Bold headline: A 75-year-old man is charged with firearm offences as police renew their search at Oak Park Station over the Gus Lamont mystery. And this is the part most people miss: the investigation keeps evolving, with new angles and surprise developments that complicate the timeline.
A 75-year-old individual from Grampus has been arrested and charged with firearm offences following a fresh search at Oak Park Station, where four-year-old Gus Lamont vanished. The operation, led by Task Force Horizon, focused on the remote 60,000-hectare property in outback South Australia as detectives pursue new evidence related to the disappearance.
South Australia Police confirmed the arrest and noted the charges are not connected to Gus Lamont’s disappearance or a prior October 2025 incident at Oak Park involving media presence. The 75-year-old has been bailed to appear at Peterborough Magistrates Court on May 6.
Detective Inspector Andrew Macrae, acting Officer in Charge of Major Crime Investigation Branch, stressed that the firearm offences are separate from Gus’s case. Investigators also disclosed ongoing consideration that Gus might still have been on his grandparents’ property when police first arrived to search the night he was reported missing.
The renewed on-ground searches began after SA Police’ bombshell press conference 11 days earlier, and the team intends to stay in the area for at least two more days as they pursue additional leads. Major Crime’s Detective Superintendent Darren Fielke acknowledged that the original timeline is under scrutiny and that it remains possible Gus was still on the property when officers arrived.
Authorities reiterate that investigators cannot rule out any scenario, though they have ruled out wandering and abduction up to this point, centering the inquiry on someone known to Gus. Gus, whose full name is August, was last seen around 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 27, playing outside the homestead at Oak Park Station, near Yunta in South Australia’s remote mid-north.
Gus’s grandmother Shannon, caring for him at the time, called him inside for dinner about 5:30 p.m. and could not locate him. His family began searching, and police were notified around 8:30 p.m. Officers arrived by 9:30 p.m. and launched a high-tech search with infrared assistance, but Gus was not found.
The search intensified on September 28, with trail bikes, ATVs, and a drone deployed within a 2.5-kilometre radius. SES volunteers joined the effort. Mid North Superintendent Mark Syrus said authorities believed Gus might have wandered off, guiding the search focus.
Gus’s appearance: long blond curly hair, a grey sun hat, cobalt blue long-sleeve shirt with a yellow Minion graphic, light grey pants, and boots. The family released a public statement through friend Bill Harbison on October 2, expressing devastation and hope, and requesting privacy while supporting the search.
Since the initial disappearance, the operation has grown into SAPOL’s largest and most intensive Missing Person Search, with more than 160 SAPOL members and 230 non-police personnel, including SES, the Australian Defence Force, an Indigenous tracker, and volunteers. Eight searches targeted the homestead and outbuildings; three dams were drained for thoroughness; six mine shafts within a 10-kilometre radius were inspected; aerial infrared and AI-assisted imagery covered extensive areas. Investigators reviewed hundreds of tips and messages, including 380 Crime Stoppers reports and multiple emails and notes.
Despite these efforts, no trace of Gus has emerged. Detective Superintendent Fielke stated that there was no evidence suggesting Gus wandered from the home, and the remote Oak Park Station presents unique challenges: it is 45 kilometres inland from the nearest main road, has no signpost directing visitors, and access relies on two remote dirt roads suitable only for four-wheel drives. No dusty trails or outsider vehicle sightings were found around the time Gus disappeared, making abduction rumors unlikely—yet not completely ruled out.
Investigators have spoken with neighbors, workers, and others who could pose risk profiles, but all leads have been discounted. For now, the focus remains on the possibility of a non-wandering scenario rather than a simple missing-person case.
On January 14 and 15, police executed a search warrant at Oak Park Station, conducting a comprehensive forensic sweep of the homestead and seizing a vehicle, a motorcycle, and electronic devices, all of which will undergo forensic testing. Importantly, Gus’s parents are not considered suspects.
Task Force Horizon plans to resume searches at Oak Park Station on Tuesday as investigators pursue every potential lead in their ongoing effort to locate Gus and determine what happened that fateful September night.
