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

[MelmothTheLost]

Do you have a link for this??

If you mean the swimming pool:

(from: Yunta Children's Swimming Pool · Centenary Park, Railway Terrace, Yunta SA 5440, Australia)

 

[SouthAussie]

Is the DM incorrect about Gus being enrolled in school in upcoming session? The article seemed to say it was a done deal.

I hope they were correct and he was going to be attending school. He was so isolated for his first four years. I'd think he'd love making friends his age and learning to read, and play games etc.

If it was true that he was going to school, then they were correct that orientation was in March. And that picture did look very much like a standard student admissions photo, imo.


I am not a big DM fan, but t the same time, I am getting a bit suspicious of this missing child situation. Some things are not really adding up, imo.

I believe that one of Josh's friends told the DM (weeks ago) that Josh wanted Gus to go to school locally to him (Josh) and he would start in January 2026. (linked somewhere way back)

March 2025 is a long way off January 2026 for an orientation. Orientation is much closer to the child's preschool start date.

This is from a South Australian public school website. It is how orientation usually goes ... so if Gus had a preschool start date of January 2026, he would be going to orientation during the last term of 2025 ((mid-Oct to mid-Dec).

Before your child starts​

We will contact you in term 3 about an orientation session. This will be a 1-hour session where you can ask questions.

Before they start preschool your child can come to pre-entry transition visits. These will be in term 4, and are a chance for your child to meet our staff and other children. Pre-entry visits will be held over a number of weeks.

www.preschools.sa.gov.au

 

[Marg944]

Australian immunisation program means that Gus would have been due to be immunised when he turned 4 years old, and a medical professional would be who would give this immunisation and record such on the Government’s Childhood Immunisation Register - that is if Gus’s parents did allow Gus to be immunised. So perhaps there is a record of Gus being seen for a 4 year old immunisation?

https://www.health.gov.au/topics/immunisation/when-to-get-vaccinated/immunisation-for-infants-and-children

 

[Kemug]

Probably I'm wrong, it wouldn't be the first time, but was there any sort of playground equipment at the property? A slippery dip, or swing. I grew up on a farm, not as remote as this one, but our nearest neighbours were 2 miles away, and the nearest town 10 miles. When I was 2, my big brother started school, so for the next 3 years I had no playmates. But I had my mother and several cats. My father made a swing hanging from a tree for me, and I had plenty of toys. Has anyone noticed anything like that even? No swings, bikes or toys lying around? We have assumed that he had something to dig in the sand with, but maybe he didn't. Maybe he didn't have anything.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Probably I'm wrong, it wouldn't be the first time, but was there any sort of playground equipment at the property? A slippery dip, or swing. I grew up on a farm, not as remote as this one, but our nearest neighbours were 2 miles away, and the nearest town 10 miles. When I was 2, my big brother started school, so for the next 3 years I had no playmates. But I had my mother and several cats. My father made a swing hanging from a tree for me, and I had plenty of toys. Has anyone noticed anything like that even? No swings, bikes or toys lying around? We have assumed that he had something to dig in the sand with, but maybe he didn't. Maybe he didn't have anything.

Nothing as far as I know other than early mention of a trampoline which appeared to be in poor condition and not have any form of netting attached. No swing, slide, bike or anything else unless I have missed something. Just a spade and a sandpit.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Australian immunisation program means that Gus would have been due to be immunised when he turned 4 years old, and a medical professional would be who would give this immunisation and record such on the Government’s Childhood Immunisation Register - that is if Gus’s parents did allow Gus to be immunised. So perhaps there is a record of Gus being seen for a 4 year old immunisation?

https://www.health.gov.au/topics/immunisation/when-to-get-vaccinated/immunisation-for-infants-and-children

That's a pretty comprehensive schedule, and since Gus had recently turned 4 he should also recently have been seen by a doctor or nurse to administer and record the jabs.

Would he have been able to start at a public school without up to date vaccinations?

 

[SouthAussie]

Would he have been able to start at a public school without up to date vaccinations?

"Under the South Australian Public Health Act 2011 (the Act), children cannot enrol in or attend early childhood services unless all immunisation requirements are met"

https://www.education.sa.gov.au/parents-and-families/child-care-services/immunisation-requirements-early-childhood-services#:~:text=The%20No%20Jab%2C%20No%20Play%20policy%20in,but%20before%204%20years%20and%208%20months

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Is it possible that not everyone is photographing their lives and their children all the time? Jess herself is apparently camera-shy. Perhaps the whole family thinks it's enough to have memories, like, in their brains.

What do you define as the whole family in this context? It seems that Gus's father Josh only sees him from time to time at present. If Josh has parents, when do the paternal grandparents see Gus (and Ronnie)? You can't have memories of someone or something you don't see.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

"Under the South Australian Public Health Act 2011 (the Act), children cannot enrol in or attend early childhood services unless all immunisation requirements are met"

https://www.education.sa.gov.au/parents-and-families/child-care-services/immunisation-requirements-early-childhood-services#:~:text=The%20No%20Jab%2C%20No%20Play%20policy%20in,but%20before%204%20years%20and%208%20months

So if Gus was going to be starting at any school, he would have to be seen by a medical professional between his "recent" 4th birthday and his proposed start date in January.

