Twist in Gus Lamont mystery as grandmother shares theory - and insists he was abducted from remote sheep station
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By MAISY RAE - NEWS REPORTER and KARLEIGH SMITH - SENIOR REPORTER, AUSTRALIA
Published: | Updated:
The grandmother of missing child Gus Lamont has revealed she will search eagle nests at the South Australian sheep station for any trace of him, on the theory that he was taken by a wedge-tailed eagle.
Four-year-old Gus was last seen playing near the remote homestead, 40km south of Yunta, on September 27. Despite extensive land and air searches, the little boy has not been seen since.
In February, police said they believed someone known to Gus may have killed him, deliberately or accidentally, before he was reported missing.
Police said the suspect lived at Oak Park Station, 300km north of Adelaide, and was known to the child.
They also said the person was not his mother, Jessica Murray, or his father, Joshua Lamont, who lived at Belalie North, a two-hour drive away.
As the one-year anniversary of his disappearance approaches, Gus's grandmother, Josie Murray, said the family will search eagle nests on the outback property.
'The eagle aspect should be looked at,' she told 7News. 'It's highly unlikely, but it's not impossible.'
It comes as Ms Murray revealed she believes Gus was abducted from the homestead because 'nothing else makes sense.'
Four-year-old Gus Lamont was last seen playing near his grandparents' remote homestead in South Australia on September 27
His grandmother, Josie Murray, believes he was abducted and says she will search eagle nests around the property for any trace of him
Police have searched Oak Park Station 11 times since Gus vanished last September
'It brings me to tears that he's not here... Just down here. And then that was the last he was seen, and after that he just disappeared,' she said, directing TV cameras to the area where Gus was playing on the afternoon he disappeared.
She also issued a plea for police not to treat her as a suspect.
'For me to know they are wasting their time, and their time would be better spent trying to find out what did happen to him, is enormously frustrating,' she said.
Gus's grandparents both live at and own the station.
Josie later confirmed that police had told her she was the main suspect in the case. She has consistently maintained her innocence.
No charges have been laid and no arrests have been made.
Josie's comments come weeks after South Australian police refused to confirm whether they still have a person of interest in Gus's disappearance.
They also refused to confirm whether they have identified any other suspects.
Josie shows a 7NEWS Adelaide reporter where Gus was last seen by Shannon
At the time, Josie's lawyer, Andrew Ey, told the Daily Mail: 'My client has always remained steadfast in her denial of being involved in Gus's disappearance.'
An extensive land, air and dam search by police, the army, the SES, an Aboriginal tracker and local volunteers, which ran for several weeks, failed to find any sign of the boy.
Initially, police fiercely defended the family's request for privacy as they navigated Gus's mysterious disappearance and fading hopes that he would be found, alive or dead.
But in January, the working relationship between Josie and Shannon and Task Force Horizon investigators suddenly soured, with police later confirming the case had become a major crime investigation.
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