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

[kurtneverdied]

LE believe Gus didn't wander off and wasn't abducted. That leaves only death and coverup of said death. Sigh, it's taken a long long time to get to this point. Given that mother and Josie were 10K away I'd say that leaves Shannon as the only adult present when Gus went missing making her the logical unnamed suspect.

That is just the story the family gave so who knows if there was any truth to it.

 

[tlcya]

That is just the story the family gave so who knows if there was any truth to it.

If there were more members of the family involved I would think LE would say they suspect members of the family, not one specific one who's timeline has inconsistencies. MOO the sole adult who was present and claims to have been the last to see him is the one LE are looking at.

I am wondering why NOW LE chose to share this info. Inconsistencies with that individuals story would or should have been apparent early on.

 

[Bats]

If there were more members of the family involved I would think LE would say they suspect members of the family, not one specific one who's timeline has inconsistencies. MOO the sole adult who was present and claims to have been the last to see him is the one LE are looking at.

I am wondering why NOW LE chose to share this info. Inconsistencies with that individuals story would or should have been apparent early on.

Yes, I have no doubt that investigators could see inconsistencies very early on. Hence, very early on the messaging was "nothing is off the table".

It was very important for investigators to be able to rule out the "wandered off" story they were being told.

Even now, they don't know what happened to Gus. They are only confident he didn't wander off based on statistics and that together with the inconsistencies in a story is why they can reveal they have a "suspect". A suspect that is not under arrest but would no doubt be feeling the full pressure, as their lie is being carefully unpicked.

MOO

 

[kurtneverdied]

If there were more members of the family involved I would think LE would say they suspect members of the family, not one specific one who's timeline has inconsistencies. MOO the sole adult who was present and claims to have been the last to see him is the one LE are looking at.

I am wondering why NOW LE chose to share this info. Inconsistencies with that individuals story would or should have been apparent early on.

I think LE are talking about the suspect is the one who either killed and/or hid Gus.
I would assume that any others in the family that may know what happened would be treated as they were perhaps feeling threatened or in danger if they didn't go by the suspects version of events, but they would still likely have to face the courts.
However you may be right and only the suspect knows knows the real story and told the other family members a lie.

 

[Ghostwheel]

Modnote:
Reminder to keep this thread on topic or it will get closed down and offenders may end up on time out. DO NOT QUOTE OR DiSCUSS ANYTHING REFERENCING GENDER AS IT'S JUST GOING TO GET DELETED.

From the link below:
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And also

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

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Quotes snipped by me.

The tyranny of distance doesn't give you the option of waiting for someone to come.

You're right, but the point being an accident, even something like a caved-in sand pile or fall, would lead almost anyone to seek help somehow, no matter how bad the injuries seemed. Not a cover-up. That didn't happen, so I suspect it was not an accident.

I am sure the home has been bugged

Wait -- is LE allowed to do that in Australia? Would evidence obtained in such a manner be admissible?

There was an American case years ago in which LE did that and the parents received a legal settlement.

Why separate lawyers?

It would make no sense if the two grandmothers had the same lawyer, since LE has said someone in the family has stopped cooperating.
They need separate representation, because how can the one who is cooperating trust the one who isn't?

 

[lostbird]

BTW, if Gus's mother Jess was threatened/coerced into helping to cover up whatever happened to him, then how do we know when Gus presumably died? It might have been weeks before. We never could find out when he was last seen by anyone else, could we.

This is a very fair point to make.

There are two current ways this is playing out, as I see it so far (would love some feedback or alternative views! MOO.)

SM (alone) is involved. She has approximately 90-120 minutes to commit the act and hide Gus’ body. This doesn’t factor in any potential emotional reaction to having either lost her temper/witness Gus die(?)/accidentally harm him.

This allows JM & the mother to still have corroborating stories and gives reason for LE to notice how SM’s account may have been altered.

JM is involved (& therefore, they all are). For JM to be responsible, then all three know to some degree what happened—the mother, for agreeing to lie about an alibi that sets JM 10km away from Gus’ last “known” whereabouts, and SM for being the last person to witness Gus playing in a dirt mound.

Why the mother would lie is the real question. I can confidently say that if I were a mother, there is no amount of begging or pleading that either of my parents could do that would prevent me from telling the police what happened (homicide or manslaughter). However… and I’m still looking for a verifiable claim, but I know it has been thrown around in this thread that the grandparents have custody(?) of the children (custody records aren’t public access, and I don’t see any sealed report to even point to that likelihood), then I can at least understand why a mother might pause and cover up for their parents actions to still physically see the one year old they may not have legal access to anymore.

