The legal representatives of two grandparents of missing four-year-old Gus Lamont have responded after South Australia's police commissioner alleged that some relatives are no longer cooperating with the investigation. Gus vanished from his family's remote sheep station, Oak Park Station, near Yunta, on 27 September last year.
In her first public interview, grandmother Josie Murray revealed that Gus had previously gone missing on the property. She described an incident where he wandered off near the shearer's quarters and could not be found. On the day of his disappearance, Ms Murray recalled returning home at around 5.30pm to be told Gus had been playing near a 'bomb shelter plane' but was nowhere to be seen.
The family initially feared Gus may have fallen into a cellar under construction, but a search found no evidence of this. Emergency services were called at around 8pm, and a massive land and air search covering 470 square kilometres ensued. In late October, a 12-member taskforce was appointed, which identified inconsistencies in family members' statements.
In March, police confirmed that some relatives were not cooperating. Josie Murray's lawyer, Andrew Ey, stated there would be 'no further comment at this stage'. Shannon Murray's lawyer, Casey Isaacs, said his client 'is co-operating through her solicitor'. The case was escalated to a major crime investigation in February, with police treating one resident as a suspect.
