Gus Lamont: Eleventh-hour twist in court appearance for missing child’s grandmother Josie Murray

Gus Lamont’s grandmother will no longer appear in a regional court this week after her case was rescheduled to be heard in Adelaide.

Josie Murray was due to face Peterborough Magistrates Court on Wednesday morning on a charge of possessing an illegal firearm silencer, which is allegedly compatible with one of her registered weapons.

In an eleventh-hour development on Tuesday evening, the 75-year-old’s scheduled appearance was vacated, 7NEWS Adelaide reported.

The matter has instead been adjourned to a mention hearing at Adelaide Magistrates Court in June.

Police charged Ms Murray two months ago after allegedly discovering the weapon during a follow-up search at Oak Park Station, where officers returned to gather evidence linked to the investigation into Gus’ disappearance.

Authorities have stated the charge is not connected to the missing child case.

The offence is classified as aggravated and carries a maximum penalty of up to a $75,000 fine or 15 years imprisonment.

Ms Murray’s four-year-old grandson Gus vanished from his family’s remote outback sheep station in the South Australian town of Yunta on September 27, 2025.

The little boy was reported to be last seen about 5pm playing on a mound of dirt at the homestead about 319 kilometres north-east of Adelaide before he disappeared.

A large-scale search involving drones, helicopters, mounted officers, ground crews and Indigenous trackers was launched at the 60,000-hectare site.

Despite several large-scale searches, including draining a dam, examining mine shafts and combing surrounding areas, the only clue that has been uncovered is a footprint that was located about 500m from the homestead.

In February, after following multiple lines of inquiry, police confirmed they no longer believed the four-year-old had wandered off or been abducted

The case was elevated to a major crime investigation, with police identifying a person known to the family as a suspect, while confirming Gus’ parents were not under suspicion.

Police have previously said they believe Gus was most likely killed, either accidentally or deliberately, by someone known to him.

The last-minute court development comes after South Australian police provided an update on little Gus’ disappearance on Monday.

Police said the hunt for answers was still active but admitted there had been no major breakthroughs in the search for the four-year-old.

SA Police Commissioner Grant Stevens acknowledged the distress the case has caused both the family and the wider community.

“This is one of those tragic stories that we would like to be able to provide more clarity to — not just family members who are severely affected by the disappearance of Gus, but the broader community,” he said.

“But we don’t have any further updates at this point in time. The taskforce operating within Major Crime Investigation Branch are continuing their work. I’ve not had a specific update in regard to their activities for the last couple of weeks.”

Mr Stevens added that police will return to the property “at some time in the future” but no date has been set.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.