Throwing this out there (IMO only): Given the family’s reluctance to release a photo of their missing four year old, there really are less and less excuses (as flimsy as they were to begin with) now that police have ruled out Gus having wandered off, or an abduction taking place, for the three of them to feel comfortable enough to allow the Australian public to work off of only from basic visage details. There’s already been discussion of the photo provided resembling what might be a bruise under Gus’ right eye, and while that’s contentious due to shadows and lighting, now that this is likely confirmed foul play (to whatever extent: homicide, or manslaughter), it’s not a horrible stretch of the imagination to assume it was difficult for the three to even find a photo of Gus that might conceal more abuse?

This is only a stray thought, though, as I’m sure LE have access to other pictures of him that might point to the contrary (unless the claim of Gus being quite adventurous is a justifiable reason for the child to be covered in bruises & scrapes fairly often—fair, as an Aussie, when weren’t we outside running around w/o caring for our own safety lmao).

All this to say—has anyone who knows the family personally stated in the media when they had last seen Gus?

 

[Lebowski]

Yes, WS is victim friendly. IMO the rules in this area serve the purpose of keeping rumour and unbridled victim blaming out and credible sources in, as well as keeping the threads on topic. Credible sources are certainly LE ( unless properly sourced msm reports otherwise) and WS is LE supportive.

Just because a family member is now officially considered a suspect, it does not mean that keeping rumour and victim blaming under control on this thread was wrong.

<modsnip>That's one big reason why I post here and not on Reddit for eg!
Jmo

also, wandering off was a realistic possibility. kids do that. and the sheer size of the property, combined with the common tendency to underestimate how easy it is to miss a body during a search, meant it was flimsy reasoning to go from "they've searched a lot and haven't found him" to "therefore he didn't wander off".

 

[Lebowski]

I don’t know why that always happens here. We all know the stats - it’s nearly always a close family member.

when there's a crime. we couldn't be certain there was a crime. all we really knew was a boy was missing.

frankly, we still don't know there was a crime, though the police believing they've now ruled out wandering off does make it likely.

 

[Twistinginthewind]

I wonder if the journalist is hinting here…..


“It was previously understood that Gus was in the care of his grandmother, Shannon Murray, while his mother Jessica and grandparent Josie were tending sheep about 10km away, when he disappeared.”

Gus Lamont updates LIVE: Cops identify ONE suspect in disappearance

Follow Daily Mail's live coverage of all the latest updates on the disappearance of missing toddler Gus Lamont.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Thank you for bringing this forward, it's helpful to me (not being able to follow all along on the details of Gus's disappearance closely). I had to look up what "about 10km away" means in terms of distance for reference, and it's about 6 miles.

 

[Serononin]

Why separate lawyers?

Is that not normal? Genuine question.

Either way, given we've essentially been told that one of either Shannon or Josie is a suspect, I can't imagine that their relationship is in the greatest place right now

 

[Sarahlou]

when there's a crime. we couldn't be certain there was a crime. all we really knew was a boy was missing.

frankly, we still don't know there was a crime, though the police believing they've now ruled out wandering off does make it likely.

They've declared the case a major crime though. I assume they have good enough evidence/reason to do that.

 

[TMich6811]

They've declared the case a major crime though. I assume they have good enough evidence/reason to do that.

Imo
Mom started talking about discrepancies
Which led to different questioning
Which also led to different searching and warrants
And one grandparent not cooperating

I think they have some evidence that something occurred but not enough details to put a story together or find him

 

[SouthAussie]

I hope I'm not the millionth person asking this but I'm unable to watch the video with my full attention - does anyone have any screenshots or stills that aren't included in MSM articles? I'd love to see 'em.

I posted some screenshots in this post.

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

Today at 4:46 AM

Around which time in the video, please?

This is the results of all drone flights ... the beings they identified. At 13:06 in the presser video.

More footage from the 37:33 mark.

Search zones

(from Slouth's presser link)

• SouthAussie

• 
• 
• 

 

[mickey2942]

Imo
Mom started talking about discrepancies
Which led to different questioning
Which also led to different searching and warrants
And one grandparent not cooperating

I think they have some evidence that something occurred but not enough details to put a story together or find him

That is a terrible tragedy. If it was an accident, they should have said something. Covering up is the problem.

 

[Dotta]

This is a very fair point to make.

There are two current ways this is playing out, as I see it so far (would love some feedback or alternative views! MOO.)

SM (alone) is involved. She has approximately 90-120 minutes to commit the act and hide Gus’ body. This doesn’t factor in any potential emotional reaction to having either lost her temper/witness Gus die(?)/accidentally harm him.

This allows JM & the mother to still have corroborating stories and gives reason for LE to notice how SM’s account may have been altered.