 

[JLZ]

What do you define as the whole family in this context? It seems that Gus's father Josh only sees him from time to time at present. If Josh has parents, when do the paternal grandparents see Gus (and Ronnie)? You can't have memories of someone or something you don't see.

I was thinking of whoever was in a position over the past six months to take the quantities of photographs some posters are demanding to exist.

If it's true that Josie opposes Jess receiving Josh (and carries the point, which does worry me), I don't think the desires of Josh's parents are going to be given much weight.

There is at least one good, reasonably recent photograph of Gus, the one we've seen. I'm just pushing back at the idea that there should be a bunch taken every week or so. For my taste, two or three a year is ample.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

I was thinking of whoever was in a position over the past six months to take the quantities of photographs some posters are demanding to exist.

I'm not expecting huge quantities of photos to be taken and frankly consider the numbers taken by some mothers to be deranged.

If it's true that Josie opposes Jess receiving Josh (and carries the point, which does worry me), I don't think the desires of Josh's parents are going to be given much weight.

I'm sure you're right but if Josh also has parents (we don't know this AFAIK) then it's another hmmm in terms of family dynamics.

There is at least one good, reasonably recent photograph of Gus, the one we've seen. I'm just pushing back at the idea that there should be a bunch taken every week or so. For my taste, two or three a year is ample.

Jess may be camera shy but most kids love being photographed. Two or three photos a year of a rapidly growing and changing child seems very sparse to me, especially as it's not clear that the one shot we have, possibly taken as long as 6 months ago, wasn't actually taken by a family member but by a school.

As things stand, we are one photograph away from the family having to sit down with a police sketch artist.

Dunno, but it all feels so damned gothic to me.

 

[JLZ]

I'm sure you're right but if Josh also has parents (we don't know this AFAIK) then it's another hmmm in terms of family dynamics.

I don't know if I've got a warped perspective but I think most families are replete with hmmms. Mine certainly is.

As things stand, we are one photograph away from the family having to sit down with a police sketch artist.

Not necessarily. They may have had a few that were suitable, and consulted with police to choose the single best one. And arguably a single image makes a stronger impact, although generating fewer sales than an endless supply of pics "never seen before!"

 

[ChatteringBirds]

I think it's obvious the best photo was chosen and don't understand the concern. LE would have asked for a photo that showed his full face and features, and that's what they got.

I can understand the family not wanting to put his photo forever on the Internet during the time they believed/hoped he would still be "quickly" found. Some people are extremely protective of any photos of their children being online.

 

[Lady-J]

Hoping the next search will be real soon so we’ve got something new to discuss

 

[Ellery84]

If you mean the swimming pool:

View attachment 624059

Yes I did mean the swimming pool, and thank you!!!

 

[Ellery84]

Hoping the next search will be real soon so we’ve got something new to discuss

Maybe tomorrow ?? Maybe not ??

 

[Dotta]

Maybe tomorrow ?? Maybe not ??

What exactly will they search?



- The area previously looked at?
- The house and other buildings?
- Will they re-search the same radius of land?

This is so sad.
There was a child
and suddenly....there isn't.

 

[Ellery84]

What exactly will they search?

<modsnip: not victim friendly> I’m not sure.

- The area previously looked at?
- The house and other buildings?
- Will they re-search the same radius of land?

This is so sad.
There was a child
and suddenly....there isn't.

Maybe they’ll drain another dam??

 

[zesszesszess]

From your knowledge, how quickly could neighbours arrive at the homestead in practice? I seem to recall that Yunta was a good 45 minutes away.

The closest occupied homestead, in terms of travel time, is Tiverton. A young family lives there. The drive from there to Oak Park before all of the search activity (traffic) destroyed Oak Park Road would take less than 20 minutes. There are now multiple bulldust holes and badly corrugated sections, increasing this travel time.

The property at Spring Dam is closer, but is not permanently inhabited.

You can also get from the Panaramatee and Manunda homesteads to Oak Park quite quickly because most of the drive is on Sturt Vale Rd, which is very well maintained - you can safely drive it at around 90km/h.

There are minor station tracks from other properties like Bulyninnie that go straight to/through Oak Park, but they are slow going. On some of these tracks it can take you 30 minutes just to travel 10 kilometres and they're sometimes impassable after rain. There are so, so many minor station tracks out there - even the most detailed maps don't show them all.

 

[Dotta]

<modsnip> I’m not sure.

Maybe they’ll drain another dam??

Hmmm...

Maybe they got further analysis from drones?
LE said they needed time to process the data.

Fingers

JMO