Gus Lamont: Police address ‘suspects’ after latest search for missing Yunta four-year-old

South Australia’s police commissioner has given a stoic update on the latest search to locate missing child Gus Lamont, saying the investigation continues to gather evidence to determine whether suspects will get in or out.

Major crime squad investigators attached to Task Force Horizon on Tuesday completed another sweep of the Yunta property where the four-year-old boy was reported missing by his grandparents on September 27 last year and said they would not rest until the case was solved.

“We’re not ruling anything out,” South Australian Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said on Wednesday.

“Adjacent properties, including the national park, will be part of our investigation moving forward.

“We will use every resource at our disposal if it will contribute to solving the disappearance of Gus Lamont.”

Josie Lamond, one of Gus’ grandparents, is facing firearms charges after a recent arrest, and police continue to reiterate that two men remaining at the Oak Park station have withdrawn their support of the investigation.

“I have not been fully informed about the crimes that are the subject of the charges. My assumption is that these are related to storage, ammunition, registration license,” Comm said. Stevens said when asked about specific firearms-related charges at the Yunta farm.

“Anyone who has a firearm license must prove that they really need a firearm. You must obtain this approval in order to purchase a firearm.

“The Firearms Act allows us to enter any property where we understand there are firearms, or registered firearms are present, or a person with a firearms prohibition order is present. When it comes to the investigation of other offences, we use a warrant to enter the property.”

Since Gus’s disappearance, armies of emergency service personnel, ADF and volunteers have combed large areas of woodland in the surrounding areas; The SA government has made a firm commitment to continue the search to solve one of Australia’s most perplexing missing person cases.

“The major crime investigation is focusing on the property in Yunta, but during the initial search phase we made it clear that there were literally hundreds of people on the property searching every square inch within 1.5 miles of the residence,” Comm said. Stevens said.

“On top of this, the search has been extensive, with police, SES, volunteers, community members, technology, aircraft, motorbikes and quad bikes covering up to 15 kilometres.

“We have Task Force Horizon, which is responsible for the major crime investigation, and was working in the search phase. Resources will continue to be dedicated to this investigation as the major crime chief deems it necessary to continue the investigative process.”

“We have said from the beginning that we are investigating every possibility surrounding Gus Lamont’s disappearance.

“We were not solely focused on the search for a missing child on the property. We were looking at other possibilities as well. This has been the focus of our investigation since the beginning of the report of Gus’ disappearance.”

The blowtorch applied to residents of the property by the major crime unit sparked questions about police tactics in handling the case.

When asked about the possibility of an arrest in the boy’s disappearance, the Commissioner said he could not rule out the possibility as Gus’ parents continued to assist them with their investigation.

“Gus was reported missing on September 27th and we still don’t have clarity on exactly where Gus may be. It’s safe to assume there is more work to be done. As with any major criminal investigation, we don’t rest until we reach a solution,” said Comm. Stevens said.

“Gus’s mother and father continue to assist police with the investigation.

“The major crime chief made clear at his last press conference that two family members were withdrawing from cooperating. We are still receiving significant assistance from Gus’s parents.

“We ask for the full cooperation of everyone connected with this matter. We will deal with the circumstances presented to us and work through the process.”

“The information we have potentially excludes individuals as suspects or potentially raises questions about the involvement of any individual. This is a natural process of the investigation.”

“AI mapping technology has been useful in identifying other search locations. We have deployed resources back to the property to search for specific locations identified through the mapping process. Obviously with no results. We will continue to pursue every opportunity to reach a resolution with this investigation.”

Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000.