Copyright thewest
A month after Gus Lamont vanished from his family’s remote sheep station, a seasoned tracker involved in the search says he believes the four-year-old boy will be found. Little Gus was last seen around 5pm on September 27, playing on a mound of dirt near the homestead, about 40km south of Yunta in South Australia’s outback. Ronald Boland, known for his people tracking skills, joined police, defence force members and SES volunteers in the early days of the search, which ended without finding any trace of the child. A second week-long search earlier this month at the property, which covered a 5.5km radius from the homestead, also failed to find any new evidence. Despite this, Mr Boland remains optimistic. “Police will find him, they will. They do what they do best, I do what I do best,” he told the Daily Mail. “One day, I will tell the story (about Gus).” SA Police confirmed Mr Boland was assisting during the search. Superintendent Mark Syrus described him as having “a very good connection with the land,” noting his familiarity with the property. “He has worked on this property and knows it quite well,” Mr Syrus said. Mr Boland, 58, who has Nukunu, Narungga and Kokatha, learned the ancient Indigenous art of tracking from a young age while growing up on outback stations in South Australia. In 2019 he founded Tracks in the Sand, a company that uses traditional knowledge and practices to control wild dogs. Mr Boland has also previously helped locate seven missing people using ancient techniques. “Not all people are cut out to be a tracker,” he told the outlet. “An average person will follow a footprint and keep going as long as they see a visual track, but a tracker has been taught to see and feel”. He explained that humans are easier to track than animals because they instinctively try to hide their tracks. “It’s a lot more than just looking for prints,” he admitted. “We are more aware of our surroundings.” Police had been hopeful the extensive ground searches would uncover any evidence of Gus, but this sadly has not been the case. “The fact Gus is a small child, the terrain is extremely rugged, harsh and subject to changing weather conditions has made the searching difficult and more challenging for those involved,” SA Police said in a statement. “Each of these factors may have contributed to the lack of evidence discovered. The location also presents less opportunities for police searching for a missing person, compared with an urban environment. “Police have been making every effort to return Gus to his family through detailed, meticulous and protracted searching of the property and this remains a priority.”
