In a devastating new development in the disappearance of four-year-old August “Gus” Lamont, South Australia Police detectives believe they have now identified the person who was alone with Gus during the critical window on September 27, 2025. The breakthrough is understood to stem from new confessions and revised testimony provided by a family member—testimony that investigators allege was only forthcoming after a direct confrontation with the suspect using timestamped digital evidence.
The revised account is said to have dramatically altered the understanding of the timeline and events inside the Oak Park Station homestead near Yunta, South Australia. Police have long maintained that Gus did not wander into the vast outback, a theory now reinforced by the absence of any environmental exposure on linked forensic material and the protected condition of items tied to the child.
Sources close to the investigation indicate that the turning point involved cell phone data covering a precise 22-minute period on the afternoon Gus vanished. When this timestamped location and movement information was presented to the suspect and/or other family members, it allegedly exposed clear inconsistencies with earlier statements about who was present, who was searching, and where individuals were located during the moments Gus was last seen.
Detectives are understood to believe this confrontation prompted the revised testimony, which—combined with the earlier forensic link to a seized item—has allowed investigators to conclude who was alone with Gus in the homestead during the crucial period after he was last seen playing outside around 5 p.m. and before his grandmother reportedly checked on him at approximately 5:30 p.m.
Relatives have described the unfolding revelations as “shocking” and deeply distressing. Gus’s grandparents, Josie and Shannon Murray, previously stated they were “devastated by these developments” and reiterated their full cooperation with Task Force Horizon while asking for privacy. The family has consistently maintained that Gus’s parents are not suspects, a position police have never contradicted.
Key timeline of recent investigative milestones:
September 27, 2025 — Gus last seen playing on a dirt mound outside the homestead.
January 14–15, 2026 — Major search warrant executed at Oak Park Station; vehicle, motorcycle, electronic devices and other items seized for forensic examination.
Early February 2026 — Two additional items recovered during targeted forensic work; one item forensically linked to Gus with no signs of outdoor exposure.
February 2026 — Arrest of a close family member after phone data revealed a 22-minute mismatch in movements and statements.
Latest update — New confessions / revised testimony, prompted by confrontation with timestamped evidence, believed to identify who was alone with Gus.
Police have repeatedly emphasized that stranger abduction has been ruled out and that the focus remains on individuals known to the child and present at the property. The suspect, previously described as someone who lived at Oak Park Station and withdrew cooperation after initial questioning, is now at the center of this revised narrative.
No further details about the exact nature of the confessions, the identity of the person now believed to have been alone with Gus, or any additional charges have been officially released, as the investigation remains active and sensitive.
The remote, isolated nature of the 60,000-hectare sheep station has only heightened the tragedy: what began as a massive outback search has become a deeply personal and painful reckoning within a family. With Gus still officially missing and no body recovered, every new piece of evidence brings both clarity and heartbreak.