This is the first picture of a four-year-old boy who has been missing on his own in the Australian outback.
August ‘Gus’ Lamont, vanished from his grandparents’ remote homestead 40 kilometres south of Yunta.
Hundreds of volunteers are searching through the dustbowl and uncovered the only trace of little Gus – a single footprint in the sand 500 metres from his family’s property.
Bill Harbison read a statement on Gus’s family’s behalf as they released a photo of the blonde toddler who was wearing a Minions top when he vanished.
‘This has come as a shock to our family and friends, and we are struggling to comprehend what has happened,’ it read.
‘Gus’s absence is felt in all of us and we miss him more than words can express.
‘Our hearts are aching, and we are holding onto hope that he will be found and returned to us safely.
‘At this time, we kindly ask for privacy as we focus all our energy on supporting the search and working closely with the police.’
The release of the photo came after Superintendent Syrus admitted the odds of Gus’s survival diminishing by the second without water.
‘A four-year-old doesn’t disappear into thin air, he has to be somewhere,’ hesaid.
‘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.’
Police don’t think that Gus was taken on the remote road as one local told the Daily Mail little Gus may have fallen into a mine.
‘I would be more worried about the unmarked wells and mines he may have fallen into,’ he said. ‘That’s the talk [among locals].’