Suspect identified in disappearance of four-year-old Gus Lamont in outback South Australia | Australia news
A man who lived with four-year-old Gus Lamont is now considered a suspect in his disappearance, SA police said on Thursday, declaring the incident a major crime.
Four-year-old Gus Lamont disappeared from his family’s country home in South Australia more than four months ago, sparking what SA police called “one of the largest, most intense and longest-running searches” they had ever conducted.
Mounted police, police divers, defense and emergency service personnel, drones and tracking teams searched the 60,000-hectare Oak Park station near Yunta, about 300 kilometers inland from Adelaide.
Major Crimes Police Chief Detective Darren Fielke said police had effectively ruled out Gus’ disappearance and Gus’ abduction. He said they were currently investigating someone at his home, but emphasized that the suspect was not one of his parents.
Police “identified a number of inconsistencies and discrepancies” in information received from family members, Fielke said.
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“As a result of these discrepancies and related investigations, a resident of the Oak Park station has withdrawn his support of the police and is no longer cooperating with us,” he said.
“The person who withdrew his cooperation is now considered a suspect in Gus’s disappearance. However, I would like to emphasize that Gus’s parents are not suspects in his disappearance.
“You will appreciate that, as this is now a criminal investigation and a declared major crime, I cannot comment further on the suspect at this time. However, what I can say is that we will continue to thoroughly and meticulously investigate Gus’s disappearance until we receive a result.”
Gus, described by a family friend as shy but adventurous, was playing outside the family’s sheep station at 5pm on Saturday, September 27.
The blond, curly haired little boy was wearing a blue t-shirt with a yellow Minion on the front, a gray sun hat, light gray long pants, and boots.
Half an hour later, when his grandmother went looking for him, he was gone. Police calls waxed and waned as different information emerged. They drained a massive dam, explored abandoned mine shafts, and heard evidence from survival experts about how far he might have wandered.
They also struggled with AI-generated misinformation and people calling the hotline with “opinions.”
A small footprint found in the days immediately after his disappearance yielded no useful information.
“The community should take comfort that no stone is left unturned in this investigation,” Fielke said.
