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

[BreakingNews]

Reporter Karleigh said that when she went up to the property and spoke to Josie, she was greeted by four cattle dogs on approach.

Karleigh was worried that they might be territorial (anyone who has an ACD will know why this is!) but she conveyed that the dogs didn't give her any trouble.

Source: The Trial: Australia] The Mystery of Gus Lamont #theTrialAustralia
The Trial: Australia - The Mystery of Gus Lamont via @PodcastAddic
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Was a good podcast. Talked about the fake news and privacy of the family.

 

[PromotedPawn]

New article with a few new details

Chilling theories emerge about missing boy Gus Lamont

Gus was playing in a mound of dirt at Oak Park station, under the care of his grandmother Shannon Murray as his mother Jessica and grandparent Josie were tending to their flock 10km away.

www.dailymail.co.uk

As much as I don't like Daily Mail, this article did answer one of my questions. Both of the grandparents living on the property with Gus are biologically related to him.

 

[Ellery84]

Was a good podcast. Talked about the fake news and privacy of the family.

It was great, wasn't it? Very respectful, I thought.

Also, a big thank you to the person who purchased me a Guardian Membership.

I don't know who it was, but if you're reading this - thank you so much!!

 

[FromGermany1]

It was great, wasn't it? Very respectful, I thought.

Also, a big thank you to the person who purchased me a Guardian Membership.

I don't know who it was, but if you're reading this - thank you so much!!

bbm
Apropos: I'm also thanking my October-donor of the Guardian membership!! Surprising but nice, when I discerned. For you ....

 

[mickey2942]

This disappearance reminds of the one a few years ago. The little girl who was stolen while camping.

Maybe someone has been watching the house, the habits of the family. And saw Gus outside alone, lured him to his car...which is why dogs are not getting a trace.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/04/australia/australia-cleo-smith-kidnapper-sentenced-intl-hnk

 

[Hexe]

Maybe someone has been watching the house, the habits of the family. And saw Gus outside alone, lured him to his car...which is why dogs are not getting a trace.

How coukd anyone be watching that property without being immediately spotted?

 

[nhmemorymaker]

This disappearance reminds of the one a few years ago. The little girl who was stolen while camping.

Maybe someone has been watching the house, the habits of the family. And saw Gus outside alone, lured him to his car...which is why dogs are not getting a trace.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/04/australia/australia-cleo-smith-kidnapper-sentenced-intl-hnk

ohhhh.... that case with Cleo Smith was just so devastating and riviting. And yet... with such a gloriously happy ending. Ending in weirdness, but ending in recovery none the less......

 

[Doesitmakesense]

ohhhh.... that case with Cleo Smith was just so devastating and riviting. And yet... with such a gloriously happy ending. Ending in weirdness, but ending in recovery none the less......

As sad as it is to say, I don't think I will see many more such positive outcomes like that one

 

[seasideForest]

Just one week earlier (than your linked article) the DM wrote ... It is understood Mr Lamont only found out his child was missing when police woke him up at his Belalie North home, hours after Gus had vanished. Link

And the DM has said that mum Jess was the one who was at the homestead when Gus went missing (in the article I just linked), then the DM said it was the grandparent Josie who was at the homestead at that time (linked further back), when the local newspaper has stated multiple times that it was grandmother Shannon who was at the homestead at that time (links already provided).

@kurtneverdied

In my experience that's the kind of thing that DM (also referred to as the Daily Fail) gets wrong. Yes, the newspaper is allowed media on WS partly because of the good photos they often get, but sometimes they fail a little on details...

MOO

 

[charliethecat]

If your child was missing and you weren't 100% sure what happened then I see no reason why you wouldn't want to keep it in the media. Privacy would come a distance second to finding your child.
The constant quotes of wanting privacy in my opinion is suspicious. I'll have people who disagree with me and that's fair enough.
No scenario should be off the table, especially with so little evidence he wandered off.

Yes this whole business of 'privacy' is a bit OTT. Surely when a child of the family is missing, or anyone from the family is missing, ideas of isolation/privacy come a distant second to being open.

 

[rvlvr]

Yes this whole business of 'privacy' is a bit OTT. Surely when a child of the family is missing, or anyone from the family is missing, ideas of isolation/privacy come a distant second to being open.

The only people they need to be open with are the police.

 

[mickey2942]

I don't like the automatic "Law Enforcement" think, when kids are missing to look at the parents or family first, when there has never been any previous CPS or criminal history in the family.

That needs to be ruled out, but so many times, police seem to stop their investigation when they can't prove parent involvement. An example of this, is Jaycee Duggard, LEO wss so focused on her stepfather, who saw the kidnapping, they really never followed it up.

And like the kidnapping of "CS" in Australia. It was completely random that they found the perpetrator.

Things do happen, kids do get kidnapped, or lost.

 

[charliethecat]

The only people they need to be open with are the police.

