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

[statt#1]

We don't know when Gus' mother and grandparent joined the search - that is, when they arrived back at the homestead.
We don't know when neighbours may have joined the search.

The grandmother was also minding a 1-year old when she realised Gus wasn't there. She likely couldn't have searched very far, on her own with a 1-year old in tow.

We also don't know if Gus was conscious when they were searching.

imo

My point exactly. If Gus were unconscious then he likely was rather near the point last seen, greatly increasing the likelihood he'd be found

And Gramma, in my opinion, almost certainly yelled his name more than once....early on, at 5:30, before anyone else comes along, yet Gus never made a sound.

It doesn't add up in this old country boys way of thinking.

Gramma would be yellin' for Gus, Gus never answered. Gus didn't yell out through the early evening hours. Think about it, the quiet of evening, and a 4 year old boy, darkness setting in....he didn't hear anyone calling his name, and no one heard him yelling for his momma.

Strange.

 

[statt#1]

So I guess we could assume Gramma never called out Gus's name, but I find that highly unlikely.

For Gus not to hear, he had to be unconscious or deceased, willfully ignoring, or too distant to hear.

If unconscious or deceased, it happened in the first half hour, placing him closer to the house.

If willfully ignoring, I'd think as night came, that little game wouldn't be fun anymore

And in a half hour, likely less, he'd be in earshot of a yelling Grammy. They'd hear each other

But they didn't.

 

[Lady-J]

The young man never even cried out for help. Isn't that odd? 4 years old, lost, dark, 3 adults frantically searching, and Gus never made a peep. No screaming, no wailing, no yelling MOMMY.

I'd imagine the three were yelling his name, yet never heard a sound.

Don't you think when first noticed missing, that some yelling of his name likely occured, right at 5:30ish... he'd only been gone a max of half an hour...my gut says he'd still be in earshot.

Was he already dead? Playing hide and seek? Why would a 4 year old not be heard yelling for his mommy in the still of night? Makes no sense.

Because he wasn’t on the property.

 

[RedHaus]

And let's not forget, Sunset that evening was ~6:10pm and Astronomical Twilight (darkest point of twilight) was at ~7:40pm.

That's nearing pitch black with a bit of moon and Milky Way light. And temperatures would have dropped fast.

I posit wee Gus, if he did wander, would have not gone far after sunset that night, and would have been in earshot, if alive.

IMO
ET: fix typo and format

 

[RedHaus]

Gramma would be yellin' for Gus, Gus never answered. Gus didn't yell out through the early evening hours. Think about it, the quiet of evening, and a 4 year old boy, darkness setting in....he didn't hear anyone calling his name, and no one heard him yelling for his momma.

RSBM

In the spirit of sleuthing all possibilities though, what if Gus was non-verbal? If so, he would not have called out / back.

 

[statt#1]

RSBM

In the spirit of sleuthing all possibilities though, what if Gus was non-verbal? If so, he would not have called out / back.

Well now, non verbal truly would throw a twist in to things, including the obvious danger in allowing a non verbal 4 year old outside to play on his own in the presence of venomous snakes.

 

[ivylambs]

Every time I read about this case I can’t help but remember how long it took to find any trace of Azaria Chamberlain.

 

[Eloise]

Well now, non verbal truly would throw a twist in to things, including the obvious danger in allowing a non verbal 4 year old outside to play on his own in the presence of venomous snakes.

non-verbal generally means non-speaking. It doesn't mean silent.
Non-verbal children are, more often than not in my experience, actually quite loud.

We have no indication he's non-verbal anyway.

 

[RedHaus]

non-verbal generally means non-speaking. It doesn't mean silent.
Non-verbal children are, more often than not in my experience, actually quite loud.

We have no indication he's non-verbal anyway.

Well, there are different types of non-verbal young children, aren't there?

Selective Mutism (SM) for example, often stems from anxiety associated with speech. So a child with SM who is lost may actually not be inclined to verbalize.

They may instead freeze in response to the stress of being lost or fear of having to communicate with strangers, etc.

I am not an expert, although I had SM as a child due to emotional trauma.

And we know nothing about wee Gus' behavior other than he played one late afternoon on a sand pile with a shovel.

So this is really just a discussion about "what if?" Gus had verbalization issues.

Selective Mutism

Selective mutism is a complex childhood anxiety disorder characterized by a child’s inability to speak/communicate effectively in select social settings.

www.asha.org

IMO.

 

[Bats]

There are a few factors that could affect how noise travels.

If there is a breeze in the opposite direction to a person yelling, then it may easily not be heard from not too far away.

Also, if there is a small hill between a person yelling and Gus, it's likely to not be heard.

Gus was described as "quiet" and "adventurous". It's possible he frequently wandered from the home but on this occasion it was not where he was expected to be.

What would a 4 year old do to keep warm? I think once it started getting cold he'd probably curl himself up. Would he also try to cover himself with something? Personally, I think it would have been difficult to survive one night out there as an adult let alone a small child. The ground probably retained a bit of heat for a few hours but it got down to 6 degrees Celsius I think.

