LITTLE GUS LAMONT VANISHED WITHOUT A TRACE — ONE YEAR LATER, HIS FAMILY IS STILL DESPERATE FOR ANSWERS

Nearly one year after four-year-old Gus Lamont disappeared from his family’s remote South Australian property, his parents are still waiting for the answer that could finally bring their little boy home.

Gus vanished from Oak Park Station near Yunta, South Australia, on September 27, 2025.

Now, as the anniversary of his disappearance approaches, police have offered a A$1 million reward for information that leads to the conviction of the person or people responsible for his disappearance, or to the recovery of his remains.

“WE ARE DESPERATE TO HAVE HIM RETURNED HOME”

Gus’s parents, Jess and Josh Lamont, made an emotional public appeal this week, saying they believe someone knows what happened to their son.

“We are desperate to have him returned home to us and we are desperate for answers,” Josh said in a message released by South Australia Police.

Jess said the family had now endured an entire year without knowing where Gus was.

“An entire year without any answers is upon us,” she said.

She described her son as a “beautiful, sweet, unique little boy” who loved music, listening to stories and playing in nature.

The passing of time has also meant heartbreaking milestones that Gus never got to experience.

He missed his fifth birthday, while his younger brother has also reached important milestones without him.

“One of the most heartbreaking things is that Gus and his little brother will not grow up and share their lives together,” Jess said.

T

HE DAY GUS DISAPPEARED

Gus was last seen on the family’s property at around 5 p.m. on September 27, 2025.

Police were told that his grandmother called him inside at approximately 5:30 p.m., but the four-year-old was gone.

At the time, Gus was wearing a blue T-shirt with a yellow Minion design, grey sunhat, light-grey pants and boots.

The property is in an isolated part of South Australia, around 40 kilometres south of Yunta.

A massive search followed.

Emergency services, SES personnel, Australian Defence Force members, volunteers, drones and helicopters were involved, with searches covering an area of approximately 94 square kilometres.

But Gus was never found.

POLICE NOW BELIEVE GUS IS NOT ALIVE

The investigation changed dramatically in February 2026.

South Australia Police declared Gus’s disappearance a major crime and revealed that a person who had lived at Oak Park Station had become a suspect.

Police stressed that Gus’s parents were not suspects.

Detective Superintendent Darren Fielke also said investigators had identified “inconsistencies and discrepancies” involving the timeline and accounts provided during the investigation.

Police said they had considered three possibilities: that Gus was still alive, that he had been abducted by an unknown person, or that someone known to him was involved.

Investigators later ruled out the possibility that Gus was still alive.

Police have not publicly established exactly what happened to him, and no remains have been recovered.

TWO FAMILY MEMBERS NO LONGER COOPERATING

In March, police confirmed that two family members were communicating with investigators only through their lawyers.

Authorities declined to say whether there were multiple suspects.

The families’ lawyers disputed the characterization that their clients were refusing to cooperate, with one grandmother’s lawyer saying she was cooperating through her solicitor.

In June, Gus’s grandmother Josie Murray spoke publicly for the first time.

She said she had been interviewed by police but had never been charged.

Murray also revealed that Gus had previously wandered away from the property on another occasion and that she had eventually found him.

The disclosure added another layer to a case that has remained filled with unanswered questions.

A $1 MILLION SEARCH FOR THE TRUTH

On September 23, as the one-year anniversary approached, the South Australian government announced a A$1 million reward.

The reward is available for information leading to the conviction of the person or people responsible for Gus’s disappearance and/or the recovery of his remains.

Within a day of the announcement, police said Crime Stoppers had received 34 calls and two emails containing information.

Investigators said all reports would be assessed and followed up where appropriate.

“SOMEONE KNOWS SOMETHING”

For Gus’s parents, the reward represents another chance that someone with crucial information may finally come forward.

“We believe that someone knows something,” Josh said.

“Someone knows what happened to Gus, and may even know where he is.”

The family has spent almost a year living with uncertainty — without a body, without a confirmed explanation and without the chance to properly bring their son home.

Gus was only four years old when he disappeared.

His family is now hoping that the A$1 million reward will finally provide the information investigators need to answer the question that has haunted them for a year:

What happened to little Gus?