There is a grey, liminal space where loved ones of missing people often find themselves in the aftermath of disappearance.
asserted
ones → be → disappearance
Social workers describe it as a feeling of ambiguous loss.
A teetering between hope and heartache.
A nightmarish wait.
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workers → describe → wait
Missing persons researcher Professor Sarah Wayland knows the space well.
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Wayland → know → space
She has spent the past 25 years supporting families of missing people, including, most recently, a member of Gus Lamont's family.
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She → spend → family
"The family did reach out to me because of the significant challenges in Australia in that there are very limited support services for people who are left behind when someone's missing," she says.
"
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she → reach → people
It's not just about responding to their absolute terror and need, but also recognising that it's a very abnormal situation for people to be in and they need help navigating how to get support."
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they → respond → support
Professor Wayland sought permission from the family member before being interviewed by the ABC.
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Wayland → seek → ABC
'Someone knows what happened to Gus'
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what → know → Gus
So much has already been written, said and speculated about what may or may not have happened to Gus Lamont.
uncertain
what → write → Lamont
The four-year-old was reportedly last seen playing in sand at his family's remote, outback South Australian sheep station one year ago today.
uncertain
old → see → station
Until earlier this week, Gus's parents, Jess and Josh, largely avoided public attention.
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parents → avoid → attention
But in the lead up to the first anniversary of his disappearance, they made what the chief detective tasked with finding their son described as a "brave" decision to front the camera.
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detective → make → camera
Sitting side-by-side on a grey, two-seater sofa, in an otherwise nondescript room, they spoke for just over two minutes about their "beautiful, sweet and unique little boy", who "loved music, listening to stories and playing in the natural world".
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who → sit → world
Their words were laced with anguish and ambiguous loss.
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words → lace → anguish
"We believe that someone knows something," Josh said, leaning forward with his hands clasped, staring down the barrel of the camera.
asserted
hands → believe → camera
"Someone knows what happened to Gus and may even know where he is."
'It's something you never escape from'
Suzie Ratcliffe has replayed the video of Josh and Jess several times.
uncertain
Ratcliffe → know → Josh
She is one of only a few people in Australia to have a true understanding of what the parents are living through.
asserted
parents → have → what
"Until you actually walk the path of a missing person's family, you don't really understand the depth of ambiguous loss," she says.
"
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she → walk → loss
It's something you never escape from.
asserted
you → escape → ?
"It's like living in limbo or never waking up from a continuous nightmare."
Fourteen months before Ms Ratcliffe was born, her 11-year-old sister, Joanne, along with four-year-old Kirste Gordon, went missing during a football game at Adelaide Oval in 1973.
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sister → live → 1973
Along with the disappearance of Gus and the Beaumont children, their suspected abduction remains one of South Australia's most notorious unsolved missing children's cases.
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abduction → suspect → cases
"Because I've grown up with the loss, I've known no other way," Ms Ratcliffe says.
"
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Ratcliffe → grow → way
Ms Ratcliffe is today the director of missing persons awareness organisation Leave a Light On.
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Ratcliffe → leave → Light
She says she can understand why Gus's parents would be reticent to be in the public eye.
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parents → say → eye
"My dad was very vocal with the media after Jo disappeared and then after he passed away in 1981, my mum and my brother both took a step back because they couldn't handle the feelings and emotions that came with having to be in the public face of the media all the time," she says.
"Watching Gus's family the other day, I completely understand and really empathise with how much emotional trauma they've been going through every day since Gus disappeared."
Ms Ratcliffe says anniversaries are particularly hard for families of missing people.
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anniversaries → disappear → people
"It's an impact and clarification that, oh my gosh, they're really missing," she says.
asserted
she → miss → ?
"Up until that first year there's always hope that it was just a mistake and they're going to come running through the door any moment.
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they → be → door
"After that first year, you've still got hope, but that feeling of dread, it starts to settle.
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it → get → dread
Loading'We all hope'
The small town of Yunta — the closest locality to the family's Oak Park Station where Gus went missing — is now indelibly linked to the boy's disappearance.
Many in the town know Gus's family and have become accustomed to the media swarm that has descended upon the area when police have conducted their 11 past ground searches of the station.
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police → hope → station
Further south-west along the Barrier Highway, at another nearby outback town, the case has also been keenly felt.
asserted
case → feel → town
"A child that has been lost, it just grabs at your heart whether you know the people or whether you don't," Peterborough Mayor Ruth Whittle says.
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Whittle → lose → people
"A child will go past and somebody will say: 'Gus Lamont was that age', or 'Gus Lamont had hair like that'.
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Lamont → go → that
"We all feel deeply for the family."
asserted
We → feel → family
She says the weekend before Gus went missing, the four-year-old rode on one of the association's miniature trains.
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old → say → trains
"We remember him and his lovely hair," she says.
asserted
she → remember → him
"We'll think about him in one way, shape or form forever."
asserted
We → think → way
Yunta local Keith Noble says Gus's disappearance is "on everybody's mind", and finding him would "mean a lot" to the community.
asserted
finding → say → community
He is hopeful for a resolution after the SA government earlier this week announced a $1 million reward for anyone who comes forward with information that leads to a conviction or discovery of Gus's whereabouts.
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that → announce → whereabouts
"We all hope," he says.
asserted
he → hope → ?
"It's [the reward's] the only way you're going to get anywhere because money makes people crack."
asserted
people → go → ?
…and 14 more, not listed.
The Aporia
