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

[RedHaus]

Some quotes RSBM me...

Like I said earlier I think we need to stop talking about the families version of events. There is no credibility that any of it is true.
It's likely Gus died long before the call to police.

I agree we need to explore out of the family's-original-story-box, but perhaps not too far outside because Jess is not a suspect. IMO, there are limited scenarios where Jess, as the parent of Gus, would not have become suspicious about his absence.

I'm of the opinion that Gus died under Shannon's care while Josie and Jessica were working on the station elsewhere. When Josie and Jessica came back. Shannon has told Josie in private what happened. This would prove that Jessica never knew about what actually happened.

I agree that this makes the most sense. IMO, it puts the culpability of Gus' death on Shannon, and allows for the possibility of Josie being charged with hiding and/or disposing of Gus' body. I suspect LE is doing their best to unveil where Gus ended up.

Surely they would have moved him where they wanted him before calling police.

IMO, Shannon and Josie may have hidden Gus carefully at the Homestead, unbeknownst to Jess, before calling LE.

Det Supt Darren Fielke was asked whether Gus Lamont may still have been on the station when police were first called to the property. 'Possibly. Police were on scene quite quickly when they were advised Gus was missing,' he told reporters.

And when Fielke stated these answers, he was clearly uncomfortable, IMO. It seemed to me the true answer might be "Yes!".

I think that the three hour delay in reporting Gus missing was probably an early red flag for police.

I suspect there were many red flags that have finally been sifted through and piled up into evidence. For example, where is Gus' wee shovel? I have been focused on that shovel since early on and suspect it was never found because he never played with it.

ET: fix a typo

 

[Total_C]

From News.com.au

Superintendent Fielke said the suspect was not one of Gus’ parents.

“The person who has withdrawn their co-operation is now considered a suspect in the disappearance of Gus,” he said.

"Gus’s grandparent Josie Murray is understood to have hired criminal lawyer Andrew Ey, while the youngster’s grandmother Shannon Murray is being represented by defence lawyer Casey Isaacs, the Courier Mail reports"

"Mr Isaacs confirmed to the masthead he was acting for Gus’s biological grandmother Shannon.

“We have been co-operating but we won’t be commenting,” he said on Thursday.

I think this tells us all we need to know as to who the suspect is.

 

[kiwi50]

The total of animals detected by the drone cameras is interesting, if you add the total of red kangaroos and goats together, its more than the sheep.
Don’t they cull them?

 

[washysmum]

The total of animals detected by the drone cameras is interesting, if you add the total of red kangaroos and goats together, its more than the sheep.
Don’t they cull them?

They cull them, they don’t eradicated them

 

[Detechtive]

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?

I think you’re missing an option which is that the whole story has been fabricated from the get go and Jess was not aware of it. There are many ways this could be true, but specifically if JM and SM were plotting a coverup / alibi they could have made her part of it without her knowledge, IMO

 

[Hercule Holmes]

The total of animals detected by the drone cameras is interesting, if you add the total of red kangaroos and goats together, its more than the sheep.
Don’t they cull them?

DBM

 

[Athena Holmes]

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.

Some quotes RSBM me...

I agree we need to explore out of the family's-original-story-box, but perhaps not too far outside because Jess is not a suspect. IMO, there are limited scenarios where Jess, as the parent of Gus, would not have become suspicious about his absence.

I agree that this makes the most sense. IMO, it puts the culpability of Gus' death on Shannon, and allows for the possibility of Josie being charged with hiding and/or disposing of Gus' body. I suspect LE is doing their best to unveil where Gus ended up.

IMO, Shannon and Josie may have hidden Gus carefully at the Homestead, unbeknownst to Jess, before calling LE.

And when Fielke stated these answers, he was clearly uncomfortable, IMO. It seemed to me the true answer might be "Yes!".

I suspect there were many red flags that have finally been sifted through and piled up into evidence. For example, where is Gus' wee shovel? I have been focused on that shovel since early on and suspect it was never found because he never played with it.

ET: fix a typo

I think possibly one grandparent has covered for the other, perhaps without full knowledge or suspicion of what may have taken place. One of the grandparents was demonstrably angry early on in the investigation, with a clearly volatile temper. At the time this was normalised as the family being distaught and hounded by a Daily Mail journalist. Now it has been announced that this is being treated as a major crime, does this shed new light on this person's state of mind?

 

[JLZ]

The really interesting thing detected by the drone is the one human.

According to the original statements, when was there only one human out in the paddocks?

