What happened to Gus Lamont? Important question police will not answer almost a year after little Gus Lamont vanished without a trace

By KARLEIGH SMITH - SENIOR REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 23:20, 12 August 2026 | Updated: 23:28, 12 August 2026 South Australian police have refused to confirm whether they still have a person of interest in the outback disappearance of Gus Lamont, almost one year after he vanished from his grandparents' remote sheep station near Yunta. In February, police declared they believed someone known to Gus may have killed him, deliberately or accidentally, before he was reported missing on September 27 last year. They said the suspect lived at Oak Park Station, 300km north of Adelaide, and was known to the child - but was not his mother, Jessica Murray, or his father, Joshua Lamont, who lived at Belalie North, a two-hour drive away. Gus' grandparents, Shannon and Josie Murray, both live at and own the station, near the Barrier Highway. At a press conference held near the station homestead in May, Major Crime Investigation Branch officer-in-charge Detective Superintendent Darren Fielke confirmed one of Gus' grandparents 'remains a suspect'. In June, Gus' grandmother Josie Murray said she was that suspect and that police believed she may have buried her grandson after an accident - something she described to 7NEWS Spotlight as 'ludicrous'. No charges have been laid and no arrests have been made. Now, police are refusing to confirm whether Ms Murray remains a person of interest - or whether they have identified any other suspects - after direct questions from Daily Mail to SAPOL's media unit. September 27 will mark one year since South Australian boy Gus Lamont went missing Gus' grandmother Josie Murray said police suspicions over her involvement were 'ludicrous' In May, Det Supt Darren Fielke said one of Gus' grandparents remained a suspect Despite declaring at a February press conference that they were investigating three possibilities - that Gus had wandered off, been abducted, or been harmed by someone known to him - police later appeared to subtly soften their focus on the leading theory that he had been deliberately or accidentally killed. Instead, they again emphasised that all three lines of inquiry remained under investigation. 'From the time Gus disappeared SA Police have been investigating three specific lines of inquiry – that Gus had wandered off and become lost, that he had been abducted or that a person known to him was involved in his disappearance,' a SAPOL spokesperson said. 'Det Supt Fielke has conducted regular press conferences to update the community on the investigation into Gus’ disappearance - revealing significant operational details because of the intense public interest in the case. 'Task Force Horizon has and will continue to investigate any and all information, including information provided by Gus’s family, that could assist in identifying what has happened to Gus. 'As the investigation is ongoing it is not appropriate for SA Police to discuss specific aspects of the investigation that could compromise any potential future court proceedings.' On Wednesday, Josie's lawyer, Andrew Ey, told Daily Mail: 'My client has always remained steadfast in her denial' of being involved in Gus' disappearance. Gus was last seen by his other grandmother, Shannon Murray, playing in front of the homestead on the evening of AFL grand final day. According to Josie, she, Shannon and Gus' mum searched on foot and on motorbikes until nightfall before reconvening in the kitchen and deciding it was time to call the police. Josie's lawyer Andrew Ey said his client has remained steadfast in her denial Police have searched Oak Park Station 11 times since he vanished in September Gus' parents, Jessica Murray and Josh Lamont, released an image of Gus on his bike An extensive land, air and dam search by police, the army, the SES, an Aboriginal tracker and local volunteers commenced and ran for several weeks, but no sign of the boy has ever been found. At the time, police fiercely defended the family's request for privacy as they navigated Gus' mysterious disappearance and fading hopes that he would be found, alive or dead. But in January, the working relationship between Josie and Shannon and Task Force Horizon investigators suddenly soured. At a bombshell 33-minute press conference in Adelaide on February 5, Det Supt Fielke declared the case was now a major crime investigation. 'A person who resides at Oak Park Station has withdrawn their support for the police and is no longer cooperating with us,' he said. 'The person who has withdrawn their co-operation is now considered a suspect in the disappearance of Gus.' He said police had identified 'a number of inconsistencies and discrepancies' with information 'as it relates to timelines and the version of events provided to us by the family members' - reiterating, however, that they were not looking at Gus' parents. On January 14 and 15, police had seized a vehicle, a motorcycle and electronic devices for forensic testing - but were forced to admit in May that no evidence was found. When Gus disappeared, Josie's relationship with police seemed harmonious Police allege Shannon Murray has also withdrawn her cooperation from the investigation Jessica Murray and Gus Lamont are not suspects in the case of their missing son Both Josie and Shannon retained separate, high-profile Adelaide criminal lawyers and denied they were not cooperating with police. In February, police charged Josie with possession of a prohibited gun 'silencer', which she had obtained before sound moderators became illegal in 2017. In March, it was revealed that 'a second person' was no longer cooperating with investigators. Josie faced Adelaide Magistrates Court in front of a throng of media as police prosecutors called for a custodial sentence for the offence, which carried a maximum penalty of $75,000 or up to 10 years in jail. Instead, she was fined $10,500 and disqualified from gun ownership for five years. In court, Josie's defence lawyer, Mr Ey, said: 'It needs to be remembered that this is a sound moderator, Your Honour, not an unlicensed firearm or insecure firearm that's fallen into the wrong hands, it is a sound moderator,' he said. He then addressed the 'elephant in the room'. 'It’s been an extremely difficult time for my client. A grandchild went missing on the property late last year,' he said. Josie faced court - and a media scrum - in June over possession of a gun silencer  As she left the Adelaide Magistrates Court, an ABC journalist was knocked down in her wake 'We see the media attention and number of police here [in the court] – this has been a very, very difficult time for the family, trying to get through as best they can.'  When Josie left the courthouse a free woman amid a media scrum, she appeared to elbow a 7NEWS reporter, who in turn knocked down an ABC reporter. She also grabbed an ABC microphone sock and threw it, before dropping her phone onto the runner-board of a vehicle of a friend and being driven away. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.