Fresh and disturbing revelations have surfaced regarding the vanishing of four year old Gus Lamont, who disappeared without trace from an isolated sheep station in the Australian outback almost a year ago.
Gus Lamont was last spotted playing outdoors at his family’s sheep station, Oak Park Station, near Yunta, in the Australian Outback on September 27.
An exhaustive search mission has thus far failed to locate any sign of the spirited youngster on the vast South Australian sheep farm – which spans approximately 3.5 times the area of Manchester or double the size of Edinburgh, Scotland.
One of his grandparents had left him unattended for roughly 30 minutes before discovering he had vanished completely.
Gus’ disappearance has subsequently developed into one of South Australia’s most extensive land and aerial search operations in history, reports the Mirror.
Now, speaking publicly for the first time since the incident, Gus’ grandmother Josie Murray has disclosed that the little lad had previously gone missing on the remote outback property.
View 2 ImagesJosie Murray(Image: 7News)
In an interview forming part of a significant joint investigation by 7NEWS and its specialist in-depth investigation programme Spotlight, the 75 year old recounted a terrifying episode where Gus had wandered away and couldn’t be located. “Shan had taken him down to the Shearer’s quarters while Jess and I were out mustering and he had wandered off… Shan couldn’t find him when she was going to come home,” Murray told 7NEWS Spotlight in the tell-all interview to air on Sunday at 8.30pm (local time).
The interview also reveals fresh details about the vital hours following Gus’s disappearance last September, with relatives disclosing their account of events for the first time.
Ms Murray remembered arriving back at the homestead at approximately 5.30pm after working with sheep on the property. She said another grandparent, Shannon, informed them Gus had been playing outside near what the family calls the “bomb shelter plane”.
However, when they searched, there was no trace of him.
“We said to Shannon, ‘When did you last see him?’ And she said, ‘Five o’clock’,” Ms Murray remembered.
“And so in that half-hour timeframe, he disappeared.”
The family’s initial concern was that Gus might have tumbled into a cellar that was under construction nearby. “We immediately were a little bit concerned about the cellar we were building, because it was possible he could have fallen down there,” she said.
The location was swiftly examined, but there was nothing to indicate the boy had been there.
“There was no sign that he’d been down there, no blood on the concrete floor, nothing.”
As alarm grew, family members scattered across the enormous property checking dams, water tanks, sheds and neighbouring buildings before nightfall arrived. Ms Murray reckons the initial emergency call was placed around 8pm to notify authorities that young Gus had gone missing.
Following little Gus’s disappearance, South Australia Police launched comprehensive searches across the region, spanning approximately 470 square kilometres surrounding his residence at the Oak Park station homestead.
Come late October, a 12-strong taskforce was established to pursue the investigation further, examining earlier testimonies from family members which “identified a number of inconsistencies and discrepancies” regarding the timeline of the lad’s vanishing.
In March, authorities confirmed that Gus Lamont’s relatives are refusing to assist the South Australian constabulary.
Legal representatives for two grandparents of the missing four year old have issued statements after South Australia’s police commissioner alleged that certain family members have ceased cooperating with enquiries into the child’s disappearance.
Gus’s grandparent Josie Murray has enlisted prominent Adelaide criminal barrister Andrew Ey. When questioned by South Australian daily publication The Advertiser about whether his client wanted to address the commissioner’s remarks, Mr Ey stated there would be “no further comment at this stage”.
Meanwhile, distinguished defence solicitor Casey Isaacs is representing Gus’s grandmother Shannon Murray. Mr Isaacs similarly informed the Advertiser that his client “is co-operating through her solicitor”.
When the case was elevated to a major crime investigation on February 5, Detective Superintendent Darren Fielke disclosed that someone residing at the property had withdrawn their cooperation and was now being considered as a suspect.
Throughout the investigation, Josie Murray told 7News she was questioned by police but never faced charges.
Looking back on the traumatic experience, she remarked: “We say ‘how, why’… we just can’t believe it.
“To be accused of doing something like this… you could not wish a more horrible experience on anyone.”
The 7News Spotlight programme will feature crime correspondents from the broadcaster’s specialist investigation unit as they piece together the chronology of Gus’ vanishing and scrutinise the numerous unresolved questions that persist around one of Australia’s most perplexing missing persons mysteries.
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Spotlight presenter Michael Usher commented: “This is the interview that could provide answers to the many questions being asked about the disappearance of little Gus.
“His grandmother has never spoken before, but in an extraordinary set of circumstances has now given her first interview.”
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