The family of August ‘Gus’ Lamont has spoken publicly for the first time since police called off a massive search for the missing four-year-old.

Little Gus vanished from his family’s Oak Park Station homestead near Yunta on September 27, triggering one of the most intensive and protracted search efforts ever undertaken by South Australian police.

He was last seen by his grandmother in a blue Minions shirt playing outside on a mound of dirt about 5pm. When she went looking for him half an hour later he was gone.

Nearly two weeks on and with no sign of the shy but adventurous little boy, police have told Gus’ family it’s unlikely he has survived due to the passage of time, his age and the nature of the terrain where he went missing.

The search was one of the largest ever undertaken by South Australia Police, covering 47,000ha. Credit: SAPOL

The case has now been handed over to the missing persons investigation section.

But Gus’ grandparent Josie Murray is not giving up on finding him, telling the Daily Mail the family is still searching.

With no sign of the shy but adventurous little boy, police have told Gus’ family it’s unlikely he has survived. Credit: SAPOL

Alex Thomas, who grew up on a station 75km from Yunta, revealed to The Advertiser on Wednesday that the tragedy had shaken the entire rural community.

“It’s painful because of the trauma the situation is inflicting on one of our own, alongside those who know the family and the wider rural community,” she said.

“Anyone who’s ever lived on the land is feeling this pain because it could have been any of our children.”

She also pleaded for an end to speculation about Gus’ disappearance.

“I really want to gently inform people about the realities of rural life and ask them for their compassion and understanding,” she told the Advertiser.

“Because this family – this gentle and loving family – they’re not headlines, they are not a spectacle.

“They are real people who are hurting beyond belief.”