 

[acutename]

My point exactly. If Gus were unconscious then he likely was rather near the point last seen, greatly increasing the likelihood he'd be found

And Gramma, in my opinion, almost certainly yelled his name more than once....early on, at 5:30, before anyone else comes along, yet Gus never made a sound.

It doesn't add up in this old country boys way of thinking.

Gramma would be yellin' for Gus, Gus never answered. Gus didn't yell out through the early evening hours. Think about it, the quiet of evening, and a 4 year old boy, darkness setting in....he didn't hear anyone calling his name, and no one heard him yelling for his momma.

Strange.

I asked this upthread.... and why the family dogs would not find him...they are dogs that herd and would have good hearing and sense of smell...but apparently autism "wandering" is common and the "experts" say expect it, have a plan, use tracking devices:

Study finds autism wandering is common​

Autism Speaks
https://www.autismspeaks.org › blog › study-confirms-a...




Nearly half (49 percent) of parents reported that a child with ASD had attempted to wander or run away at least once after age 4. Over half of these wandering ...

Autism & Wandering: Safety Tips for Parents​

Child Mind Institute
https://childmind.org › article › autism-plus-wandering




Oct 30, 2025 — Kids with autism may wander because they have a weaker sense of danger than other kids. Or they may get fixated on exploring something interesting.

What to Do When Your Child Elopes​

Marcus Autism Center
https://www.marcus.org › autism-tips-and-resources › w...




It's common for children who have autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to run or wander away from caregivers or secure locations. This is called elopement.

Wandering Off (Elopement)—Autism Toolkit​

True North Kressly Pediatrics
https://kressly.truenorthdocs.com › Autism-Wandering-...




Aug 6, 2023 — Research shows that about 1 in 3 young children with ASD has tried to wander off. This behavior may continue to happen in older children and even teenagers and ..

• 
  
  
• Wandering (Elopement) | Child Development - CDC
  Jul 30, 2025 — About half of children and youth with ASD were reported to wander. Based on a survey of parents, about half of childre...
  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | CDC (.gov)
  
  
• 
  
  
• Half of All Autistic Kids Will Run Away, Tragedy Often Follows
  May 1, 2013 — May 1, 2013, 10:45 AM. May 2, 2013 -- Within hours one day in April, two children went missing hundreds of miles apar...
  ABC News

 

[Wexford]

A child that thinks they are in trouble may not respond. And might run or hide. I certainly did that as a child and hid from my angry mother. I imagine if I thought I was in trouble with another relative I might have been even more terrified.

 

[Lady-J]

RSBM

In the spirit of sleuthing all possibilities though, what if Gus was non-verbal? If so, he would not have called out / back.

That information would’ve been made public

 

[JLZ]

That information would’ve been made public

Or if he'd been deaf. I think so?

 

[Greenie75]

That information would’ve been made public

Not necessarily. Just say Gus has never been formally tested due to lack of opportunity (e.g. mutual testing time with potential assessor) or withheld parent/guardian permission for testing. He would not have an official diagnosis, so is described as "shy but adventurous" instead. There was a lot of early talk on the web regarding Gus's neurodevelopmental profile, but there is no evidence to back this up (possibly because no testing has taken place). Not everyone is as keen as some parents/guardians to have their child undertake testing. Many take a "wait and see"- "it'll be right" - "we can handle this alone" - "it's our business" - "we don't believe in labels" approach. All MOO.

 

[FromGermany1]

Not necessarily. Just say Gus has never been formally tested due to lack of opportunity (e.g. mutual testing time with potential assessor) or withheld parent/guardian permission for testing. He would not have an official diagnosis, so is described as "shy but adventurous" instead. There was a lot of early talk on the web regarding Gus's neurodevelopmental profile, but there is no evidence to back this up (possibly because no testing has taken place). Not everyone is as keen as some parents/guardians to have their child undertake testing. Many take a "wait and see"- "it'll be right" - "we can handle this alone" - "it's our business" - "we don't believe in labels" approach. All MOO.

bbm
^^ This, MOO. Fits with something we already know as attitude towards privacy.

 

[SouthAussie]

Not necessarily. Just say Gus has never been formally tested due to lack of opportunity (e.g. mutual testing time with potential assessor) or withheld parent/guardian permission for testing. He would not have an official diagnosis, so is described as "shy but adventurous" instead. There was a lot of early talk on the web regarding Gus's neurodevelopmental profile, but there is no evidence to back this up (possibly because no testing has taken place). Not everyone is as keen as some parents/guardians to have their child undertake testing. Many take a "wait and see"- "it'll be right" - "we can handle this alone" - "it's our business" - "we don't believe in labels" approach. All MOO.

Often any difficulties are picked up in preschool/kindergarten, and Gus wasn't there quite yet. Then the parents would get a referral to CAFHS.

I remember when my DD was in kindy (in the same state), there was a CAFHS visit. The kindy staff had designated a child with a potential hearing difficulty, a few children that needed more major muscle development (so they did things like special sessions of ball throwing and catching to see if there was a problem), things like that.

Pretty soon after they enter the govt school system at preschool, these things are identified.

imo