Sure I realise that but the privacy thing is being used as a bit of a mantra imo. Many will already be thinking that there is 'oddness' about the family and if this is overlaid with suspicions of being closeminded ( ie a perception that privacy is more important than possibly amassing ideas and 'eyes on' for a missing family member) then goodwill can evaporate. Police will be guiding publicity and hopefully the family will be guided by them on any publicity that might be helpful. I hope against hope I am wrong but like a couple of others my hinky meter is alerted. So sad that possibly the little family may not get to move together to Adelaide. Having intergenerational family living and working on one farm property is not a bunch of fluffy ducks especially if the families are sharing living spaces, ie no separate home/s. (not sure what the situation is here). Our family has had all sorts of instances and sometimes it is not the inlaws that find it difficult but the biological family members who find living with family is not the easiest. (in this case it seems that it is the in law that is finding it difficult.) Also difficult if the 'founder' does not move away or make a distinct retirement/winding down/handing/separation from day to day running over if they do stay on the property.

 

[charliethecat]

I don't like the automatic "Law Enforcement" think, when kids are missing to look at the parents or family first, when there has never been any previous CPS or criminal history in the family.

We don't know if there has been any CPS or criminal history in the family. Police do focus on families and go in wider and wider circles as part of their investigations. Quite apart from there often being some sort of family involvement, focussing on the family does tend to show up different ideas about what might have happened and families can give lots of in depth info that might help.

 

[mickey2942]

I don't like the automatic "Law Enforcement" think, when kids are missing to look at the parents or family first, when there has never been any previous CPS or criminal history in the family.

We don't know if there has been any CPS or criminal history in the family. Police do focus on families and go in wider and wider circles as part of their investigations. Quite apart from there often being some sort of family involvement, focussing on the family does tend to show up different ideas about what might have happened and families can give lots of in depth info that might help.

Maybe we have had different experiences with Law Enforcement.

 

[BreakingNews]

My thoughts were that he was probably asleep at the time and perhaps had his phone on "do not disturb", or there was reception issues at either his place or the farm, meaning a phone call was not answered. Therefore police were notified and did somewhat of a welfare check, finding him asleep. Why he was asleep at such an early hour is not the issue, there can be many reasons why. I can understand why a phone call to Josh was not placed at 5.30pm - the family fully expected to find Gus shortly, and at some point afterwards made the call to police, and I'm assuming attempts to contact Josh were made also.
All MOO of course, but I don't see any real issues with how this part played out.

I can't find the link now, but I remember Josh was woken up by police at 1.30am, and he was angry that he wasn't told sooner

 

[BreakingNews]

I don't like the automatic "Law Enforcement" think, when kids are missing to look at the parents or family first, when there has never been any previous CPS or criminal history in the family.

We don't know if there has been any CPS or criminal history in the family. Police do focus on families and go in wider and wider circles as part of their investigations. Quite apart from there often being some sort of family involvement, focussing on the family does tend to show up different ideas about what might have happened and families can give lots of in depth info that might help.

It's not just when kids go missing. Police look at the close ties first before widening their search circle. It's for a very good reason. Jill Mayher's husband knew this and cooperated fully.

 

[Lady-J]

I still don’t know how no trace of Gus was found if he had wandered off or been taken by an animal.Surely his hat would’ve been found somewhere not too far away, and the drone with infra red should’ve picked something up the first night he went missing. How far can a four year old go in a few hours of daylight before curling up under a bush and taking off his hat? I can’t imagine Gus putting his hat back on the next morning and wandering further away without been seen given the amount of people looking.
It seems as though a vehicle would’ve been obvious to the neighbouring homesteads if one drove along Oak Park Road given the amount of dust clouds I’ve seen on the news.
Very odd

 

[Lady-J]

I don't like the automatic "Law Enforcement" think, when kids are missing to look at the parents or family first, when there has never been any previous CPS or criminal history in the family.

That needs to be ruled out, but so many times, police seem to stop their investigation when they can't prove parent involvement. An example of this, is Jaycee Duggard, LEO wss so focused on her stepfather, who saw the kidnapping, they really never followed it up.

And like the kidnapping of "CS" in Australia. It was completely random that they found the perpetrator.

Things do happen, kids do get kidnapped, or lost.

Cleo Smith’s abductor was found by police using nearby phone towers . Phone pings were used to see who was in the area at the time she disappeared .

 

[HoneyBunOne]

I can't find the link now, but I remember Josh was woken up by police at 1.30am, and he was angry that he wasn't told sooner

I've never heard 1.30am, just something along the lines of "several hours", which I assumed would be sometime around the time they decided police had to be called. That's odd, and concerning. I wonder why it took so long? Gus went missing at 5.30pm, police were notified at 8.30pm. Why did it take another 5 hours to notify the missing child's father? Even if police from the Yunta area had to drive to the father's house themselves (which wouldn't happen), apparently that only takes about 2 hours. Did police or Jess just continue to try and call for hours before deciding to show up? No wondered he's annoyed it took so long to find out, I'd be too.