases of very young children slipping into narrow pipes and similar so this is something searchers would be aware of and looking out for. Most cases seem to involve children in the 14-20 month age range but there have been cases of older pre-schoolers. This famous case involved a 14-month old who slipped into an 8" wide pipe but you can find plenty of other cases on line.

Rescue of Jessica McClure - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Dreamcherry]

Many children can get a world of enjoyment out of toys that were not "store bought"

We grew up with not many toys but my favourite was my "paper people" I cut out of an IBM big catalogue that next doors left when they moved.
I had endless fun hours pairing off and marrying the IBM employees while my toys that I received no longer interested me.

Oh and my silkworms and reading books and walking around exploring the beach and nature.

Marrying off the paper IBM employees is so adorable, I love it so much!

We must be cut from the same cloth. I had quite a few toys, but I would spend hours playing with my eraser collection. And yes, they also got married! Imagination is the greatest toy a child will ever have, imo.

Books and beaches and nature were always my very favourite things (and still are!)

 

[Warshawski]

Is it common for a property like this not to have some sort of video monitoring system? I would have thought with the value of the livestock and the seemingly somewhat solitary nature of the family, cameras would be a given.

I doubt cameras are in place, or even considered.

Aside from the fact that it’d be almost impossible to monitor those areas, the Trust levels of people in the bush (for the most part) would be totally unfathomable for those living in city.

They don’t lock their house doors ( or vehicles), tool & machinery sheds are open faced, petrol & diesel tanks are not locked etc. They operate on the values that have sustained our country over generations of producers & providers. And for me it’s so sad & disappointing to witness the decline in not only those values, but also in the ability to feel safe in that underpinning sense of Trust.

 

[Warshawski]

Isn't the road 40km away?

I might be totally wrong, but I think it’s the town of Yunta that is about 40 k away.

I can’t go do the map calculations again, but I’m pretty sure from house to Oak Park Rd was about 500 m. ( someone please jump on that if I’ve got that wrong )

Interestingly though I did see a photo at some stage that made me wonder if that was of the entry off Oak Park Rd., and if so, I was struck by the fact that there was no visibility of the house from there, due to a ‘rise’ - in turn that would mean no visibility from the house to entry.

Which changes any suggestions of abduction to become ‘planned’ as opposed to ‘opportune: in my opinion.


Just my musings ..

 

[scapa]

This actually disappoints me.

Until Pheobe went missing, her mother & family were unknowns (like most of us) but seems (IMO) that they’ve become front page ‘celebrity news’ at the expense of Pheobe’s passing.

I have no problem with them reaching out to support others e.g. Gus’s family, but my question is - how does the Daily Mail know about it ?

Given how silent & private Gus’s family have been, I struggle to see them being the mouth piece for this, who knows.

Am now wondering what the DM pay rate is ?

Yeah well, no use to me as I have absolutely nothing of interest to spill

It's ghastly. Plenty of cases out there of victims reaching out to support fellow victims, no doubt with great grace, but fortunately rags like the DM are not usually CC'd on the details.

Hard to read that the search has been called off for now, but they seem to have covered a lot of ground carefully. Gus seems a special chap.

 

[Warshawski]

Even on the Barrier Highway, coverage is very patchy. There is a tower at Yunta but would not reach to the station. Dont believe the Telstra coverage maps, I have driven that road many times and without external aerial the coverage is only within about 20kms of a tower.
However, most likely the family now has Starlink. Which gives WiFi calling but the location services are all over the place.

Thanks Raina for your first hand insight. My experiences are not as remote, but still I understand.

I laugh unhumorously when I hear the telcos (amongst others) call themselves ‘service providers)

The people who most need their ‘services’ are those in our country’s rural & remote areas.
These people can’t just run next door for help or flag a Cab etc. yet while their lives may depend on the ability to ‘communicate’, it’s the almighty $$ that seems to govern the offerings / the roll out / the quality of the so called Service they receive.
( similar to the big Supermarkets, Banks etc who hold the majority to ransom in their endeavours to secure obscene profits - all to satisfy the greedy demands of their shareholders)

OK, off-subject rant !

 

[naomiuk]

Does anyone know when the last time someone outside his immediate family saw him yet? Sorry if it’s already been answered.

 

[sunspun]

Has his dad stated when the last time was that he saw Gus in person? I don't know if it's been reported how frequently Gus got to go into town to see Dad or how often Dad came out to visit Gus and the family at the sheep station. I also wonder about when Gus did go visit Dad at Dad's home, would Dad normally drive out himself and pick him up, or would his mom bring Gus to his dad's house or how was that usually handled?