Authorities have announced a reward of up to $1 million for information that helps locate Gus Lamont, nearly a year after the four-year-old vanished from a remote South Australian sheep station.
Gus was last seen playing near the homestead, about 40 kilometres south of Yunta, on September 27. Extensive searches by ground crews and aircraft have failed to locate the boy.
South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas said the disappearance had “shocked our nation” as he unveiled the substantial reward, aimed at helping Gus’s family finally obtain answers.
“If you know something, you’ve got to speak,” Mr Malinauskas said on Wednesday. “You’ve got to let South Australian Police know what you know so they can do justice in the name of Gus.”
Gus’s parents, Josh and Jess, released an emotional video statement describing the pain of still not knowing what happened to their son. It was the first time his father had spoken publicly about the case.
Detective Superintendent Darren Fielke said investigators had conducted a fresh review of aerial images covering the search area and found “some anomalies”.
He also confirmed that one of Gus’s grandparents continues to be treated as a suspect in the investigation.
“As you’re aware, I’ve previously stated one of the grandparents is a suspect in our investigation,” Detective Superintendent Fielke said.
A reward of up to $1 million is available for information that helps authorities locate Gus Lamont, almost a year after his disappearance
The four-year-old was last seen playing near the remote homestead, about 40km south of Yunta, on September 27; search teams scoured the area last year
“That has not changed, but I’m not going today to make any further comment or elaborate on the suspect in this investigation.”
In their video message, Jess said the family’s grief had deepened with every passing day. “We love him more than words can convey, and every single day without him has been incredibly difficult,” she said. “Our heartache only grows as time passes, and an entire year without any answers is upon us.”
Josh said the family was desperate to have Gus come home and urged anyone with information to contact police. “We believe that someone knows something,” he said. “Someone knows what happened to Gus and may even know where he is.”
Detective Superintendent Fielke, from the Major Crime Investigation Branch, said the reward was consistent with payments offered in other high-profile missing children investigations.
“There is a reward now available of up to $1 million to be paid to anyone with information that leads to the conviction of persons responsible for Gus’s disappearance and/or the location of his remains,” he said.
“One million dollars is a life-changing amount of money for someone. Now is the time to come forward.”
He thanked the government for its support and said police would continue doing everything possible to find Gus and reunite him with his family.
In February, police said they believed Gus may have been killed, either deliberately or accidentally, by someone known to him before he was reported missing.
Despite widespread searches by land and air, there has been no sign of the missing boy
Investigators said the suspect lived at Oak Park Station, around 300 kilometres north of Adelaide, and was known to Gus.
They also said the person was not his mother, Jessica Murray, or his father, Joshua Lamont, who lived at Belalie North, a two-hour drive away.
As the one-year anniversary of his disappearance approaches, Gus’s grandmother, Josie Murray, said the family will search eagle nests on the outback property.
‘The eagle aspect should be looked at,’ she told 7News. ‘It’s highly unlikely, but it’s not impossible.’
It comes as Ms Murray revealed she believes Gus was abducted from the homestead because ‘nothing else makes sense.’
‘It brings me to tears that he’s not here… Just down here. And then that was the last he was seen, and after that he just disappeared,’ she said, directing TV cameras to the area where Gus was playing on the afternoon he disappeared.
She also issued a plea for police not to treat her as a suspect.
‘For me to know they are wasting their time, and their time would be better spent trying to find out what did happen to him, is enormously frustrating,’ she said.
Gus’s grandparents both live at and own the station.
Josie later confirmed that police had told her she was the main suspect in the case. She has consistently maintained her innocence.
No charges have been laid and no arrests have been made.
