Gus Lamont’s heartbroken parents reveal ‘darkest days of our lives’ as police investigation intensifies

Gus Lamont’s devastated parents have broken their silence, releasing new images of their four-year-old son and issuing a desperate plea for answers nearly five months after he vanished.

The beautiful little boy with blonde curly hair disappeared from Oak Park Station — a remote South Australian sheep station where his grandparents live — on September 27.

On Tuesday, his parents Jessica and Joshua Lamont issued an emotional plea as police investigations continue.

“We are united in our grief and we are united in our search for answers about what happened to our little boy, Gus, who means everything to us,” they said.

“Our lives have been shattered and every moment without him is unbearable.

“We know someone out there may have information. If someone knows what happened, we are pleading with that person – or anyone who may have seen or heard anything – to please come forward.

“Even the smallest detail could give us the answers we so desperately need.”

The couple also released fresh footage and a new photograph of Gus to assist investigators.

In the image, Gus sits perched on the edge of his car seat, loose blonde curls framing his face as he gazes out the window. A large dog sits in the child’s car seat behind him.

And in the video, a barefoot Gus rides a balance bike along a dirt track on the farm as the sun sets behind him in the background.

“We also want to express our deepest gratitude to everyone involved in the search for Gus,” his parents said.

“The tireless efforts of police, emergency services, ADF personnel, volunteers and specialists have meant more to us than we can ever say.

“To the friends, family and supporters who have shown such compassion, concern and assistance during this heartbreaking time: thank you. Your kindness has helped carry us through the darkest days of our lives.

“All we want is to bring Gus home and understand what happened to our beautiful boy.”

Their appeal comes as Task Force Horizon investigations continue and police activity intensifies at Oak Park Station, a remote pastoral property about 43 kilometres south of Yunta in the state’s north-east.

Last week, detectives returned to the isolated property to conduct further searches for evidence related to Gus’s disappearance.

During that operation, one of Gus’s grandparents – Josie Murray – was charged with firearm offences.

“As a result of a previous search at Oak Park Station, Task Force Horizon detectives have today arrested a 75-year-old from Grampus and charged them with firearm offences,” police said.

Acting Officer in Charge of Major Crime Investigation Branch Detective Inspector Andrew Macrae stressed the charges were not related to Gus’s disappearance or to a separate incident in October involving media at the property.

Ms Murray is accused of possessing a prohibited ‘silencer’ or firearm sound moderator, also known as a suppressor.

Ms Murray was granted bail and is set to appear in the Peterborough Magistrates Court on May 6.

Earlier this month, South Australia Police declared Gus’s disappearance a major crime.

At a February 5 press conference, Major Crime Investigation Branch officer-in-charge Detective Superintendent Darren Fielke revealed investigators had eliminated the possibilities that Gus wandered off or that he was abducted.

Instead, police now believe he was killed “either deliberately or accidentally” by someone known to him.

He confirmed investigators had identified a suspect “known to Gus” who lives at Oak Park Station, but stressed Gus’s parents were not suspects.

In January police executed search warrants at the remote property, conducted a “comprehensive forensic search of the homestead” and seized a vehicle, a motorcycle and electronic devices for forensic testing.

Police say Gus was last seen about 5pm on September 27, playing in the sand outside the homestead at the 60,000-hectare property, about 43 kilometres south of Yunta.

His grandmother Shannon Murray was inside caring for Gus’s one-year-old brother when she went to call him in at about 5.30pm and could not find him.

After searching the property themselves, family members contacted police at about 8.30pm. Officers arrived around 9.30pm and immediately launched a search, assisted by a helicopter using infrared technology.

No trace of Gus was found.

In the months since, the operation has become one of the largest missing-person searches ever undertaken in South Australia.

Despite the extraordinary search efforts, police say they found no evidence that Gus wandered from the property and no evidence he was abducted from the uniquely isolated property.

Further searches are anticipated at Oak Park Station and at a nearby national park.

Nearly five months on, no one has been charged over Gus’s disappearance.

His body has not been found.

The investigation, conducted by Task Force Horizon, continues.