The search for August ‘Gus’ Lamont continues after a dam on his family’s remote sheep station was drained and no trace of the four-year-old was found.
Gus Lamont was last seen playing in a mound of dirt near his grandparents’ homestead on a sheep station 40km south of Yunta, in eastern South Australia, at about 5pm on Saturday, September 27.
He had vanished by the time his grandmother went to call him in, some 30 minutes later.
Police began searching the 60,000ha property shortly after Gus disappeared but found no sign of the little boy.
The extensive land and air search for Gus was scaled back the search from a rescue to recovery on October 3, just hours after a photo of Gus was released by the family.
On Thursday, South Australia Police released a statement, revealing the search for Gus would resume, with officers draining the dam on the family’s homestead.
‘The renewed search of the dam is being undertaken to rule out the possibility Gus may have drowned,’ it read.
Four-year-old August ‘Gus’ Lamont (pictured) went missing on Saturday, September 27
The dam, which is located about 600 metres from the homestead, was previously searched by divers.
Police explained draining the dam would allow for a ‘comprehensive visual search’ of the waterway and its vegetation.
The operation to drain the main dam and funnel the water into the southern dam started at 9.15am on Friday.
A total of 3.2million litres of water was pumped out of the dam at about 15,000 litres per minute.
Both the dam and the holding dam, including clearing of the weed beds were searched but police divers found no trace of the boy or anything of significance.
Many locals were holding out hope that today would bring closure for the close knit community who have been left devastated by the loss of one of their own.
One resident who has lived in town for almost 30 years told Daily Mail locals were waiting with bated breath.
‘You don’t want him to be found like that but at the same time at least we’d know what’s happened,’ they said.
‘It’s just not right. This whole thing makes no sense. I honestly hope that if someone does have him. Then they are kind to him.
‘To be honest the entire town and every farmer and neighbour told me he wasn’t in the dam and they won’t find him because he wasn’t there.’
