The hidden detail about Gus Lamont’s family life that makes this tragedy even harder to bear

In the lead up to Gus Lamont’s disappearance, the heartbroken father of the missing four-year-old had been painstakingly renovating a house in a nearby town, preparing it for his young family to move into before the little boy vanished.

Joshua Lamont, who lives about 200km from Yunta in the small South Australian town of Jamestown, had spent years fixing up a modest two-bedroom cottage so his partner Jess and their two boys could finally live together under one roof.

Friends say the devoted dad was counting down the months until Gus began school, eager to create a stable home life after years of living between two properties.

But that dream was shattered when Gus vanished from his grandparents’ remote property near Yunta 19 days ago, sparking one of South Australia‘s largest police searches in years.

The little boy was last seen playing on a mound of dirt near the house on September 27 while his grandmother cared for his baby brother Ronnie inside.

Gus’ mother Jess and his other grandparent were about 10km away tending to the station’s sheep.

Mr Lamont was not at the property at the time and friends said he only learned his son was missing when police arrived at his door in the early hours of the morning.

The grandmother discovered Gus was gone when she went to call him inside for dinner about 5.30pm and the family reported him missing three hours later.

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Gus vanished from his grandparents’ remote property near Yunta 19 days ago

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Joshua Lamont wanted his partner Jess and their two boys to live together

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He has been renovating the modest two-bedroom cottage for years

The pre-schooler lived at the Yunta homestead with his mother and two grandmothers, Shannon and Josie Murray.

Josie transitioned several years ago and now identifies as female.

Gus’ parents also share one-year-old Ronnie, but have been living apart due to what locals describe as an ongoing family dispute.

Property records show Mr Lamont purchased the two-bedroom cottage, set on 10 acres of land, in March 2021, around the same time Gus was born.

The $89,000 property was advertised as a ‘project home with a beautiful rural outlook’, and is situated about 15km from Jamestown.

Pictures from the listing show the older home needed extensive work throughout to bring it up to a liveable condition.

A neighbour told Daily Mail that Mr Lamont often travelled between Yunta and Jamestown while slowly restoring the home.

‘He is not a tradie, he just does odd jobs,’ the neighbour said, adding he had recently started work on the bathroom and was looking at schools for Gus nearby.

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He purchased the house in 2021 around the same time Gus was born

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Pictures from the listing show the older home needed extensive work throughout

Joshua Lamont had recently started renovating the bathroom

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The cottage is set on 10 acres of land

‘He wanted him in Peterborough, not Jamestown.’

Peterborough Primary School is about a 30-minute drive from Mr Lamont’s renovation and also has a campus in Yunta.

The neighbour added that Mr Lamont had not returned to the property since Gus disappeared.

More than 100 searchers, including South Australian Police, ADF members and SES volunteers, have scoured the rugged terrain in punishing heat.

Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said the family had fully cooperated with investigators and stressed that the renewed search effort was not based on new leads.

‘This is about exhausting every possibility,’ he said. ‘We have nothing to suggest foul play at this time, but we are obligated to consider every scenario.’

The search has covered roughly 470 square kilometres, an area police say is comparable to combing through 100 city centres.

Gus’ devastated family remain ‘deeply distressed’ as they continue to cling to hope.

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Mr Lamont has not returned to his partially renovated home since Gus disappeared

‘I would describe them as stoic,’ Commissioner Stevens said.

‘But you can imagine how they’re feeling without their boy, and without answers about what’s happened to him.

‘This would be traumatic for any family.’

Police have this afternoon confirmed that they found no trace of Gus and that the search will likely end today.