Gus Lamont: ‘Major crime’ declared, suspect, timeline discrepancy identified, four-year-old boy still missing

Police have revealed they have a suspect in the disappearance of missing four-year-old Gus Lamont, five months after he vanished without a trace from his family’s sheep station in outback South Australia.

The suspect was revealed to be someone who lived at the property where Gus lived — but was not either of his parents.

Little Gus was last seen by his grandmother playing on a mound of dirt at Oak Park Station, 43km south of Yunta on September 27, 2025.

Major crime Det-Supt. Darren Fielke also revealed that there had been “inconsistencies and discrepancies” relating to the timeline and version of events.

Suspect identified

“A person who resides at Oak Park Station has withdrawn their support for police and is no longer co-operating with us,” he revealed.

“On 14 and 15 January, this year, Task Force Horizon investigators attended Oak Park Station and executed a search warrant.

“Further comprehensive forensic search was conducted of the Oak Park Station homestead. A number of items were seized, including a vehicle, a motorcycle, and some electronic devices.

“All of these items are now subject to forensic testing. The person who has withdrawn their co-operation is now considered a suspect in the disappearance of Gus.

“I do want to stress, however, that Gus’ parents are not suspects in his disappearance. You appreciate at this time I cannot make any further comment about the suspect, given that this is now a criminal investigation and a declared major crime.”

Det-Supt. Fielke said that police believed the suspect was known to Gus.

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Believed dead

Investigators have so far pursued three key theories in their search for Gus — two of which have now been ruled out.

Det-Supt. Fielke confirmed investigators “don’t believe, now, that Gus is alive”.

“This is one of three investigation options that have been explored by the members attached to Taskforce Horizon.

“The other two investigation options are focused on Gus being abducted (by an unknown person) from Oak Park Station, or whether someone known to him was involved in his disappearance and suspected death.”

New evidence

Emergency services, SES, the ADF and volunteers scoured the area for weeks, covering up to 94sqkm of the Oak Park Station property, while drones and helicopters attempted to find traces of the young boy.

Despite extensive search efforts, Det-Supt. Fielke confirmed on Thursday that no new evidence had been uncovered as a result of ground and aerial searches.

“At this time, despite all the combined search efforts, we have found no new evidence, physical or otherwise, to suggest that Gus has merely wandered off from the Park homestead,” he said.

Police are also confident that Gus did not drown in one of the three dams or a water course that runs through the property, or fall into any of the mine shafts on the property.

“We have a large degree of confidence that the area has been searched thoroughly,” Det-Supt. Fielke said.

Det-Supt. Fielke also said the opportunity for anyone to abduct Gus was “extremely low” given the number of gates on the property that are regularly locked and secured by station owners and property owners in the area.

“There were no vehicles foreign to the area at Oak Park Station that have been identified by either the property owners themselves or the neighbouring properties at the time that Gus went missing.”

Det-Supt. Fielke explained that if a vehicle was in the area, dust would have been seen in the air.

“There was no dust, no sighting of any vehicle at the time Gus went missing. There’s been no foreign tracks located arriving or leaving the property.”

“We have found no evidence to suggest that Gus was abducted from the property.”

Det-Supt. Fielke also said those with a risk profile associated with abduction or child offending have been discounted from the investigation.

“We have identified and spoken to neighbours and people who were or had been working on Oak Park Station or neighbouring properties at around the time of Gus’s disappearance. We have identified people and vehicles in the vicinity of or travelling around the area of Oak Park Station at the time of Gus’s disappearance. All of those people have been contacted and discounted,” he said.

“We’re all focused and determined to locate Gus and return him to his parents. Nothing is off the table as we work towards that outcome.”

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.