Police have drained a dam on the remote South Australian sheep station where four-year-old August 'Gus' Lamont vanished over a month ago, but no trace of the missing boy was found. The operation, which began on Friday morning, removed 3.2 million litres of water from the main dam, located about 600 metres from the homestead on Oak Park Station.
South Australia Police said the draining was aimed at ruling out the possibility that Gus may have drowned. Divers searched both the main dam and a holding dam, clearing weed beds, but found nothing of significance. The dam had been previously searched by divers earlier in the investigation.
Gus disappeared on September 27, last seen around 5pm playing on a mound of dirt near the homestead. His grandmother called him for dinner 30 minutes later, but he was gone. The only clue found during the initial search was a single footprint discovered on September 30, about 500 metres from where Gus was last seen.
Despite one of the largest search operations in the state's history, involving hundreds of police officers, SES volunteers, and Australian Army personnel, more than 60,000 hectares of rugged terrain have been scoured with no leads. Drone imaging and infrared technology have also been deployed without success.
Gus was last seen wearing a blue long-sleeved Minions T-shirt, a grey sun hat, and boots. He has long curly blonde hair. At the time of his disappearance, his mother and a grandparent were tending to their flock, while Gus was with his grandmother and younger brother Ronnie. His father reportedly lives off the property.
