Did they have other animals on the farm, such as pigs?
Early on there was a lot of discussion around possible animal involvement (dingos and feral pigs particularly), but that was pretty solidly ruled out. They're on the other side of the dingo fence, so there aren't many around and there was no sign of one, as well as no sign of a struggle. No signs of feral pigs in the immediate area either. And wedgetail eagles can't lift prey Gus's size (which was another popular theory for how he could just vanish with no tracks).Did they have other animals on the farm, such as pigs?
Shannon is of very similar height to Robert/Josie -- have a look at current photos. Shannons father was very tall & she has the same featureI still think the person holding baby is JM, has very long legs
Let me elaborate the above, what I meant was a FATAL snake bite. An adult may be able to survive a snake bite, but Gus is a small child, a bite could have been lethal.Might be different if you knew your SIL was not happy with his child being on the property as he had said it was dangerous and now hes been proven right ! Your thinking now SIL may insist the baby brother cant stay there anymore and you were worried you may not see your daughter and grandson again because of what has happened to Gus???? MOO
I certainly would not allow my other child to stay there (in the grandparents care) if they had already let one wander off and an official significant ground search had to made to find him!!That makes no sense, the dad would be fine with the baby staying there after his brother goes missing but would make it an issue for them over a bite, that most people around there would be very understanding of?
Honestly I think something happened that one or both of the grandparents caused, unintentionally or otherwise, that they covered up. Something that while possibly accidental would look much worse than a snake bite. If they were all that concerned about the dads reaction to a bite they all could've got help and just lied about where it happened. Anyway, i seriously doubt the dads issue with everyone staying there is because of a lack of snake safety. my opinion.
I was thinking this earlier. The father reportedly didn't think the property was safe - and to be fair, it seems he was correct - I can't believe the baby is still living there. I'd do whatever I needed to to get him away from there, even if I had to go to court.I certainly would not allow my other child to stay there (in the grandparents care) if they had already let one wander off and an official significant ground search had to made to find him!!
Where are you getting that Gus' mum and her other son are still (ie at present and even over the last few months) residing at Oak Park? I don't think this has been reported anywhere afaik. Source needed.I was thinking this earlier. The father reportedly didn't think the property was safe - and to be fair, it seems he was correct - I can't believe the baby is still living there. I'd do whatever I needed to to get him away from there, even if I had to go to court.
Correct, this is what i was trying to convey.I was thinking this earlier. The father reportedly didn't think the property was safe - and to be fair, it seems he was correct - I can't believe the baby is still living there. I'd do whatever I needed to to get him away from there, even if I had to go to court.
IIRC, a few missing people have ultimately been found in septic tanks.I've been wracking my brain trying to think of where Gus could have ended up that would interfere with the ability of sniffer dogs to trace him. A place that would be prohibitive to search and possibly overlooked.
Then it struck me, most large outback stations tend to have their own fuel and chemical storage. A large fuel storage tank (or chemical storage tank) would fit the bill, covering smells, requiring safety protocols and PPE to empty and search, being overlooked (would just be a fuel pump visible if the storage was underground) and possibly being costly (in the case of wasted fuels).
So i've been wondering if Oak Park Station has a large underground or aboveground Diesel fuel storage tank or if any of the adjoining properties have one? They are pretty close to Yunta after all, so maybe they don't need one.
If they do have one, I wonder if it has been emptied and searched?
JMO
I've been wracking my brain trying to think of where Gus could have ended up that would interfere with the ability of sniffer dogs to trace him. A place that would be prohibitive to search and possibly overlooked.
Then it struck me, most large outback stations tend to have their own fuel and chemical storage. A large fuel storage tank (or chemical storage tank) would fit the bill, covering smells, requiring safety protocols and PPE to empty and search, being overlooked (would just be a fuel pump visible if the storage was underground) and possibly being costly (in the case of wasted fuels).
So i've been wondering if Oak Park Station has a large underground or aboveground Diesel fuel storage tank or if any of the adjoining properties have one? They are pretty close to Yunta after all, so maybe they don't need one.
If they do have one, I wonder if it has been emptied and searched?
JMO
RBBM.IIRC, a few missing people have ultimately been found in septic tanks.
Right now trying to dig up and dig through the various reports and confirm details, one point I haven't been able to establish yet is if the searchers actually used K9 units/sniffer dogs in those early searches. It's not mentioned in any of the SAPOL releases I've looked at so far, but also some of the earlier ones seem to have been taken down. Also possible that they're just part of the various search, rescue, and LE units that are mentioned by name, but the only dogs I've seen so far are the family's, running around in pictures of JM.
That said, if they were there, agree, IMO it's odd enough that they weren't able to trace him to suggest some possibilities.
Amazing, thank you!!! You have no idea how long I've been googling different search terms for this and drawing a blank haha.RBBM.
On dogs I found these.
Abc (Oct 1st 2025) summary article of early search efforts. The report and a few others going back to 28th Sept (not linked here, but can be found listed at the bottom of summary) confirm the deployment of dogs.
"...multiple agencies — including aerial, water, trail bike and mounted police, SES, community volunteers and sniffer dogs —"
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What we know about search for missing boy on sheep station
Authorities are searching for a missing four-year-old boy on a sheep grazing station in the mid-north of South Australia. Here's what we know about the search so far.www.abc.net.au
This 60 minutes report includes a (very small!) piece of search footage where you can see Police handlers with their dogs (approx time stamp 3:52).
The above also has some excellent footage of the landscape and environment on-the-ground searchers were dealing with. Jmo