Gus Lamont: Record reward announced for information days ahead of anniversary of little boy’s disappearance
Authorities have provided an update as the first anniversary of the young boy’s disappearance approaches.
A record $1 million reward has been offered for information that helps police find missing boy Gus Lamont or leads to a criminal conviction as the first anniversary of his disappearance approaches.
South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas announced the unprecedented reward on Wednesday, declaring the State Government and police would “spare no expense” in the search for answers about what happened to the little boy.
“The highest ever reward ever issued in the state’s history is $1 million,” Mr Malinauskas said.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“Today we match that effort and put in place a $1 million reward for anyone that is able to provide information that results in us finding Gus or learning more about Gus’s circumstances that leads to a finding of a body or resulting in a criminal conviction.”
The Premier said the reward had been established following a request from South Australia Police as the investigation approaches the one-year mark.
“Justice needs to be done here one way or another,” he said.
“We send a crystal clear signal to anyone in the community that if you know something, you’ve got to speak.
“You’ve got to speak. You’ve got to let South Australian Police know what you know so that they can do justice in the name of Gus.”
Mr Malinauskas praised investigators working on the case, saying police had not only thrown resources at the investigation but had “thrown their souls at it”.
The extraordinary reward was announced just four days before the grim anniversary of Gus’ disappearance from Oak Park Station, near Yunta, on September 27 last year.
Gus, then four, was reported missing after he was last seen playing outside the homestead at the sprawling property, where his grandparents Josie and Shannon Murray live.
Despite what became the largest and most intensive missing-person search ever undertaken by South Australia Police, they have found no trace of the little boy.
The anniversary comes after a dramatic shift in the investigation this year, with police declaring Gus’ disappearance a major crime in February and revealing they believed someone known to him was involved in his disappearance and likely death.
Police have repeatedly stressed Gus’ parents, Jessica Murray and Joshua Lamont, are not suspects.
“One of the grandparents of Gus remains a suspect in this investigation,” Det-Supt Fielke said in May.
“At this time, no other suspects or persons of interest have been identified in this investigation.”
Police did not publicly identify which grandparent they suspected.
However, in an exclusive 7News Spotlight interview earlier this year Josie Murray publicly identified herself as the focus of the police investigation and strongly denied any involvement in her grandson’s disappearance.
“They’ve said they don’t think I’ve hurt him, they think that I’ve buried him – that’s one of the theories they’re working on,” she said.
“For so many reasons it’s ludicrous. It doesn’t make sense. Why would you do that to yourself?”
Ms Murray instead believes her grandson may have been taken from the isolated property.
Speaking exclusively to 7News again this week, she pleaded for answers and urged police to stop treating her as a suspect.
“For me to know that they’re wasting their time and that time would be better spent trying to find out what did happen to him is enormously frustrating,” she said.
“I think he has to have been taken – nothing else makes sense.”
She has also revealed the family plans to search wedge-tailed eagle nests around the property.
“The eagle aspect should be looked at,” she said.
“I mean, that is certainly, it’s highly unlikely, but it’s not impossible.”
The search for Gus have involved hundreds of police, emergency personnel, Australian Defence Force members, volunteers and specialists.
Police have searched dams, mine shafts, waterways, wells, bores, outbuildings and vast areas of rugged terrain, while helicopters, drones and specialised aircraft have searched from above.
Investigators have also used artificial intelligence to analyse aerial imagery
Almost one after Gus vanished, no one has been charged in relation to his disappearance and his whereabouts remain unknown.
The Nightly has reached out to Gus’ grandparents, via their lawyers, for comment.