JM is involved (& therefore, they all are). For JM to be responsible, then all three know to some degree what happened—the mother, for agreeing to lie about an alibi that sets JM 10km away from Gus’ last “known” whereabouts, and SM for being the last person to witness Gus playing in a dirt mound.

Why the mother would lie is the real question. I can confidently say that if I were a mother, there is no amount of begging or pleading that either of my parents could do that would prevent me from telling the police what happened (homicide or manslaughter). However… and I’m still looking for a verifiable claim, but I know it has been thrown around in this thread that the grandparents have custody(?) of the children (custody records aren’t public access, and I don’t see any sealed report to even point to that likelihood), then I can at least understand why a mother might pause and cover up for their parents actions to still physically see the one year old they may not have legal access to anymore.

Throwing this out there (IMO only): Given the family’s reluctance to release a photo of their missing four year old, there really are less and less excuses (as flimsy as they were to begin with) now that police have ruled out Gus having wandered off, or an abduction taking place, for the three of them to feel comfortable enough to allow the Australian public to work off of only from basic visage details. There’s already been discussion of the photo provided resembling what might be a bruise under Gus’ right eye, and while that’s contentious due to shadows and lighting, now that this is likely confirmed foul play (to whatever extent: homicide, or manslaughter), it’s not a horrible stretch of the imagination to assume it was difficult for the three to even find a photo of Gus that might conceal more abuse?

This is only a stray thought, though, as I’m sure LE have access to other pictures of him that might point to the contrary (unless the claim of Gus being quite adventurous is a justifiable reason for the child to be covered in bruises & scrapes fairly often—fair, as an Aussie, when weren’t we outside running around w/o caring for our own safety lmao).

All this to say—has anyone who knows the family personally stated in the media when they had last seen Gus?

Re Custody

IMO!!!

I don't think parents had limited legal custody of their children.
As was reported in MSM
parents with children were to move far away to their own house which was being decorated by father.
Gus was to start school soon
and live with Mum, Dad and baby brother.

As for alleged accident & cover up,
mother could have been scared that her other baby son R. might be taken away by authorities/Social Services because of alleged negligence causing fatal accident.

One thing is obvious to me.
This property was not fit safety wise
for small children being left unsupervised.
Gus was only 4, and the yard seems to me!!!
a death trap for wandering kids.

IMO there should have been a fenced area for the boy to play safely and under adult's supervision.
And I mentioned it at the very beginning of this thread many months ago.
I'm adamant about this.

I'm not sure if Gus ALLEGEDLY
- was the victim of fatal accident
- or was he fatally punished
- or there was premeditated foul play.

I still think it is the first possibility with panic cover up.

JMO

 

[BerylTutu]

I can’t remember what I have read on social media or main stream media about this case so I will preface this comment with an “IMO”.

Speculation: Allegedly there were some mental health issues associated with Gus’ mum, which, if true, could involve some sedative type medication at night.

In today’s presser, the police made an explicit point to specifically exclude Gus’ parents as POI and or suspects and I tend to trust the police when they do this.

It’s possible, IMO that a very toxic environment existed around Jess and her husband and the children and ‘control’, and as such, it wouldn’t at all surprise me if your theory is bang on.

iMO

Is it possible also that LE are making a deliberate point of saying that the parents are not suspects to provide them with a feeling of safety right now which may encourage further chatter amongst the family?
IMO it’s possible that one or both of the parents could also be complicit in some way but LE does not have enough evidence yet to actually see them as a suspect yet.

 

[Hercule Holmes]

Re Custody

IMO!!!

I don't think parents had limited legal custody of their children.
As was reported in MSM
parents with children were to move far away to their own house which was being decorated by father.
Gus was to start school soon
and live with Mum, Dad and baby brother.

As for alleged accident & cover up,
mother could have been scared that her other baby son R. might be taken away by authorities/Social Services because of alleged negligence causing fatal accident.

One thing is obvious to me.
This property was not fit safety wise
for small children being left unsupervised.
Gus was only 4, and the yard seems to me!!!
a death trap for wandering kids.

IMO there should have been a fenced area for the boy to play safely and under adult's supervision.
And I mentioned it at the very beginning of this thread many months ago.
I'm adamant about this.

I'm not sure if Gus ALLEGEDLY
- was the victim of fatal accident
- or was he fatally punished
- or there was premeditated foul play.

I still think it is the first possibility with panic cover up.

JMO

Re the bolded:

Wouldn't they be equally complicit, presumably via negligence, if this happened?

If so, why would they not just use the same lawyer?

 

[Dotta]

"Key suspect identified in Gus Lamont's disappearance
still 'very long way' from being found guilty,
says leading criminologist."

https://twitter.com/x/status/2019488390870364389