Another day desperately searching for missing four-year-old Gus Lamont ended with police admitting they have so far found no trace of the boy.
Gus disappeared from his grandparents’ remote South Australian property near Yunta on September 27 while playing on a mound of dirt.
Despite an exhaustive six-day search, authorities called off the operation last Friday, only to resume it four days later on Tuesday.
But on Wednesday afternoon, SA Police published an update explaining that there had been no success and the efforts would be constricted the next day.
‘The second day of the continuing search for missing four-year-old Gus in the State’s Mid North has concluded with no evidence being located,’ the statement said.
‘More than 100 search team members, including SA Police, ADF members and SES volunteers, have each been walking between 20 and 25 kilometres each day in hot, harsh conditions.
‘With temperatures of 36 degrees and strong northerly winds expected in the search area on Thursday, searching is expected to start at sunrise and conclude at midday.’
Speaking on radio station FIVEAA on Tuesday, Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said the family of Gus have cooperated with police, adding the decision to resume was not due to any new leads.
Four-year-old Gus Lamont (pictured) disappeared from his grandparents’ remote South Australian property near Yunta on September 27 while playing on a mound of dirt
Authorities called off their six-day search operation last week, but the hunt for Gus has been renewed despite challenging conditions for the team members
‘This (extended search) is essentially just exploring every possibility, he said.
‘We have nothing to suggest foul play at this time, but we’re obligated to consider every possibility.
‘Our efforts are focused on comprehensively searching the property and we’re endeavouring to recover Gus for his family.
‘We’ve done everything we can, based on expert advice, in relation to where we should be searching, but this is making sure we leave no stone unturned.’
The search has already covered an estimated 470 square kilometres, with police comparing the effort to searching 100 city centres. The boy’s family said they remain ‘devastated’ and ‘deeply distressed.’
‘I would describe them as stoic,’ Stevens added.
‘But you can imagine just how they are feeling, without having Gus and without having answers to exactly where Gus is and what’s happened to him.
‘This would be traumatic for any family.’
The search for Gus ramped up again around a remote Outback sheep station
Fresh concern have also been raised about a 40-year-old man named Benjamin who went missing on September 26, just one day before Gus, after being seen driving erratically
Police have not confirmed whether they plan to extend the search beyond Friday.
Fresh concerns have also been raised about a 40-year-old man named Benjamin who went missing on September 26, just one day before Gus.
Benjamin was last seen driving erratically on the Stuart Highway south of Glendambo, a roughly two hour drive from Gus’ home.
Few details are known about Benjamin, who was travelling in a 2006 Hyundai Getz with Western Australia registration plates 1IGG659.
Neither his surname, family situation nor the circumstances that led to him being in the area have been revealed.
His abandoned vehicle was found in dense scrub about 10km off the highway at Wirraminna on September 27, the same day little Gus was reported missing.
Police conducted a wide-scale search with SES volunteers, drones and local trackers, yet he remains missing.
Officers have appealed for anyone who travelled the Stuart Highway between Port Augusta and Glendambo on the afternoon of September 26, particularly those with dashcam footage, to speak to them.
Several truck drivers reported being concerned by the vehicle’s erratic driving that day.
On Saturday, the day after police announced they were scaling back the search for Gus, they renewed their appeal for information to help locate Benjamin.
