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

[Serononin]

Every defence lawyer says his client is cooperating with the LE. That's one. Two, the joint statement issued by both lawyers claims both grandpatennts are cooperative (because see point one). Three, from the context in the text you provided, it seems Shannon's lawyer was talking about his cooperation with Josie's lawyer, not her cooperation with the LE.

Conclusion: we do not have enough info to tell which grandparent is uncooperative.

MOO

I wouldn't be surprised if both lawyers are advising their clients to "no comment" every question at this point

 

[SouthAussie]

Every defence lawyer says his client is cooperating with the LE. That's one. Two, the joint statement issued by both lawyers claims both grandpatennts are cooperative (because see point one). Three, from the context in the text you provided, it seems Shannon's lawyer was talking about his cooperation with Josie's lawyer, not her cooperation with the LE.

Conclusion: we do not have enough info to tell which grandparent is uncooperative.

MOO

A lawyer's idea of cooperating is "send me a list of questions for my client, and I will send you a list of our answers".

imo

 

[wulfmoon]

Not buying cover up of an accident and by the


The thing is the grandparent with the gun didn't ask nicely...

Given the entirety of what has happened GF holding a gun is someone protecting their property. SFAQL They know the reporter and this is a nasty nosey biddy who has absolutely no respect for the law (trespass) and will do anything for a story. Maybe she should have said as an opener that they'd just popped in to the Yunta bakery and have a tray of freshly baked scones for them and leave them and then leave the property.

 

[SharpieAU]

After watching the press conference in full and researching this case essentially from the beginning as it's in my home state ( and I've felt it was off from the very beginning), I have a thought - all just speculation of course. Could it be possible that, Jess and JM were out tending to the sheep and have both been under the impression all this time that Gus had wander off (or been totally in the dark as to what happened in any scenario), but of late perhaps they have (either both or one of the party) been suspicious of SM and given the police information as it has surfaced? Perhaps they too were in the dark until most recently of anything that had happened that night, believing only what was initially told to them via SM?

For the police to outright say that Jess isn't involved, I would assume that they are satisfied she was not present during the time of Gus's disappearance. I would also assume that Jess would have no motive to lie about being with JM during this time also. Perhaps just recently SM has confided in JM some information, or perhaps either party has become suspicious themselves of SM, maybe in their behaviours or even found themselves something of evidence they have provided to SAPOL which has lead to a search warrant being undertaken. Is it possible this is why JM is also needing legal representation as they are providing information about the other party?

The AI imaging really was quite remarkable, the search radius was extensive. I feel very proud of SAPOL for undertaking this case with the extreme diligence & thoroughness they have, they weren't going to let this rest without result. This is of course all just my thoughts, and speculations, only based on possible scenarios I think could have happened.

 

[Athena Holmes]

Given the entirety of what has happened GF holding a gun is someone protecting their property. SFAQL They know the reporter and this is a nasty nosey biddy who has absolutely no respect for the law (trespass) and will do anything for a story. Maybe she should have said as an opener that they'd just popped in to the Yunta bakery and have a tray of freshly baked scones for them and leave them and then leave the property.

IMO such an extreme level of vocal aggression suggests the presence of an underlying, characteristic tendency.

 

[wulfmoon]

IMO such an extreme level of vocal aggression suggests the presence of an underlying, characteristic tendency.

It's probably a combination of both: protection and aggressive behaviour. This outburst was guttural--it cut the grain and drew a 'line in the sand' It's been the first vocal response we've heard out of either of them.

 

[SouthAussie]

Paulco Range Conservation Park, which is roughly 13km from Oak Park Station. You can stand on the hill and see Oak Park homestead from the distance.

Oak Park Station fence line borders onto the Park and also has a gate on that boundary which is locked.

Someone with local knowledge @zesszesszess posted this information way back in the thread.

Thank you for that reminder. I went back and looked at the posts from zesszesszess. They were really good for local perspective.

I copied what they said about the conservation park.

Whole post of tidbits by zesszesszess

"Directly south of Oak Park is a conservation park called Pualco Range, containing numerous large hills with rocky peaks. Visitation of this conservation park is very low. There are no facilities there. In fact, most maps do not actually tell you how to get there as the required roads are not marked or signposted. When I visit, there are sometimes fallen branches and growth over the tracks and little or no signs that the tracks have been used in some time. If you climb the tallest peak on the northern edge of the park, near a copper mine ruin called Wheal Motley, you get an excellent view of the surrounding area. From here, you can see multiple station homesteads in the distance - including Oak Park some 7km away, and others. In fact, you can see so far that even Tattawuppa Hill is clearly visible on the horizon, which is beyond Yunta, from that point. Surprisingly, at the top of this peak, you can also pick up 5G Telstra phone reception (from the Yunta tower). Parts of this conservation park have been searched in the efforts to locate Gus.

