Suspect identified in disappearance of four-year-old in Australian outback

As of February 5, 2026, there has been no official report identifying a suspect in the disappearance of August “Gus” Lamont, the four-year-old boy who went missing from his family’s remote outback property in South Australia in October 2025. 

Gus was last seen on October 5, 2025, at the Oak Park Station near Yunta in South Australia’s mid-north.

Despite an extensive multi-agency search involving police, the SES, and the Australian Defence Force, authorities found no trace of the boy.

Search efforts were scaled back and eventually transitioned into a recovery mission in late October 2025.

While police investigated various leads and dismissed initial clues like a found footprint, they have not identified any suspects or provided evidence of third-party involvement as of early 2026.

The family has consistently maintained that there was no foul play and has pleaded for an end to social media conspiracy theories. 

Public interest in the case has often drawn parallels to the Cleo Smith abduction in 2021, where a four-year-old was found alive 18 days later and a suspect, Terence Kelly, was arrested and sentenced.

Unlike the Cleo Smith case, which involved a clear abduction, the Gus Lamont investigation remains classified as a missing person search in harsh outback terrain. 

By Anthony Solly