South Australia has announced a $1 million reward for information that could solve the baffling disappearance of August “Gus” Lamont, matching the state’s highest reward ever offered in the Beaumont children cold case.
Premier Peter Malinauskas confirmed the figure on Wednesday, almost a year since the three‑year‑old vanished without a trace from Oak Park Station near Yunta — a mystery he says has “shocked the nation” and inflicted “untold pain” on the little boy’s family.
Police Minister Michael Brown said investigators remained convinced “someone out there knows something”, urging that person to come forward and “spare his family the pain they are going through”.
In an exclusive interview with 7NEWS, Gus’s grandmother Josie Murray invited cameras onto the sprawling sheep station for the first time, showing areas never before seen by the public — including the spot where Gus was last seen playing on the afternoon before he disappeared.
“It brings me to tears that he’s not here,” she said, pointing to the dusty patch of ground near the homestead.
Gus vanished on the evening of September 27, AFL grand final day, while in the care of his other grandparent, who was looking after him and his baby brother.
The alarm preceded the largest police search in South Australian history, with no clues found despite 11 ground searches.
Despite exhaustive searches — 11 full property searches, three dams drained, six mine shafts checked, and a list of 500 people scrutinised — not a single clue has been found.
In a statement released by SA Police earlier this year, Gus’s parents Jess and Josh said their lives had been “shattered”.