Police will resume their search for missing four-year-old boy Gus at his family’s remote Outback station tomorrow.
South Australia Police said they would resume search activity for August ‘Gus’ Lamont tomorrow near the Oak Station homestead, about 300km north of Adelaide.
The search will involve police and ADF members and will concentrate on an expanded area outside of a zone already searched following his disappearance.
The four-year-old was last seen playing in a mound of dirt near the homestead on Saturday, September 27. He had vanished by the time his grandmother went to call him in, some 30 minutes later.
The incident sparked a major search operation, which was called off earlier this month after it failed to find a trace of the missing boy.
It is unclear what sparked the renewed search effort, though police said they have remained active in the days since the earlier search was suspended.
In the statement released today, police said there had been ‘regular and close engagement’ with Gus’s family who were ‘continuing to assist with the investigation’.
Deputy Commissioner Linda Williams assured the public last week that police were investigating further lines of inquiry.
Police will resume their search for missing four-year-old boy Gus (pictured)
Gus was last seen playing in a mound of dirt near his grandparents’ homestead on a sheep station 40km south of Yunta, in eastern South Australia , at about 5pm (pictured)
Police said the initial search operation was among the biggest of its kind, involving hundreds of officers, dozens of soldiers, countless volunteers and an Aboriginal tracker.
Despite the scale of the effort, the closest anyone came to finding Gus was a footprint found some 500metres from his family’s homestead, which has since been called into question by police and local trackers.
Police called off the search following advice from medical experts there was little hope Gus would be found alive.
A former SES volunteer who scoured the region with his partner said there was ‘zero evidence’ Gus remained on the property.
Following Gus’ disappearance family friend Bill Harbison said the family was ‘devastated’, adding the family was still coming to terms with it.
‘It has come as a shock to our family and friends and we’re struggling to comprehend what has happened,’ he said.
‘Gus’s absence is felt by all of us and we miss him more than words can express. Our hearts are aching and we are holding on to hope that he will be found safe and well.’
The Daily Mail previously reported on the cruel internet theories which had circulated online following the four-year-old’s disappearance.
Police, soldiers, volunteers and an Aboriginal tracker scoured the area for days on end before the search was suspended earlier this month
Despite authorities providing updates about the search for Gus, fake images have been used to spread misinformation about his disappearance.
One of the fake updates, which was shared some 24,000 times on social media, claimed eyewitnesses had seen a boy matching Gus’ description with a man.
When he was last seen, Gus had been wearing a grey broad-brimmed hat, a distinctive blue long-sleeved shirt with a Minion picture from the movie Despicable Me on the front, with light grey pants and boots.
A family member told police the four-year-old is ‘shy but adventurous’ and a ‘good walker’ although he had never previously left the family property.
On Monday, police reminded the public the homestead is private property following calls from neighbours not to disturb the family.
Timeline of Gus Lamont’s disappearance
SEPTEMBER 27: Gus last seen playing near his grandparent’s homestead 40km south of Yarra about 5pm. Police initiate search that evening
SEPTEMBER 30: Police advise family Gus may not have survived due to the passage of time, his age, and the nature of the Outback terrain
OCTOBER 6: Police launch significant search after footprint found around a dam west of the property
OCTOBER 7: Police scale back search and hand investigations over to the Missing Persons Investigation Section
OCTOBER 9: Daily Mail speaks with Gus’s grandparent Josie, claiming the family were continuing to search despite police stepping back
OCTOBER 13: Police announce search efforts will resume the following day
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Police drop bombshell after ending the search for little Gus after he vanished without a trace