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

[alicrocodile]

I'm not sure its the gun thing but do think the grandparents caused it and covered it up. Doubt both caused it but both covered it up in my opinion.

if it is guns, I absolutely think that would be covered up here. Guns are so controversial here and our laws are strict, they would have a lot to lose imo. Also if the family dynamics are already strained I definitely see that tearing the family apart. The dad would obviously have a problem with it, I wouldn't be surprised if that would impact the mums opinion too. In all honesty if I found out my parents left guns around my kids I'd never speak to them again, I know lots of people similar. Even the farm people I grew up with, I know one couple have refused to allow their kids to visit now grandparents because of locked away hunting rifles that they dont even use, so many people are really wary of them. Plus the media outrage would be huge, a child having access to a gun and dying is really not a common thing here. If they didn't want the attention and scrutiny thats another factor.

 

[SouthAussie]

If they were no longer allowed guns would that destroy their livelihood?

No. But they would likely have to hire someone to get rid of threats to the sheep. It would make life more difficult because threats couldn't be taken care of immediately, they'd have to wait for the hired person to show up. Would the threat still be around by then? Would the sheep have been harmed by then?

imo

 

[jepop]

A snake bite victim does not remove his own body from his place of death.


MOO

So True. But the post you're responding to has nothing to do with that. A small foray into OT land with another poster. I don't believe a snake has anything to do with Gus being missing.jmo

 

[linge]

I just can’t see someone covering that up.
MOO - what is the motive for covering up ? Why do people cover up a crime ? Not wanting to be charged with crimimal
Offence , Protecting loved ones , not losing custody , what else ?

Not wanting the people you love most in the world to look at this terrible thing, look at something you did or didn't do, and know it was your fault your grandchild is dead. And never forgive you for it. You'd want them to believe it's something that just could have happened to anyone and forgive you. You might even be able to live with the guilt of lying to them about it if you could live the rest of your life without them finding out the truth and hating you for it. Not being alone for the rest of your life. For one thing. IMO.

Coming back to add some perspective on this: people literally commit murder for less. A lot of 'other women' have been murdered by men having affairs who didn't want their wives/girlfriends to find out. And cheating isn't even a crime (at least in a lot of places where this happens), it's just something that badly damages or destroys a personal relationship, maybe ends in an ugly divorce.

All it takes for a motive is something to gain or something to lose.

 

[JLZ]

Might this have been an orchestrated opportunity to search the property in the absence of the suspect?

And adjust the listening devices, my opinion only.

 

[alicrocodile]

the whole time I had been thinking they lied about the timeline and JM either caused the accident (or murder) or just covered it up for SM, then went out and met Jess, which I could understand her agreeing to lie about if she believed her parents and thought it was just a disappearance and probably suspected JM would easily face some prejudice and harsher questioning. Early on you probably expect theyd find him soon enough and want all the attention on that too, I would. But I did also wonder, if the timeline actually is correct, if JM left a gun out and SM panicked and hid him, then JM moved the body later.

I personally think the cause of death has to be something there was so clearly no recovery from, or I do think someone would try to help. then they covered it up to avoid legal consequences, the family being torn apart, even just wanting to shield Jess from that I somewhat understand the impulsive logic, or out of fear/control possibly if it's a family with DV history. JMO

 

[Athena Holmes]

And adjust the listening devices, my opinion only.

Oh really? Is this a thing/allowed practice?

 

[JLZ]

Oh really? Is this a thing/allowed practice?

With a warrant, yes. Evidence from secret listening devices is not unusual in Australian cases.

 

[Dotta]

"Police likely looking for motive during renewed search for Gus Lamont, ​

retired detective says.​

Josie Murray, 75, has been bailed to appear in court on unrelated firearms charges in May."

Police likely 'looking for a motive' as Gus search continues, ex-detective says

Police are again at remote Oak Park Station searching for evidence related to the disappearance of missing four-year-old Gus Lamont, with a retired police officer saying detectives are likely "looking for a motive".

www.abc.net.au

 

[musicaljoke]

Might this have been an orchestrated opportunity to search the property in the absence of the suspect?

That's a lot of paperwork to achieve that purpose. They could simply do the search and ask her to stand aside.

 

[Athena Holmes]

"Police likely looking for motive during renewed search for Gus Lamont, ​

retired detective says.​

View attachment 645707

Josie Murray, 75, has been bailed to appear in court on unrelated firearms charges in May."

Police likely 'looking for a motive' as Gus search continues, ex-detective says

Police are again at remote Oak Park Station searching for evidence related to the disappearance of missing four-year-old Gus Lamont, with a retired police officer saying detectives are likely "looking for a motive".

www.abc.net.au

So this article states that in a separate statement, police explained that a major crime was "a serious crime of an aggravated nature causing grave concern within the community". This implies that the police believe the incident was intentional or violent - and not an accident.

 

[linge]

So this article states that in a separate statement, police explained that a major crime was "a serious crime of an aggravated nature causing grave concern within the community". This implies that the police believe the incident was intentional or violent - and not an accident.

