South Australian police have launched an expanded search for four-year-old Gus Lamont, who went missing from his family's outback sheep station near Yunta, about 300km from Adelaide, over two weeks ago. The boy was last seen by his grandmother at 5pm on 27 September playing on a mound of dirt; when she returned 30 minutes later, he was gone.
Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said the renewed effort was not based on new information but on advice from survival and medical specialists about how far Gus could have travelled. The search area has been extended beyond the original 470 sq km of unusual terrain, with 18 police officers, 82 Australian Defence Force personnel, and 33 vehicles involved on Tuesday.
No evidence was found on the first day of the expanded search, which will continue on Wednesday. Stevens stressed there was nothing to suggest foul play, and the focus remained on an exhaustive search of the property. He described Gus's family as “stoic” but traumatised.
Gus was wearing a blue T-shirt with a yellow Minion, a grey sun hat, light-grey long pants, and boots. Police have cautioned against AI-generated misinformation and unhelpful opinions from the public. Taskforce Horizon has been formed to coordinate the ongoing investigation.
