Police will begin a fresh search for four-year-old Gus today, two months after he disappeared, after discovering six unsealed mine shafts on the family property.
A new search is underway for four-year-old Gus Lamont, nearly two months after he vanished on his family’s property in remote South Australia.
Police will search six unsealed, unfenced mine shafts on Oak Park Station, about 40km south of Yunta, on Tuesday morning.
The search team was not previously aware of the shafts, which are located between 5.5 and 12km from the homestead in areas not previously searched.
Officers are expected to spend the next three days searching the area.
Gus Lamont was last seen at Oak Park Station on September 27.
Gus was last seen playing in sand on his family’s sheep station at about 5pm on September 27.
His disappearance sparked an enormous search effort involving dozens of police, volunteers and rescue teams scouring the surrounding countryside and nearby waterways.
Gus was wearing a long-sleeved shirt, boots, a hat and long pants when he went missing.
“Four-year-olds, they drop everything,” Yorke Mid North Superintendent Mark Syrus said in early October.
“The fact we haven’t found a hat or a shoe or something is pretty unusual.”
The new search is the first since police drained a dam about 600m from the homestead in late October.
The dam at Oak Park station were drained in late October to rule out the possibility Gus had fallen in and drowned. Picture: Dean Martin
The draining of the dam, which was about 4.5m deep, allowed police to rule out the possibility the four-year-old had fallen in and drowned.
There has not been any evidence of foul play, and police say the Lamont family have continued to co-operate fully with the investigation.
There have been several detailed searches of the property since the four-year-old’s disappearance. Picture: Dean Martin
Gus’s family released a statement through police on September 30, expressing their devastation at the little boy’s disappearance.
“We are devastated by the disappearance of our beloved Gus on Saturday afternoon,” the statement read.
“This has come as a shock to our family and friends, and we are struggling to comprehend what has happened.
“Gus’s absence is felt in all of us, and we miss him more than words can express. Our hearts are aching, and we are holding onto hope that he will be found and returned to us safely.
“We are incredibly grateful to the South Australia Police, emergency services and the many organisations and community members, neighbours and friends who have come together to help find Gus.”
