Police have released a photo of 4-year-old Gus, who has been missing in South Australia's Outback for over five days. Photo / SA Police
Police have released an image of Gus, the 4-year-old boy who has been missing in remote South Australia for more than five days. It came as officers said the search was changing into a recovery phase.
August, also known as “Gus”, was last seen playing in sand at his family’s sheep station, about 40km south of Yunta, about 5pm on Saturday.
His disappearance has sparked a search effort involving dozens of police, volunteers and rescue teams scouring the surrounding countryside and nearby waterways. A skilled tracker and the Australian Defence Force (ADF) have also been called in for assistance.
Yorke Mid North Superintendent Mark Syrus said on Thursday that police had grave fears for the boy.
“A 4-year-old doesn’t disappear into thin air, he has to be somewhere,” he said.
“Hopefully, he’s hanging in there alive, but we are now in recovery phase, and the fact he’s been gone over 100 hours and six days, that’s a long time to be out in the elements.”
Nearly 50 ADF personnel will join the efforts to locate the boy.
An ADF spokesman said they had “accepted a formal request” from the police to assist in the search and sent 48 personnel.
They are assisting with ground search teams and aerial surveillance and joined the search at 8am on Thursday.
Syrus said the police were offering support to Gus’ family to help them “come to terms” with what is now expected to be a tragedy.
“Today, we have brought up our victim contact officer from Port Pirie, she’s amazing, and she has spent the morning talking to the family,” he said.
“They [the family] don’t get many visitors up here. It is very tough for them because they like the isolation and over the last six days, they’ve had every day over 100 people in the area being a part of their lives.”
Syrus confirmed police investigators were not treating Gus’ disappearance as suspicious.
“With all searches, there is an investigation process,” he said.
“Yesterday, we had investigators up here. Speaking with family, overlooking everything that has happened, they are pretty confident … they left yesterday.
“At this point in time, we are just focusing on the search efforts on the ground.”
Syrus told ABC Radio Adelaide on Wednesday morning a “prominent” footprint was found on Tuesday afternoon, about 500m from the property’s homestead.
“We’ve positively identified that it’s a child’s footprint,” he said.
“It’s a very similar boot pattern to what Gus was wearing when he went missing.”
He said the local tracker had a deep understanding of the terrain.
Despite the breakthrough, police have begun preparing the family for the possibility of tragic news.
But Syrus cautioned on Thursday the footprint might not have been a recent one.
“That could have been there for a week,” he said.
“We’ve got to be careful we don’t funnel all our attention on that one little clue.”
He said it was abnormal that searchers had not found anything.
Gus was wearing a long-sleeve shirt, boots, a hat and long pants.
“Four-year-olds, they drop everything,” he said.
“The fact we haven’t found a hat or a shoe or something is pretty unusual.”
The search area has now covered 2.5km in a 360-degree circumference, he said.
The police helicopter and the ADF will continue searching for Gus into Friday and look at “areas of higher probability”.
“Hoping Gus has crawled into a hole somewhere and he is still hanging in there,” he said.
Speaking to the Adelaide Advertiser, Aaron Stewart, who has previously assisted police in Outback rescues, said the tracker should have been called in earlier.
“Police do it in a formula, which takes time,” he said.
“And in the bush, the heat, the flies, the wind, don’t wait for no one.”
He told the newspaper a good tracker considered all things, including “wind changes, weather, and all the different elements”.
More than 100 people are involved in the search.
Earlier, Syrus praised the community’s response.
“This is an incredibly difficult time for Gus’ family and we are doing everything we can to bring him home,” he said.
“The response from the local community has been extraordinary and we are deeply grateful for the tireless efforts of all involved.”
Gus’ family released a statement through police on Tuesday, describing their pain and gratitude.
“We are devastated by the disappearance of our beloved Gus on Saturday afternoon. This has come as a shock to our family and friends, and we are struggling to comprehend what has happened,” the statement said.
“Gus’ absence is felt in all of us, and we miss him more than words can express. Our hearts are aching and we are holding on to hope that he will be found and returned to us safely.
“We are incredibly grateful to the South Australia Police, emergency services and the many organisations and community members, neighbours and friends who have come together to help find Gus.”
Sign up to Herald Premium Editor’s Picks, delivered straight to your inbox every Friday. Editor-in-Chief Murray Kirkness picks the week’s best features, interviews and investigations. Sign up for Herald Premium here.