Christmas will be marked not by celebration but by sorrow as the family of missing four‑year‑old August “Gus” Lamont endure their first festive season without him.
Gus vanished on September 27 while playing outside his family’s Oak Park homestead near Yunta, in the South Australian outback.
More than two months later, despite one of the largest search operations in recent memory, police he not managed to find him.
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Instead of wrapping presents and watching Gus tear them open with his little brother, his family are left staring at an empty chair at the Christmas table — a painful reminder of the boy who should be there.
“We miss him more than words can express,” family friend Bill Harbison told 7NEWS.
The search for August Lamont has been one of the largest in South Australian history. Credit: 7NEWSThis time of year is hard for the families of missing persons, especially of young children such as Gus, The Missed Foundation founder and CEO Loren O’Keeffe told 7NEWS.com.au.
“Every day of the not knowing is excruciating but there are especially difficult times of the year for families of missing persons,” she said.
“Their birthday tends to be most difficult but any time families are ’supposed’ to be together — such as during the holiday season — exacerbates their absence.
“Some families might pay tribute and acknowledge that absence in their own ways — such as leing an empty table setting, or leing presents under the tree for them.
“But for some that acknowledgement might be too difficult and they just get through the day or period however best they can.
“It is a very complex and unique form of grief, so we encourage families living with ambiguous loss to do and feel whatever is right for them.”
Loren’s brother Dan disappeared on July 15, 2011.
For years she and her family did not know where he was, as they rallied the community to search for him — gaining national attention via the Facebook page Dan Come Home.
The Missed Foundation founder and CEO Loren O’Keeffe’s brother Dan’s remains were found five years after he went missing. Credit: Dan Come Home/FacebookTragically, Dan’s remains were found five years later in crawl space underneath the family home. He had taken his own life.
The loss led Loren to found The Missed Foundation to support other families going through the trauma of a missing person.
“Ambiguous loss is the complex grief families of missing people experience,” she said.
“It’s an uncertain loss, which complicates and delays the grieving process and results in unresolved grief.
“Psychologists around the world consider it to be the most traumatic type of loss and the most unmanageable.
“The continual nature of it is agonising because human beings do not cope well with uncertainty. Our brains are hardwired to try to fill gaps in knowledge, so the imagined trauma families of missing loved ones endure has a profound impact on their health and wellbeing.
“Unlike a standard loss, where there are rituals and customs to aid the grieving process and help people accept the loss, ambiguous loss does not get easier to accept over time — it gets harder.”
Loren told 7NEWS.com.au that many families never give up hope their missing loved one will return, and her foundation is there to support them with tools such as the Hope Narratives to read while they go through complex emptions.
“There is always hope and, although the hope may change over time, it’s always there,” she said.
“And like with any trauma, the first step towards healing is knowing you’re not alone — there is a much bigger population of people that can understand your grief than you realise.”
The number of Australians reported missing has almost doubled in the nearly 13 years since Loren’s foundation began.
About 38000 reports of missing persons are made in Australia every year, with about 10 per cent of those remain missing for longer than three months.
“This is a national crisis that deserves more attention than fleeting headlines,” she said.
As the search for Gus continues in Yunta, no expense has been spared trying to find answers for the Lamont family.
Authorities he drained 3.2 million litres of water from a dam as search crews combed 470sqkm of rugged terrain amid scorching heat. Helicopters, drones, Aboriginal trackers and SES crews he all joined the search effort.
A single footprint is the only clue found since Gus Lamont disappeared on September 27. Credit: SAPOLThe only clue uncovered was a single footprint, found 500m from the homestead.
The most recent search revealed six undocumented mine shafts near the property, relics of South Australia’s gold rush era, but none offered answers.
Police Commissioner Grant Stevens admitted the difficulty of the task, saying there are “lots of places a small child might find themselves which are hard to identify”.
For Yunta’s tight‑knit community, Gus’s absence has been crushing.
Families who rallied to scour the scrubland now face Christmas with a child still missing and questions still unanswered.
Authorities stress there is no evidence of foul play but he not ruled it out.
The Lamont family he indicated they will not give up hope — even as the festive season deepens the ache of his absence.
The family’s only wish is for Gus to come home.
Anyone with information is urged to contact police.
If you need help in a crisis, call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For further information about depression contact beyondblue on 1300224636 or talk to your GP, local health professional or someone you trust.
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