On the northern edge of Pualco Range Conservation Park is a chained and padlocked gate. The track beyond this gate leads to the Oak Park homestead. I don't recall if this gate has always been locked or if the chain is a new addition."

 

[kurtneverdied]

Every defence lawyer says his client is cooperating with the LE. That's one. Two, the joint statement issued by both lawyers claims both grandpatennts are cooperative (because see point one). Three, from the context in the text you provided, it seems Shannon's lawyer was talking about his cooperation with Josie's lawyer, not her cooperation with the LE.

Conclusion: we do not have enough info to tell which grandparent is uncooperative.

MOO

Yes it's not certain but immediately following the police press conference, Casey Isaacs (representing Shannon Murray) spoke to The Advertiser and News Corp. He provided a very specific, individual clarification:
"We have been co-operating but we won't be commenting."

It was said straight after the police press conference which the similar wording of "the suspect is no longer cooperating". It was clearly distancing his client from the police allegation.

 

[kurtneverdied]

No man going through transitioning or has transitioned would want to draw attention to themselves. Their world and their environment is extremely private. The masculinity of the gun incident is the reserved self presenting itself to 'protect' This is a fascinating case to study from multiple standpoints. I have not discounted another existing family member other the the 2 principles being involved and the P. using tactics to flush that individual out by forcing the current narrative. This is a covert surveillance operation.

Agree. They used similar wording before many times saying the family are not suspects. They kept the family happy and cooperative until they had enough to say otherwise.
So yes this could be a ploy to get family talking between each other now they likely have permission to bug houses and phones etc.

Hopefully LE can get some history off the devices and vehicles taken and that leads to Gus.

 

[wulfmoon]

The Tracker could not locate anything on GL. This is important to note. Does this indicate the GL never left the vicinity of property on the OPS?

 

[Hexe]

Yes it's not certain but immediately following the police press conference, Casey Isaacs (representing Shannon Murray) spoke to The Advertiser and News Corp. He provided a very specific, individual clarification:
"We have been co-operating but we won't be commenting."

It was said straight after the police press conference which the similar wording of "the suspect is no longer cooperating". It was clearly distancing his client from the police allegation.

Again, frim the context it looks like he was talking about his cooperation with Josie's lawyer (and they DO cooperate as they gave a joint statement). Also, every defence lawyer swears up and down their client cooperates with the LE, so this comment is NOT an evidence Josie is the one not cooperating.

MOO

 

[Old Soul]

Thank you. The original OP stated as if fact that the GPS had never made any statement in relation to Gus before the recent one. Infact, the GPS were part of a family statement when Gus first went missing. Yes, a family friend delivered that statement. I misread the second post as rumour ie that a family friend said they (the gps) were not part of that early statement. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

It is still a little odd that Gus’ family have had so little to say, surely the possibility of an abduction crossed their minds after extensive searches of the property found no trace of Gus. I am surprised the family did not make any pleas for public help in the weeks and months after Gus disappeared.

This is the original statement:

Their lifelong friend Bill Harbison read a letter on behalf of the family on September 29th, (Two days after Gus was reported missing).

“We’re devastated by the disappearance of our beloved Gus on Saturday afternoon,”
“It has come as a shock to our family and friends and we’re struggling to comprehend what has happened.
“Gus’ absence is felt by all of us and we miss him more than words can express. Our hearts are aching and we are holding on to hope that he will be found and returned safely.”

‘Very private’: Why Gus’ family have stayed quiet

Since four-year-old Gus Lamont went missing, his family have remained almost silent. Now, one of them is a suspect.

thenightly.com.au

As far as I know this is the only time the family have made a statement until just recently when the case was declared a major crime.

It is interesting to read it with the benefit of hindsight (admittedly through a lense of suspicion).

I notice the specific mention of Saturday afternoon (perhaps to make sure no one raises doubts about the timeline) as well as what feels like they are talking about a finite event and already thinking of Gus in the past tense, (what has happened instead of what is happening) (devastation and shock instead of desperation and anguish).
With the exception of the last three words “and returned safely” it reads as though they are writing about a death, a bit premature to think that way after just two days IMO.

Obviously this is all just my nitpicking and speculation, I’m sure it is very hard to write any kind of statement when you are in those circumstances.

 

[wulfmoon]

It is still a little odd that Gus’ family have had so little to say, surely the possibility of an abduction crossed their minds after extensive searches of the property found no trace of Gus. I am surprised the family did not make any pleas for public help in the weeks and months after Gus disappeared.

This is the original statement:

Their lifelong friend Bill Harbison read a letter on behalf of the family on September 29th, (Two days after Gus was reported missing).

“We’re devastated by the disappearance of our beloved Gus on Saturday afternoon,”
“It has come as a shock to our family and friends and we’re struggling to comprehend what has happened.
“Gus’ absence is felt by all of us and we miss him more than words can express. Our hearts are aching and we are holding on to hope that he will be found and returned safely.”

‘Very private’: Why Gus’ family have stayed quiet

Since four-year-old Gus Lamont went missing, his family have remained almost silent. Now, one of them is a suspect.

thenightly.com.au

As far as I know this is the only time the family have made a statement until just recently when the case was declared a major crime.

It is interesting to read it with the benefit of hindsight (admittedly through a lense of suspicion).

I notice the specific mention of Saturday afternoon (perhaps to make sure no one raises doubts about the timeline) as well as what feels like they are talking about a finite event and already thinking of Gus in the past tense, (what has happened instead of what is happening) (devastation and shock instead of desperation and anguish).

Obviously this is all just my nitpicking and speculation, I’m sure it is very hard to write any kind of statement when you are in those circumstances.

If a four year old child goes missing then everyone gets involved, but we have a case where most of the family members are not present. The GF is the only person I have seen working with P.

 

[jepop]

It is still a little odd that Gus’ family have had so little to say, surely the possibility of an abduction crossed their minds after extensive searches of the property found no trace of Gus. I am surprised the family did not make any pleas for public help in the weeks and months after Gus disappeared.

This is the original statement:

Their lifelong friend Bill Harbison read a letter on behalf of the family on September 29th, (Two days after Gus was reported missing).

“We’re devastated by the disappearance of our beloved Gus on Saturday afternoon,”
“It has come as a shock to our family and friends and we’re struggling to comprehend what has happened.
“Gus’ absence is felt by all of us and we miss him more than words can express. Our hearts are aching and we are holding on to hope that he will be found and returned safely.”

‘Very private’: Why Gus’ family have stayed quiet

Since four-year-old Gus Lamont went missing, his family have remained almost silent. Now, one of them is a suspect.

thenightly.com.au

As far as I know this is the only time the family have made a statement until just recently when the case was declared a major crime.

It is interesting to read it with the benefit of hindsight (admittedly through a lense of suspicion).

I notice the specific mention of Saturday afternoon (perhaps to make sure no one raises doubts about the timeline) as well as what feels like they are talking about a finite event and already thinking of Gus in the past tense, (what has happened instead of what is happening) (devastation and shock instead of desperation and anguish).

Obviously this is all just my nitpicking and speculation, I’m sure it is very hard to write any kind of statement when you are in those circumstances.

Thankyou and yeah, absolutely hard to write these statements. I think many can still understand that Gus' family (apart maybe from a possible perp) would have been experiencing sincere and intense grief and horror. IMO.

Regarding your first paragraph, my views haven't changed on that since I began reading here. Jmo the police saw no need for any public, pleading/begging. And as the parallel investigation into abduction continued moo that need never arose. There would have been definate costs to the investigation of a public plea (many many false sightings, clogging up lines jmo)vs no benefit. I believe that was the police's call. Ditto for the timing of the release of the photo. But I fully respect your opinion may differ.

Re the rest of what you write, yeah for me too it can sometimes be interesting to parse statements and remarks in painstaking detail, but your eg here it simply doesn't strike me as anything unusual. But that's just me. I fully respect your opinion and we can agree to disagree on these small matters no probs.

 

[Dotta]

The questions dogging the search for Gus Lamont after latest police update

Police declared the disappearance of Gus Lamont a major crime due to "a number of inconsistencies and discrepancies" emerging during the four-month investigation.

www.abc.net.au

 

[linge]

The behaviours I’ve seen from JM show clear patterns of coercion and a DV type attitude.

