The grandmother of four-year-old Gus Lamont, who vanished from a remote Australian outback sheep station nearly a year ago, has spoken publicly for the first time, revealing that the boy had gone missing on the property before.
Josie Murray, 75, told 7NEWS Spotlight that on the day of his disappearance, September 27, Gus was last seen playing outside near a structure the family calls the 'bomb shelter plane'. She said another grandparent, Shannon, reported last seeing him at around 5pm. The family initially feared Gus may have fallen into a cellar under construction, but a search found no evidence of him there.
Murray described a previous incident where Gus wandered off while with Shannon at the shearer's quarters. 'Shan couldn't find him when she was going to come home,' she said. The family called emergency services at about 8pm, triggering one of the largest land and air searches in South Australian history, covering some 470 square kilometres.
In March, police confirmed that some relatives are not cooperating with the investigation. Lawyers for Josie Murray and Shannon Murray have declined further comment. The case was escalated to a major crime investigation in February, with police stating that someone living at the property had withdrawn assistance and was being treated as a suspect.
