NEED TO KNOW
- September 27, 2025: Gus Lamont goes missing from his Oak Valley Station home
- September 28, 2025: Search is expanded with all-terrain vehicles and bikes
- September 30, 2025: Gus’ family release a statement as the search continues
- October 2, 2025: An image of Gus is released to the public
- February 5, 2026: Police confirm that the case is being treated as a major crime
The parents of missing four-year-old Gus Lamont have issued an appeal for help as the search continues for their son.
Gus was last seen playing outside his Oak Valley Station home in the rural South Australian outback on September 27, 2025.
Police initially believed that he might have wandered off, but after extensive searches of the area, they confirmed that they were treating the case as a major crime.
In the statement on February 4, Detective Superintendent Darren Fielke said an alleged suspect had been identified, but emphasised that it was not either of his parents.
Now, Gus’ parents, Jessica and Josh Lamont, have issued an emotional statement urging anyone with information to come forward.
“Our lives have been shattered, and every moment without him is unbearable,” they said in a statement issued by South Australia Police.
“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.”
They also released a new photograph of Gus sitting in the car with a dog, in the hope that it will lead to new information about their son.
The first video of Gus was also released, showing him playing outside his family’s remote property, from which he disappeared.
“All we want is to bring Gus home and understand what happened to our beautiful boy,” they added.
What happened to Gus Lamont?
Gus was last seen playing near his family’s Oak Park Station home, approximately 43 kilometres south of the Yunta township, on September 27, 2025, at 5pm.
He was nowhere to be found when his grandmother went out to call him half an hour later, and police were called at 8.30pm after an intense search.
The four-year-old was wearing a blue long-sleeved Minions T-shirt, a grey sun hat, and boots at the time of his disappearance.
A search was conducted in a six-kilometre radius of the home, and on October 6, a small footprint was found around 5.5 kilometres west, but it was discovered to be unrelated to his disappearance.
Police handed the case over to the Missing Persons Section after medical experts advised that there was “little hope” of finding Gus alive.
While police initially believed Gus had walked off and said there was no evidence of foul play, they declared the case a suspected criminal matter on February 5.
“There is no evidence, physical or otherwise, to suggest that Gus has merely wandered off,” Detective Superintendent Darren Fielke said.
He added that police “don’t believe, now, that Gus is alive” and confirmed a suspect had been identified, but confirmed it was neither of his parents.
“A person who resides at Oak Park Station has withdrawn their support for the police and is no longer cooperating with us,” he confirmed at the time.
On February 6, Gus’ grandmothers, Josie and Shannon Murray, issued a joint statement via their lawyers, sharing their devastation, adding that the family has “cooperated fully with the investigation and want nothing more than to find Gus and reunite him with his mum and dad”.
Several new locations have been scoured since, and SA Police Commissioner Grant Stevens confirmed that officers will frequently return to the area as they continue to investigate his disappearance.
“Without encroaching on the work of Major Crime, forecasting what they’re actually doing, we’re not ruling out anything,” he said on February 18.
“Adjoining properties, including the national park, will in all likelihood be a part of our investigations as we move forward. We’ll use every resource available to us if it will contribute to solving the disappearance of Gus Lamont.
“I think it’s reasonably foreseeable that we will be visiting Oak Park quite frequently over the coming months as we continue our investigation, as well as visiting surrounding locations in the vicinity of the residence.”
