A major search for a four-year-old boy who went missing in the Australian outback is currently ongoing.
August Lamont, who is also known as Gus, went missing in remote Australia more than five days ago, with the toddler last seen playing in sand at his family’s sheep station, about 40km south of Yunta on Saturday (27 September).
South Australian police released a photo of the four-year-old boy, with a huge search involving police, volunteers, rescue teams, and skilled trackers underway.
Gus's family says they are 'devastated' by the little boy's disappearance, saying in a statement released by South Australia police (via Sky News): "This has come as a shock to our family and friends, and we are struggling to comprehend what has happened.
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"Gus' 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."
The outlet further reports that members of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) have joined the search, with Yorke Mid North Superintendent Mark Syrus stating that the police have grave concerns for the boy.
“A four-year-old doesn’t disappear into thin air, he has to be somewhere,” he said on Thursday (2 October).
“Hopefully, he’s hanging in there alive, but we are now in recovery phase, and the fact he’s been gone over 100 hours and six days, that’s a long time to be out in the elements.”
Syrus also said that the police were offering support to Gus’ family to help them during this tragic period, as he further confirmed that they were not being treated as suspicious in the youngster's disappearance as the investigation continues.
“Today, we have brought up our victim contact officer from Port Pirie, she’s amazing, and she has spent the morning talking to the family,” he said.
“They (the family) don’t get many visitors up here. It is very tough for them because they like the isolation and over the last six days, they’ve had every day over a 100 people in the area being a part of their lives.”
The search has yielded some results, as a 'prominent' footprint believed to be a child's was discovered around 500m from the family's home, as Syrus told ABC Radio: "We can positively identify that it’s from a child and it’s a very similar boot pattern to what Gus was wearing when he went missing, so that’s a pretty significant find for us."
According to an earlier police statement, Gus was last seen wearing a grey sunhat, a blue t-shirt, light grey pants, and boots.
However, Syrus said that they've also counselled his family to expect the worst just in case, as he continued: "This is a young boy without food, water, shelter for that period of time, so it is going to be pretty tough on that little lad.
"We’re preparing the family for the fact that we may be moving from a search effort to a recovery.”
Topics: Australia, World News
James Moorhouse