Police will resume their search for missing four-year-old Gus Lamont after a grim find on the family property.
Officers will on Tuesday return to Oak Park Station, about 40km south of Yunta in South Australia’s mid-north, and search six mine shafts in the area.
The shafts, which are uncovered and unfenced, are between 5.5 and 12km from the homestead, and are in areas not previously searched by police.
In a statement, SA Police said their search team was not previously aware of the shafts.
Tuesday’s search is expected to last for three days.
Deputy Commissioner Linda Williams said the new searches, part of Task Force Horizon, would at the very least allow officers to eliminate some locations from further searches.
“We are determined to explore every avenue in an effort to locate Gus Lamont and provide some closure for his family,’’ she said.
“These searches will either locate evidence or eliminate these locations from further investigation by the Task Force.’’
Gus was last seen playing in sand on his family’s sheep station at about 5pm on September 27.
His disappearance sparked an enormous search effort involving dozens of police, volunteers and rescue teams scouring the surrounding countryside and nearby waterways.
Gus was wearing a long-sleeved shirt, boots, a hat and long pants when he went missing.
“Four-year-olds, they drop everything,” Yorke Mid North Superintendent Mark Syrus said in early October.
“The fact we haven’t found a hat or a shoe or something is pretty unusual.”
The new search is the first since police drained a dam about 600m from the homestead in late October.
The draining of the dam, which was about 4.5m deep, allowed police to rule out the possibility the four-year-old had fallen in and drowned.
On October 17, police concluded a four-day ground search for Gus, which followed an initial 10-day search.
That search extended to 5.5km from the homestead, police said, which equated to 95 sqkm searched on foot.
“The original search area extended well beyond this with the use of the mounted operations unit and Polair,” police said at the time.
Police have stressed these investigations have not uncovered “any evidence of foul play”.“The family of Gus have continued to co-operate fully with police and are being supported by a victim contact officer,” police said.
Gus’s family released a statement through police on September 30, expressing their devastation at the little boy’s disappearance.
“We are devastated by the disappearance of our beloved Gus on Saturday afternoon,” the statement read.
“This has come as a shock to our family and friends, and we are struggling to comprehend what has happened.
“Gus’s absence is felt in all of us, and we miss him more than words can express. Our hearts are aching, and we are holding onto hope that he will be found and returned to us safely.
“We are incredibly grateful to the South Australia Police, emergency services and the many organisations and community members, neighbours and friends who have come together to help find Gus.”