I think Jess left early to attend to the farming duties. Josie joined her later, probably via the motorbike that has been seized.

Do we know the date/time of the images? When you say the interesting thing is that there was only one human, are you implying that the image is from the day of the disappearance?

 

[_sleuthdog_]

The really interesting thing detected by the drone is the one human.

According to the original statements, when was there only one human out in the paddocks?

I think Jess left early to attend to the farming duties. Josie joined her later, probably via the motorbike that has been seized.

The imagery was taken after the reported incident as part of the investigation.

In the presser it was said "that's someone riding a motorbike on the property" but it is not mentioned who.

 

[Hercule Holmes]

Do we know the date/time of the images? When you say the interesting thing is that there was only one human, are you implying that the image is from the day of the disappearance?

Actually, you are right. I've wrongly attributed the drone footage to the day of the disappearance.

Sorry.

 

[Hercule Holmes]

The imagery was taken after the reported incident as part of the investigation.

In the presser it was said "that's someone riding a motorbike on the property" but it is not mentioned who.

Correct. Apologies again. I've added an extra layer to my theory incorrectly.

I still believe Jess was out tending to the farming duties earlier than Josie. The non-alignment of the statements likely relates to the timelines of these activities, and who was where at certain times.

The motorbike was presumably seized for a reason. Josie could have used it to join Jess at a later time. It is potentially the discrepancy in this time that has caught them out. Jess' version would have likely been very accurate. Josie's version may not have been quite so accurate IMO.

 

[Dotta]

Is it possible that Mum didn't see her son before going to work?

I guess Jess testified the times she worked with JM at the paddock.
And she probably told the truth as she is not a suspect.
Surely if JM left her alone there
she would say it?

Did they go there after lunch at home?
Was Gus alive then?

Police were told of 5 pm. and Gus playing.

Surely Jess and JM went home for lunch, no?
And Mum saw her kids.

Or did they go in the morning for the whole day?
Which, IMO, would be strange.
Not coming home for lunch at 12,1 or 2 pm. and returning to the paddock in the afternoon.

I have no idea about farm jobs.

When exactly did Jess see her son for the last time???



JMO

 

[RedHaus]

I think this tells us all we need to know as to who the suspect is.

RSBM
Well, I think this LE statement could imply the pending charges relate to not only Gus' death, but also the disposal of his body. So I am anticipating there may be two people eventually arrested, one for Gus' death, and one for disposing of him.

Which grandparent - the cooperative one or uncooperative one - will fit which glove, IMO, is what we're waiting to learn.

The person who has withdrawn their co-operation is now considered a suspect in the disappearance of Gus,” he said.

 

[musicaljoke]

From News.com.au

Superintendent Fielke said the suspect was not one of Gus’ parents.

“The person who has withdrawn their co-operation is now considered a suspect in the disappearance of Gus,” he said.

"Gus’s grandparent Josie Murray is understood to have hired criminal lawyer Andrew Ey, while the youngster’s grandmother Shannon Murray is being represented by defence lawyer Casey Isaacs, the Courier Mail reports"

"Mr Isaacs confirmed to the masthead he was acting for Gus’s biological grandmother Shannon.

“We have been co-operating but we won’t be commenting,” he said on Thursday.

I think this tells us all we need to know as to who the suspect is.

Am I correct, that Josie is the gun-toting Grandma, and Shannon is the one who was out in the field tending the sheep?

 

[Hercule Holmes]

Is it possible that Mum didn't see her son before going to work?

I guess Jess testified the times she worked with JM at the paddock.
And she probably told the truth as she is not a suspect.
Surely if JM left her alone there
she would say it?

Did they go there after lunch at home?
Was Gus alive then?

Police were told of 5 pm. and Gus playing.

Surely Jess and JM went home for lunch, no?
And Mum saw her kids.

Or did they go in the morning for the whole day?
Which, IMO, would be strange.
Not coming home for lunch at 12,1 or 2 pm. and returning to the paddock in the afternoon.

I have no idea about farm jobs.

When exactly did Jess see her son for the last time???



JMO

I'm like you in terms of knowing what farmers would do in terms of lunch. Would they come home, would they they take it with them? Would Josie have maybe brought lunch out to Jess if she arrived later?

For Jess to have been excluded as a POI by police, she has to have been away from the "incident" when it occurred. If Jess and Josie were together the whole day, then that really means only Shannon could be responsible. BUT, then there would be no discrepancies in the respective timelines would there?