South Australia scales back search for missing 4-year-old Gus Lamont

South Australian police have scaled back search operations for four year old August Gus Lamont nearly a week after he vanished from his grandparents homestead at Oak Park Station, about 40 kilometres south of Yunta. Gus was last seen playing on a mound of dirt outside the family property at about 5pm on Saturday, September 27; when his grandmother went to call him in roughly 30 minutes later, he was gone.

Assistant Commissioner Ian Parrott told reporters the decision to reduce on‑site search activity followed extensive efforts and expert advice that a child of Gus’s age was unlikely to have survived the conditions for the elapsed time. He said police were confident they had exhausted search options within the immediate area but would continue to investigate and pursue any lines of inquiry. Defence personnel who had assisted were stood down and emergency crews will no longer be searching the property, Parrott said. The case has been transferred to the Missing Persons Investigation Section.

Authorities do not suspect third‑party involvement, citing the remoteness of the homestead and the absence of evidence pointing to another person. Search teams had included local police, State...