I’ve known many very very rural families who don’t see “outsiders” for months on end. Some of them are private by default of that isolated existence, imo

However, I have never met anyone in these types of communities who are that private. I don’t believe they’re private. I believe they’re secretive and there’s only one reason for that - and that’s because something nefarious was happening longer term in that family dynamic.

I hope it was not SA. I hope it was not child abuse. But I suspect it was.

BBM

I grew up on a hobby farm in rural Appalachia, and this has been my experience too, save one family in the area. They're all 'nice.' Their own daughter was about my age and we played together as children, the mother worked at the local store for many years and we'd always chat with her when we ran into her, very pleasant but very superficial interactions, the father was the most reclusive but would still be friendly enough the few times anyone ran into him (no one knows much about him). But the mother and now adult daughter have increasingly dropped out of sight over the years. The last time my mom saw them, she was driving home and passed them all taking a walk near their property and stopped to say hi. The mother and daughter immediately turned away and covered their ears until she drove off, while the father just chatted with her a bit like nothing was strange about this. My mom verbatim described them as 'very shy.' But something's wrong there, whether mental illness or CC/DV, extreme religious beliefs (their property has something of the look and feel of a cult compound), something else or a combination of things. Not enough to go on to call a welfare check or other services, no one's asked for help, and of everyone I know in that area the father is the one I could see pulling a Josie and shouting at them with a gun if someone actually ventured onto the property uninvited and asked if they were ok (in a community where everyone has firearms and everyone's homes are set back from easy public access). They're who the Oak Park Station family remind me of.

I share your suspicions. I love living in isolated areas for the privacy and freedom, but that same privacy they offer can be a draw for people with secrets to keep because it makes a huge difference not having neighbors close enough to overhear or see anything suspicious enough to get involved, interfere. I wonder how often Shannon makes it off the property on her own. The same long dusty roads that make it so unlikely that anyone could have arrived and abducted Gus without being noticed would also make it hard for someone to leave without being noticed. In the few recent images we have of her, she looks like she could be physically frail, which I think can lead to thinking she wouldn't be up to the manual labor out on the property (which she's likely been doing all of her life), but people similarly tend to stoop/hunch up like that when they're living life walking on eggshells, fearful, submissive. Josie meanwhile comes across as much more confident, squared off. I wonder if Jess was still kept on a tight leash (say, she risked losing her inheritance of her family property if she didn't 'follow the rules') when she was off with Josh, if the potential looming date of her moving out more completely onto property owned by Josh and more out of control was a point of contention (and could have contributed to the friction with Josh). Could even speak to a possible motive, if a motive enters into whatever happened to Gus. Jess could just be 'very shy,' maybe as a result of some mental health issues...but she could also be traumatized and afraid to speak to people. And wonder about some darker possibilities some of the (few) details could hint at, but this isn't the place. If any of this ends up being on the right track, it's just going to be twisting the knife in the victim(s) as their most painful secrets get dragged into public scrutiny.

 

[linge]

Again, frim the context it looks like he was talking about his cooperation with Josie's lawyer (and they DO cooperate as they gave a joint statement). Also, every defence lawyer swears up and down their client cooperates with the LE, so this comment is NOT an evidence Josie is the one not cooperating.

MOO

Yes, the statements of cooperating and not cooperating came from two different sources and so can be made from different perspectives/motivations, which is why I caveated 'if this is true' to the statement from Shannon's lawyer that she's cooperating. However, in response to the quoted part BBM: Josie's lawyer didn't. Only one of the two lawyers did in this case, in the immediate aftermath of that presser implying the suspect was one of the grandparents and was no longer cooperating. And while a lawyer's definition of cooperating is likely different than law enforcements, neither tend to stretch it to include 'don't speak to police, don't agree to anything.'

I would argue that this is another vague detail open to interpretation, mine just leans toward the one I outlined.

Also, just to quote the joint statement released, in full, after they both lawyered up:

"We are absolutely devastated by the media release of SAPOL Major Crime. The family has cooperated fully with the investigation and want nothing more than to find Gus and reunite him with his mum and dad."

What this says, IMO, is they are upset at being looked at with suspicion for this (which is understandable, anyone would be, whether innocent or guilty). And that the family "has cooperated fully" with the investigation. Past tense. Which is notably different than Shannon's lawyer saying that she's cooperating, present tense. MOO.

But as always, reading between the lines is susceptible to mistranslation.