Where is Gus? Search for missing four-year-old boy who vanished in the outback with a trace enters its seventh day as police make heartbreaking admission

More trackers have been brought in as police make a heartbreaking admission about the desperate search for a four-year-old boy missing in the South Australian outback.

August ‘Gus’ Lamont vanished on Saturday from his grandparents’ remote homestead, about 40 kilometres south of Yunta. 

Hundreds of searchers have scoured the red dust and scrub, but the only trace of Gus is a single footprint discovered about 500 metres from the property’s homestead, which police have since cast doubt on. 

The large-scale search will enter its seventh day on Friday after police admitted it’s now a recovery mission rather than a rescue.

It comes as the first photo of the little boy was released by the family on Thursday.

Local goat herder Royce Player has a ‘gut feeling’ that Gus is still in the vicinity.

He joined the search in the hope that his intimate knowledge of the land would bring a fresh perspective and lead searchers to Gus.

‘It’s very easy to miss a four-year-old who isn’t very big,’ Mr Player told reporters.

‘It doesn’t hurt (for someone) to backtrack and go over the tracks again. Especially in this weather at night it’s frozen here — it’s the coldest place in South Australia. 

‘A little boy lost — wants his mum.

‘I reckon he’s still here somewhere; it’s my gut feeling.’

On Thursday, police conceded it was unrealistic to expect a four-year-old to survive six days alone in the bush without food, water, or shelter.

‘A four-year-old doesn’t disappear into thin air, he has to be somewhere,’ Superintendent Mark Syrus said.

‘Hopefully he’s hanging in there alive, but we are now in the 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.’

‘We always believe Gus is a tough little country lad,’ Supt Syrus said. 

‘He may be curled up under a bush somewhere, and we’re determined to find him.’

Police have cast doubt on the child’s footprint found on Tuesday, 500m from the homestead.

‘Now that we know that we can’t find any other footprints around the place – that (footprint) could have been there a week,’ Supt Syrus said.

‘Our tracker drove around the property trying to look for some clues … he could find some cat prints and fox prints, but no little boy’s prints so that really just refocused our search back to the property.’

Police have thrown everything at the search for Gus, including specialist divers to check water tanks and dams, infrared cameras, dogs, ATVs, and drones.

Police do not believe Gus has been taken, as the only people who travel on the nearby road are station owners.

Despite police warning it is unlikely he will be found alive, survivalist and Alone Australia Season one runner-up Michael Atkinson believes Gus is still alive and urged emergency responders to continue the search until the boy is found.

The former ADF pilot pointed out that, having grown up on the property, Gus would be comfortable in his surroundings, adding that farm kids are often more resilient.

‘The kid’s background is a hugely important factor, in some ways being young is actually an advantage because you don’t realise the seriousness,’ Atkinson told the Adelaide Advertiser.

‘Having a hat is important, as it keeps your head warm and, if you look at the time of year, it is probably the best time of year as it’s not too hot or cold,’ Atkinson said.

He said Gus would be able to survive without water at this time of year, adding that many have gone much longer.

‘Robert Bogucki went 12 days with no water in Broome, so dehydration-wise he (Gus) wouldn’t be doing it at a fast rate compared to other times of year,’ he said.

Atkinson urged authorities to continue aerial patrols every night.

‘He could be hiding under a bush not seen from one angle, but he could be captured from another,’ he said. 

One local told Daily Mail that little Gus may have fallen into a mine.

‘I would be more worried about the unmarked wells and mines he may have fallen into,’ he said. ‘That’s the talk [among locals].’

The state’s north-east pastoral district is dotted with mines and wells from a bygone era well over 100 years ago – and many of the region’s station owners are still stumbling across them to this day.

They were used as water sources for livestock and for those ‘chasing the gold dream’ back in the day, according to our source.

Many of these sinister holes are virtually invisible to an adult’s naked eye – much less a meandering child’s.

The source said it is highly unlikely a boy so small could have wandered the 40km to the Barrier Highway – a notorious, a 1000km desolate stretch of Outback road that connects South Australia to New South Wales, mostly frequented by lonely truckies.

‘If he made the highway, I’d hate to think who picked him up,’ said the source.

Anyone with information that may assist police is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.