Revealed for the first time: the secret past of Gus Lamont’s intensely private grandmother Josie – and how she is the scion of an influential and VERY respected family

She has emerged as a central figure in the baffling disappearance of Gus Lamont, yet until now almost nothing has been known about his fiercely private grandmother’s past.

Josie Murray, 75, has remained largely out of view as the desperate search and subsequent investigation gripped the nation.

There have been no public appeals, no interviews, no social media statements and only a handful of rare sightings beyond the gates of the sprawling farm in South Australia.

But as detectives continue working to unravel what really happened to little Gus, Daily Mail can reveal Josie comes from a lineage once held in the highest regard.

Her mother, Janine, was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for her service to the community, while her father, Alexander, was celebrated as a war hero.

Gus vanished while playing on a mound of dirt at his home at Oak Park Station, about 40 kilometres south of Yunta, at around 5pm on September 27.

His family reported him missing later that night.

Despite months of extensive searches involving specialist police, cadaver dogs and drones scouring vast stretches of surrounding scrubland, no trace of the little boy has ever been found.

Earlier this month, police confirmed a major crime investigation is now underway, stressing that Gus’s parents, Joshua and Jessica, are not suspects in their son’s disappearance.

However, detectives revealed there is a person of interest who lives at the property and that timelines and details from the original evidence have shown inconsistencies.

Police also confirmed they searched the homestead and seized a number of items for further investigation, including a vehicle, a motorbike and electronic devices.

This week, Josie was arrested and charged with an unrelated weapons offence and is due to appear in Peterborough Magistrates Court on May 6.

The seemingly stoic occupant of Oak Park Station inherited the sprawling farmstead through her marriage to Shannon, the next in line of the Pfeiffer family.

Josie was living as Robert Murray – she is biological male who later transitioned to female – when she first met Shannon.

Josie grew up in Mt Crawford, a small town in the Adelaide Hills in South Australia, and attended Birdwood Primary School alongside her sister.

Her late father, Alexander, was an army sergeant listed on the WWII honours roll. Originally from England, Alexander moved to Mount Bryan as a child, enlisted in 1941 aged 23 and served in the 2/27 Infantry Battalion.

Records show he married Janine Heath in 1948 at St John’s Church in Toorak, Victoria, with their South Australian guest list printed in the local paper.

Alexander and Janine were married for 52 years before he died in 2000 aged 78.

Three years later, Janine was awarded the Order of Australia for her service to the community, particularly through the Gumeracha District Soldiers Memorial Hospital Day Centre.

Shortly after, she moved interstate to Orbost in Victoria to be closer to her daughter.

While Josie’s hometown and Oak Park Station where Shannon grew up sit around 340 kilometres apart, the pair shared mutual connections through farming circles and eventually crossed paths.

They later married and had one daughter, Jessica.

Josie and her young family moved between various sheep stations, working her way up to management before she and Shannon relocated to Oak Park to help run the family sheep farming business.

It is believed Josie transitioned shortly after Shannon’s father passed away, and by 2015 the name on the property deeds had been changed to hers.

It is unclear whether Josie and Shannon’s marriage remained intact following the transition, though they continue to live together.

Since police publicly declared Gus’s disappearance a major crime investigation, both Josie and Shannon have engaged separate legal representation.