The disappearance of four-year-old Gus Lamont from a remote property in South Australia remains one of the country’s most perplexing and heartbreaking cases.

Despite extensive search efforts involving South Australian Police, ADF members, SES volunteers, trackers and local property owners, to find the young boy, his whereabouts remains a mystery.

The land and air search for Gus was scaled back from a rescue to recovery on October 3, just hours after a photo of Gus was released by the family.

Last week, South Australia Police released a statement, revealing the search for Gus would resume, with officers draining the dam on the family’s homestead on Friday to rule out the possibility Gus may have drowned.

No trace of the four-year-old was found in the dam.

With drowning ruled out in that body of water, and Gus still missing, it leaves more questions than answers about his sudden disappearance.

As the search continues, here are five key questions that remain unanswered.

1. Where did Gus go after he was last seen?

According to reports, Gus was last seen playing near his grandparents’ homestead at Oak Park Station, 40km south of Yunta, at around 5pm on September 27. He had been playing in a mound of dirt before disappearing without a trace. Police were called to the property when grandparents went to check on him and discovered he had disappeared.

The young boy had vanished without a trace, with the only evidence left behind being a single footprint, which was found approximately 500m from the homestead.

His sudden disappearance and lack of further evidence has sparked intense online speculation about whether he could have wandered off or if something more sinister is at play.

2. Why was there only one footprint found, and why has it been cast into doubt?

The footprint, found less than a kilometre away from the homestead, is the only physical evidence of Gus’s movement since he went missing. However, SA police have cast doubt on the significance of the footprint, noting that it is unclear whether it was even an accurate trace of Gus’s steps.

This could be for a number of reasons, Superintendent Mark Syrus noted in an address to the media. It is very windy in Yunta, which could play a role in only one footprint being found. He also pointed out that “no suggestion of anything is suspicious”.

The absence of additional clues, especially given the vast size of the remote property, has sparked widespread speculation. Why has no other trace of Gus been found despite the extensive search of the surrounding area?

The fact that only one footprint was found could suggest that Gus was lifted up or possibly taken away in a vehicle. However, police are confident that Gus was on the property and has not been taken, with task force horizon conducting multiple lines of inquiry which has not uncovered any evidence of foul play.

3. Could Gus have been abducted despite the police ruling out foul play?

In the absence of any concrete evidence, one theory circulating online is the possibility of abduction.

Although police have ruled out foul play, many believe that someone may have taken Gus, given the lack of any clear explanation for his disappearance.

“The overwhelming sentiment online is one of unease,” one person claiming to be a local resident said online.

“People are questioning why the investigation hasn’t explored this possibility more thoroughly.”

With no signs of a struggle or physical evidence indicating Gus left of his own accord, communities online have continued to fan speculation that there could be more to this case.

Deputy Commissioner Williams said the case “deserves an awful lot of attention in terms of the resources that are put to that search”.

“This is a four-year-old. Four-year-olds don’t pack up their bags and run away from home,” she said.

“They don’t seek to change their identity and they’re not running away from the law … so I think there’s a massive difference between a child and an adult who goes missing, especially one who can’t form an intent to run away.”

4. Why was the search scaled back to a recovery operation so early in the process?

The police search for Gus was called off and scaled back from a rescue operation to a recovery mission on day seven of the young boy’s disappearance.

“In the initial stages, police had hoped to find Gus alive, but sadly the search has become a recovery operation”, SA Police said in a statement.

SA Police Assistant Commissioner Ian Parrott explained that this decision was made based on scientific advice.

“This is based on scientific advice, professional advice, that we get about how long it would be possible for a four-year-old to survive in that terrain with the weather conditions and the clothing that he was wearing at the time. Whilst we have all been hoping for a miracle, that miracle has not eventuated and the last 48 hours, despite the professional advice, it would be unlikely that Gus would have survived.”

Police have also gone to great lengths to emphasise the idea that Gus had indeed wandered away from the homestead and at all times, the search and investigation has been viewed as a missing persons operation.

The shift in strategy was controversial and raised questions, especially online.

Why was the decision made so quickly, especially given that Gus had only been missing for about a week? Did the early scaling back of the search impact the chances of finding him alive, or was it simply a reflection of the harsh realities of the conditions?

5. Is Gus hidden or trapped?

One theory gaining traction among locals is that Gus could be trapped or hidden somewhere on the vast property. With the terrain known for its deep, expansive wombat holes, some suggest Gus may have wandered into one of these burrows and become trapped underground.

“I have this sickly feeling he’s fallen into a wombat burrow,” one person wrote online. While there has been no evidence to support this theory, it remains a haunting possibility in a case already full of mysteries.

Search for Gus continues

As the search for Gus Lamont stretches into months, the unanswered questions surrounding his disappearance only grow. Whether he wandered off, was taken, or is trapped in an unexpected place, his family and the local community are desperately awaiting answers.

Anyone with information is urged to contact police, as investigators continue to work through a case full of unknowns. Gus’s family is holding out hope that, despite the uncertainty, they will eventually find their beloved boy.

SOURCE: https://thenightly.com.au/australia/south-australia/gus-lamont-five-unanswered-questions-in-the-mysterious-disappearance-of-yunta-four-year-old-c-20568449