Police still have no clues or evidence about the whereabouts of missing boy Gus Lamont, following the latest of 11 searches launched in the last eight months. Gus was seen playing in a pile of sand outside the Oak Park Station homestead owned by his maternal grandparents Josie and Shannon Murray, near Yunta in South Australia on September 27.
No Evidence Found Despite Extensive Searches
Major Crime Investigation Branch officer-in-charge Detective Superintendent Darren Fielke gave an update on the investigation at the property on Thursday after detectives and specialist STAR Group officers returned to Oak Park Station this week to scour new locations — which failed to uncover any evidence. Supt Fielke confirmed that one of Gus's grandparents remains a suspect.
'Unfortunately, we have not uncovered any evidence that helps us locate Gus,' he said. He was asked if it was unusual to not find any evidence after 11 extensive searches of the remote property over the last eight months. 'It is hard to explain,' Supt Fielke said. 'We have invested a lot of time, a lot of effort, a lot of emotional energy into this. We have not given up. It is disappointing that we have not found anything, but you have seen it yourself what the environment is like here, it is not the city.'
This week's search marked the first time police had returned to the property since March, where some locations were revisited. Footage from the three-day search this week showed up to a dozen officers scouring land near waterways on the 60,000-hectare property. Police had hoped that recent heavy rain may have shifted soil or exposed new ground to uncover potential evidence, including a large-brimmed hat and a Minions shirt that Gus was wearing when he vanished.
Background of the Investigation
Police have previously described the operation as the 'largest and most intensive' missing person search ever undertaken by the force. In February, authorities announced they believed Gus was dead and declared his disappearance as a major crime, adding they had identified a suspect within the family. They later confirmed they found 'inconsistencies' in statements and timelines provided by some family members. No arrests have been made or charges laid over Gus's disappearance. Police have repeatedly stressed that Gus's parents, Joshua Lamont and Jessica Murray, are not considered suspects in his disappearance.
Gus's grandparents, Shannon and Josie Murray — a transgender woman — have both enlisted the services of high-profile Adelaide defence lawyers, a move that is not unusual in these circumstances. 'Shannon is still supporting Josie, cooperating through her solicitors and hoping to find Gus, hoping that some information comes to light soon,' her lawyer Andrew Ey said.
Family Plea for Information
Gus's parents, though separated, issued a united statement earlier this year describing how their lives had been shattered by their son's disappearance. 'Every moment without him is unbearable,' the couple said. 'We know someone out there may have information. If someone knows what happened, we are pleading with that person — or anyone who may have seen or heard anything — to please come forward. Even the smallest detail could give us the answers we so desperately need.'
Gus's mother was spotted publicly for the first time since his disappearance earlier this month, on a suburban Adelaide street with her youngest child. She politely declined to comment when approached by the Daily Mail. Anyone with any information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