Thank you. That does add important clarity.

 

[Athena Holmes]

That's a lot of paperwork to achieve that purpose. They could simply do the search and ask her to stand aside.

I imagine this is minimal paperwork compared to the rest of the investigation.

 

[linge]

That's a lot of paperwork to achieve that purpose. They could simply do the search and ask her to stand aside.

But they perhaps wouldn't get the same level of cooperation during the search or the same answers during an interview with SM if JM was there, watching, or interjecting. It's worth remembering that as of their last presser, they implied one of the grandparents had stopped cooperating, not the other. It makes a ton of sense, IMO, to try to talk to the cooperative one, alone. This is one way to do that. MOO.

 

[JLZ]

But they perhaps wouldn't get the same level of cooperation during the search or the same answers during an interview with SM if JM was there, watching, or interjecting. It's worth remembering that as of their last presser, they implied one of the grandparents had stopped cooperating, not the other. It makes a ton of sense, IMO, to try to talk to the cooperative one, alone. This is one way to do that. MOO.

They have surely interviewed the grandparents separately already. That's routine; no need to be secret about it.

 

[Old Soul]

I'm not sure its the gun thing but do think the grandparents caused it and covered it up. Doubt both caused it but both covered it up in my opinion.

if it is guns, I absolutely think that would be covered up here. Guns are so controversial here and our laws are strict, they would have a lot to lose imo. Also if the family dynamics are already strained I definitely see that tearing the family apart. The dad would obviously have a problem with it, I wouldn't be surprised if that would impact the mums opinion too. In all honesty if I found out my parents left guns around my kids I'd never speak to them again, I know lots of people similar. Even the farm people I grew up with, I know one couple have refused to allow their kids to visit now grandparents because of locked away hunting rifles that they dont even use, so many people are really wary of them. Plus the media outrage would be huge, a child having access to a gun and dying is really not a common thing here. If they didn't want the attention and scrutiny thats another factor.

Yes, I also think the guns that a farmer would likely use and have licenses for in Australia are rifles and shotguns with a long barrel, not handguns (as some people might be picturing).
Logistically I think it would be quite hard for a small child to cause themself a fatal injury with a long barrel gun. Obviously anything is possible but I think it is unlikely.

 

[hoodunnit]

But they perhaps wouldn't get the same level of cooperation during the search or the same answers during an interview with SM if JM was there, watching, or interjecting. It's worth remembering that as of their last presser, they implied one of the grandparents had stopped cooperating, not the other. It makes a ton of sense, IMO, to try to talk to the cooperative one, alone. This is one way to do that. MOO.

If they both hired lawyers, I wouldn't imagine either of them would talk (except in general) without lawyer presence. They surely would have been instructed not to.

 

[Morequestionsthananswers]

Today I’ve woken up wondering if there might be some truth in the story we’ve been told and something did actually happen under Shannon’s watch and Josie is covering up for her.

SPECULATION

Shannon was tired/stressed/not in the best mood, the baby was crying, Gus did something to add to the stress and in an emotional moment Shannon lashed out and it accidentally resulted in his death.

She’s terrified and calls Josie because she doesn’t know what to do. She never meant to harm her grandson .

They decide to cover it up for various reasons ie there are signs of physical damage , they don’t want their daughter to hate Shannon….

They agree on the wandering off story thinking a lie is better than the truth for everyone .

Josie disposes of the body.

Things snowball and it becomes the biggest search for a missing person in South Australia’s history.

And here we are.

 

[JLZ]

Today I’ve woken up wondering if there might be some truth in the story we’ve been told and something did actually happen under Shannon’s watch and Josie is covering up for her.

SPECULATION

Shannon was tired/stressed/not in the best mood, the baby was crying, Gus did something to add to the stress and in an emotional moment Shannon lashed out and it accidentally resulted in his death.

She’s terrified and calls Josie because she doesn’t know what to do. She never meant to harm her grandson .

They decide to cover it up for various reasons ie there are signs of physical damage , they don’t want their daughter to hate Shannon….

They agree on the wandering off story thinking a lie is better than the truth for everyone .

Josie disposes of the body.

Things snowball and it becomes the biggest search for a missing person in South Australia’s history.

And here we are.

So from your description, this happens in the house or very close to the house. And Jess and Josie are expected home quite soon. Shannon needs to talk to Josie alone, but also she needs Jess not to find the body. So it seems she must have moved the body at least once already by the time the other two get in. Probably not far. Then before they call the police, Josie moves the body again, in the dark. It seems like a lot of action not to have left forensic traces.

Generally, when a body's been moved, I incline to think the death was intentional. I'll go for either extreme here: they're all completely innocent, and Gus got lost out there, or he was murdered for a reason. The reason I suggest is that somebody thought that if there was no Gus and no school plans, Jess would be more likely to hang around.

 

[Marg944]

News reporter states that Police are searching a nearby property today.

Looks like it is Bullaninnie station. IMO

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https://cdn.environment.sa.gov.au/landscape/images/6173_ATO_April-2022_FINAL.pdf