Gus Lamont was reported missing on Saturday 27 September 2026 from his family’s home – the Oak Park Station. This is in Yunta, South Australia.
Based on the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics Census, the population of Yunta, was 60 people.
Oak Park Station is enormous – around 60,000 hectares or almost 150,000 acres.
This is an article from when Gus was reported missing:
‘A search continues for a four-year-old boy who has been missing from a family homestead in South Australia’s mid-north since Saturday evening.
The boy was last seen at his home, about 40 kilometres south of Yunta, which is about 200km east of Port Augusta, at around 5pm on Saturday.
A police helicopter assisted in the search on Saturday night using an infrared camera but did not locate the boy.
The search continued through Sunday and resumed on Monday morning.
“Police completed an extensive ground search yesterday [Sunday] with assistance of SES volunteers and utilising trail bikes, ATVs and a drone covering a 2.5km radius search area from where Gus was last seen,” police said in a statement on Monday morning.
Water operations police will also head to the scene on Monday to search dams and tanks on the property, police said.
SA Police’s Mounted Operations Unit will also join the ground search.
SA Police say the boy is Caucasian with long blond curly hair, and he was wearing a grey sun hat, a cobalt blue long-sleeve T-shirt with a yellow Minion picture on the front, light grey pants and boots.’
It is understood Gus was living at Oak Park Station with his mother, Jess; his brother Ronnie, who was one at the time of Gus’ disappearance; his grandmother Josie Murray, a trans woman; and Josie’s female partner, Shannon Murray, Gus’s other grandmother.
Gus’ father is Josh Lamont. Josh did not live on the homestead at the time. He is said to have had a ‘commuter’ relationship with the family and he came and went from the property. He was reportedly primarily living in the Belalie North/Jamestown area and was renovating a home there at the time. This is around a 1 hour drive from Yunta.
Yorke Mid North Superintendent Mark Syrus said at the time that Gus had been playing outside in the sand before he vanished.
“About 5 o’clock on Saturday night, Gus was just playing outside in the sand like he normally does, his grandmother went out to find him and couldn’t find him, so they looked around the area until they actually called emergency services,” he said.
“We anticipate that he’s wandered off, and that’s where we are concentrating our search efforts.”
The family told police they searched for around three hours before they called for help. The sun set that night at 6.15pm, so at least two hours of the search would have been in the dark.
Police originally declined to release a photo of Gus which seems weird? Gus was described by authorities as a ‘Caucasian boy with long blonde curly hair who was last seen wearing a grey sun hat, a cobalt blue long-sleeve T-shirt with a yellow Minion on the front, light grey pants and boots.’
Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said at the time that police believed Gus was still on the property, had not been taken and that releasing his image would serve no purpose in the search.
Gus’ family released a statement on September 30.
Friend of the family, Bill Harbison, was emotional as he read a statement from the family saying it was “devastated by the disappearance of our beloved Gus”.
“This has come as a shock to our family and friends, and we are struggling to comprehend what has happened,” he said.
“Gus’s absence is felt in all of us, and we miss him more than words can express.
Mr Harbison said the family was “deeply distressed” and “incredibly grateful” for the efforts of police, emergency services, organisations and community members who had all “come together to help look for Gus”.
“At this time, we kindly ask for privacy as we focus all our energy on supporting the search and working closely with the police,” he said.
Yorke Mid North Superintendent Mark Syrus said it was not suspected that anyone had abducted Gus.
“All this is, is just a young four-year-old lad who has just wandered off, and that’s where we are concentrating our search efforts at this point in time,” he said.
On Wednesday October 1, police revealed they had found a footprint, around 500 metres/1650 feet from the homestead.
Superintendent Mark Syrus said it was a “very similar boot pattern to what Gus was wearing when he went missing”, and that a tracker had been called that day.
“He came in here early afternoon, worked throughout the afternoon, just driving around the area looking at the country and he’s back here, back out in the field, assisting police and emergency services in trying to find a direction [in] which Gus walked,” Superintendent Syrus said.
Information on what a tracker is:
An Aboriginal tracker in the Australian outback is an Indigenous expert with unparalleled skills in reading the landscape, using traditional knowledge passed down through generations to locate people, animals, or lost items. Historically essential for police, pastoralists, and explorers, they interpret subtle signs like footprints, broken twigs, or disturbed soil, sometimes even locating missing persons when modern technology fails.
Despite the footprint find, police said the search was shifting towards a “recovery” phase as it was unlikely Gus could have survived in the outback for so long.
September is Autumn/Fall in Australia and it can be very cool in the evening and hot in the day. For example, on the day that Gus vanished, the low was 5 celcius/41f and the high was around 28c/83f.
Superintendent Syrus also spoke at the time about the family dynamic.
“They’re a very private family, and they don’t get many visitors up here,” he said.
“It’s very tough for them. They like the isolation, and over the last six days, they’ve had over 100 people in the area being part of their lives.
Police finally released a photo of Gus on October 2, 2025, the sixth day of the search.
The Australian Defence Force also joined the search at that time.
The search for Gus carried on through October. On October 31, authorities returned to the station to drain a 4.5metre/15 metre deep dam on the property. Nothing was found.
During November 2025, police searched mine shafts in the area. They updated the media and the public on November 26 and said no new evidence had been found.
Assistant Commissioner Philip Newitt said the decision to focus on the mine sites came after “discussions with family”.
“We have to eliminate all potential areas,” he said.
Police Commissioner Grant Stevens spoke to the media on December 3.
“Our obligation is to consider all possibilities and examine those possibilities from an evidentiary point of view,” he said.
“I will say that we are still receiving significant and full support from the family — they are assisting with our inquiries. we are continuing to leave no stone unturned.”
Detective Superintendent Darren Fielke said on January 6, 2026 that the family had been cooperating with authorities.
“Nothing is off the table, and again we won’t rest until we’re satisfied that we’ve done absolutely everything we can to find him,” he said.
The case jumped back into the media again in the last few weeks with a huge update.
On Thursday February 5, 2026, Detective Superintendent Darren Fielke said police executed a warrant at Oak Park Station in January 2026. He said they conducted a forensic search and seized items.
“A person who resides at Oak Park Station has withdrawn their support for the police and is no longer cooperating with us,” he said.
“The person who has withdrawn their co-operation is now considered a suspect in the disappearance of Gus.
“I do want to stress, however, that Gus’s parents are not suspects in his disappearance.”
He said police began to focus on the suspect after they identified “a number of inconsistencies and discrepancies” with information “as it relates to timelines and the version of events provided to us by the family members”.
He said items seized during the search included a vehicle, a motorcycle and electronic devices.
“All of these items are now subject to forensic testing,” he said.
No arrests have been made and Gus’s body has not been found.
“The investigation, it clearly is continuing,” he said.
“As I’ve said, we want to find Gus. If we make an arrest then that is, I’m not discounting that we will, definitely.”
At this time, police reclassified the case as a ‘major crime.’
Two of Gus’ grandparents retained legal counsel following these developments.
Gus’ grandmother Josie Murray engaged Adelaide criminal lawyer Andrew Ey.
Josie’s partner Shannon Murray retained defence lawyer Casey Isaacs.
The grandparents released a joint statement through their lawyers.
“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.”
The investigation into Gus’ disappearance is said to have been the “largest and most intensive” missing person search ever undertaken by SA Police
Caveat – There is no suggestion that Josie or Shannon Murray were involved in Gus’ disappearance.
SOURCE LIST
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-05/timeline-of-gus-lamont-oak-park-disappearance/106309554
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Gus_Lamont
