On his family’s sheep station in South Australia’s remote Mid North region, August Lamont was growing into a sweet and curious boy.
asserted
Lamont → grow → boy
The four-year-old, also known as Gus, loved music, stories and playing in nature.
asserted
old → know → nature
At Oak Park, about 350 kilometres north-east of Adelaide, Gus was growing up in the same rugged environment his mother, Jessica Murray, cherished as a child.
asserted
mother → grow → child
As he explored the world around him, Gus’ parents envisioned a bright future for their oldest son.
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parents → explore → son
Instead, they have spent almost a year desperately searching for answers as they reconcile a life without Gus, who vanished from his family’s sprawling station on September 27 last year.
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who → spend → September
“During the time that Gus has been missing, he should have celebrated his fifth birthday, and his little brother’s first birthday with us,” Jessica Murray said in a pre-recorded statement played by SA Police on Wednesday.
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Murray → miss → Wednesday
“One of the most heartbreaking things is that Gus and his little brother will not grow up together and spend their lives together.
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Gus → grow → lives
Gus was adored by his little brother.
asserted
Gus → adore → brother
“We miss Gus more than we can describe,” his father Joshua Lamont said.
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father → miss → Gus
“We are desperate to have him return home to us, and we are desperate for answers.
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we → have → answers
We believe that someone knows something.
asserted
someone → believe → something
Someone knows what happened to Gus and may even know where he is.”
uncertain
he → know → Gus
After an unprecedented search to find the four-year-old, in which search parties scoured hundreds of square kilometres, the South Australian government on Wednesday offered a $1 million reward for information in a desperate bid to solve a mystery that has garnered national attention.
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that → find → attention
Detectives are working under Task Force Horizon, the large-scale operation launched to find Gus.
asserted
Detectives → work → Gus
According to Gus’ family, the boy was last seen playing in the dirt near the Oak Park homestead.
uncertain
boy → accord → homestead
Initially, investigators were told Gus’ family believed he had wandered off and was feared to be lost somewhere on the property.
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he → tell → property
In the months since, detectives have ruled out the theory, alongside the possibility that Gus was abducted from Oak Park, which is 45 kilometres from the nearest main road.
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which → rule → road
“The focus of Task Force Horizon remains on the third scenario, and that is that someone known to Gus has been involved in his disappearance,” Detective Superintendent Darren Fielke, the officer in charge of SA Police’s Major Crime Investigation Branch, said on Wednesday.
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Fielke → remain → Wednesday
Police in February declared Gus’ disappearance a major crime.
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disappearance → declare → February
One of Gus’ grandparents remains a suspect, Fielke said.
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Fielke → remain → grandparents
Josie Murray has publicly identified herself as the suspect during several media interviews.
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Murray → identify → interviews
No charges have been laid, and his parents are not suspects.
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parents → lay → ?
In a statement issued through her lawyer in February, Murray said she was devastated that the disappearance had been declared a major crime and that she had co-operated fully with the police investigation.
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she → issue → investigation
Fielke at the time said that Murray had withdrawn her support and was no longer assisting investigators.
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Murray → say → investigators
On the eve of Wednesday’s announcement, Murray told the Seven Network that she believed an eagle may have snatched Gus – a theory detectives have explored and consider unlikely.
uncertain
detectives → tell → theory
“We’ve looked at crazy theories,” Fielke said.
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Fielke → look → theories
“We’ve discounted them all.
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We → discount → them
We don’t discount them because it’s too hard … we discount them after hours of effort.”
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we → discount → effort
Combined search parties of almost 400, including police officers, State Emergency Service volunteers, Australian Defence Force personnel, members of the community and Indigenous trackers, have returned to Oak Park a collective 11 times since Gus’ disappearance.
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parties → include → disappearance
Buildings and disused mine shafts were searched, while police divers scoured several dams that have since been drained and rechecked.
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that → search → dams
“We’ve gone back time and time again,” Fielke said.
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Fielke → go → ?
He said investigators’ priority was to provide Gus’ parents with closure.
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priority → say → closure
“Like us, they want nothing more than to be reunited with their son and know where their son is,” Fielke said, holding back tears.
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Fielke → want → tears
“They love him dearly, and they want answers as to where he is.”
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he → love → answers
Fielke said a review of imagery captured during aerial searches of the 706-square-kilometre area around the Oak Park homestead had identified anomalies that would be re-examined.
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that → say → anomalies
Wednesday’s reward matches previous incentives offered to solve cases involving missing children in South Australia.
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reward → match → Australia
“This has been a case that hasn’t just shocked our state, it has shocked our nation because it affects a child, and there is nothing more disconcerting and heartbreaking in our community [than] when we see a disappearance of a child that is yet unexplained,” South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas said.
asserted
Malinauskas → shock → child
“The untold pain that this has had on family members is impossible to comprehend.”
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this → have → members
Jessica Murray said her son’s disappearance had devastated Gus’ family.
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disappearance → say → family
“We love him more than words can convey and every single day without him has been incredibly difficult,” she said.
asserted
she → love → him
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia
