Police are scaling back the search for missing four-year-old boy Gus after admitting they still have not found any trace of him.
August ‘Gus’ Lamont, vanished on Saturday from his grandparents’ remote homestead, about 40 kilometres south of Yunta, north-east of Adelaide.
On Friday, South Australian Assistant Police Commissioner Ian Parrott said official advice indicated it’s unlikely Gus will be found alive.
Despite a massive search effort – one of the biggest in the state’s history – Mr Parrott said officers have had no significant clues to as to where Gus may have gone.
‘Whilst we’ve all been hoping for a miracle, that miracle was not eventuated,’ Mr Parrott said.
‘We’re confident that we’ve done absolutely everything we can to locate Gus within the search area, but despite our best efforts, we have not been able to locate him, and unfortunately, we are now having to scale back this search for Gus.
‘On Tuesday night Senior police spoke to Gus family and prepared them for the possibility that we may not be able to find him alive. And this is based on scientific advice, professional advice that we get about how long it would be possible for a four year old to survive in that terrain with the weather conditions and the clothing that he was wearing at the time.
‘We hold our hope that we may be able to find Gus and return to his family. But clearly that is that potential is diminishing as days go by, we will now transition into an investigation focus. We will now continue to pursue ongoing lines of inquiry, and we will not rest until we can try and find the answer to why Gus has gone missing, and hopefully, like I said, for the family, return him to them.’
Hundreds of searchers have scoured the red dust and scrub, but the only trace of Gus is a single footprint discovered about 500 metres from the property’s homestead.
‘It’s a very similar boot pattern to what Gus was wearing when he went missing,’ Yorke Mid North Superintendent Mark Syrus said.
A photo of missing boy Gus was released by the family on Thursday
Gus was last seen near his homestead, roughly 40km south of Yunta
Police have cast doubt on the footprint found by searchers on Tuesday
When he disappeared, the little boy was wearing a grey broad-brimmed hat, a blue long-sleeved shirt with a Minion picture from Despicable Me on the front, light grey pants, and boots.
Family friend Bill Harbison issued a statement on their behalf on Tuesday.
‘This has come as a shock to our family and friends, and we are struggling to comprehend what has happened,’ it read.
‘Gus’s absence is felt in all of us and we miss him more than words can express.
‘Our hearts are aching, and we are holding onto hope that he will be found and returned to us safely.
‘At this time, we kindly ask for privacy as we focus all our energy on supporting the search and working closely with the police.’
Police do not believe Gus has been taken, as the only people who travel on the nearby road are station owners.
Supt Syrus said it was ‘unusual’ for Gus to wander as he ‘normally stays within the confines of the area’.
‘But, who knows what goes through a four-year-old’s mind?’ he said.
‘We understand he’s a pretty quiet sort of lad but he is, as you know, a country lad and he’s pretty adventurous as well.
‘But him moving out of the area is a little bit unusual.’
Gus was last seen at his home near Yunta
Police have not released an image of Gus, but said he was wearing a blue Minions shirt
One local told the Daily Mail little Gus may have fallen into a mine.
‘I would be more worried about the unmarked wells and mines he may have fallen into,’ he said. ‘That’s the talk [among locals].’
The state’s north-east pastoral district is dotted with mines and wells from a bygone era well over 100 years ago – and many of the region’s station owners are still stumbling across them to this day.
They were used as water sources for livestock and for those ‘chasing the gold dream’ back in the day, according to our source.
Many of these sinister holes are virtually invisible to an adult’s naked eye – much less a meandering child.
