‘Leave a light on for Gus’: South Australians unite in heartbreak as search ends for missing boy

Police have made the agonising decision to scale back the search for missing four-year-old August “Gus” Lamont, saying they’ve done “absolutely everything we can” to find the little boy.

Gus was last seen playing on a mound of dirt outside his family’s remote sheep station, about 40km south of Yunta in South Australia’s Mid North, around 5pm last Saturday, September 28.

When his grandmother went to call him in just 30 minutes later, he was gone.

What followed was one of the largest and most intense missing persons operations in South Australian history — a week-long effort involving police, SES, volunteers, and the Australian Army, scouring the vast and unforgiving terrain by air and ground of the Lamont’s 60,000ha property.

Despite a footprint being discovered on Tuesday 500 metres from where Gus was last seen, Assistant Commissioner Ian Parrott confirmed on Friday that no further significant evidence had emerged.

“Whilst we’ve all been hoping for a miracle, that miracle has not eventuated,” Parrott said.

“We’re confident that we’ve done absolutely everything we can to locate Gus within the search area.”

Parrott said the chance of finding Gus alive was diminishing, but police would not stop investigating.

“We will continue to follow every line of inquiry. We won’t stop.”

Gus’s family describe him as a shy but adventurous child — a good walker, though he had never left the property before.

Now, as the search winds down, South Australians were asked to leave a light on — a glowing show of support for Gus and his heartbroken outback family.

Gus is Caucasian with long blonde curly hair.

He was last seen wearing a grey sun hat, cobalt blue long-sleeve shirt with a yellow Minion on the front, light grey pants and boots.

Anyone with any information is urged to contact the police.