3.2 million litres drained as search for missing boy Gus Lamont continues
Police have drained millions of litres from a dam at the Yunta property where four-year-old Gus Lamont disappeared, but hopes for a breakthrough have again been dashed.
An operation to drain the dam at the centre of the investigation into the disappearance of four-year-old Gus Lamont has yielded no new information.
Police, including Major Crime and the Water Operations Unit, along with the State Emergency Service, attended the Yunta property on Friday morning.
The operation to drain the main dam into the southern dam began at 9.15am and took about three and a half hours, pumping water at approximately 15,000 litres per minute.
In total, about 3.2 million litres of water was removed from the dam.
By midafternoon, members of SA Police’s Water Operations Unit were seen wading through the bed of weeds, scouring every inch of the 40m by 20m dam.
Police divers thoroughly searched both the main and holding dams, including clearing weed beds, but nothing of significance was found.
The 3.2 million litres of water was later pumped back into the dam with very little loss in the process.
Deputy Police Commissioner Linda Williams thanked SES crews for their “invaluable assistance” in supporting the detailed operation.
The 4.5m-deep dam, about 600m from the Lamont family homestead, was also the focus of search efforts in the initial days following Gus’ disappearance on September 27.
While police say the renewed operation was undertaken to rule out the possibility the four-year-old may have drowned, the exhaustive search offered no fresh leads in the case.
The state’s second highest-ranked police officer has savaged the Daily Mail after its reporter was involved in a fiery confrontation with Gus Lamont’s armed grandmother at their Yunta station.
Reports surfaced on Friday that Gus’s grandmother, Josie Murray, waved a pump-action shotgun at reporter Jonica Bray in a fiery exchange as the search for the four-year-old resumed on Thursday.
Deputy Police Commissioner Linda Williams said on Friday that Ms Murray was using the gun to “dispatch a snake” and had no threatening intentions, and labelled the Daily Mail’s actions as “disgraceful”.
“My understanding is two members from the Daily Mail organisation, despite numerous warnings over numerous days and weeks … have gone on to private property,” she said.
“As they’ve entered near the property, one of the persons at the homestead was outside on the porch using a shotgun to dispatch a snake that was obviously on their porch and they’ve then approached by this person.
“There was no intent for the person having that firearm at that time to be threatening.”
Ms Williams warned the public to stay off private property.
“If this persists, then action will be taken, you will either be reported or arrested, this is completely disgraceful conduct,” she said.
Ms Williams said the actions of the homeowner had been assessed and no further action would be taken.
“The person had the gun for a legitimate purpose, they were dispatching a snake that was on their porch,” she said.
“I think that everyone would say that is completely okay to do what they were doing.”
She said the people who approached the home were unlawfully on the property.
“I’d say you need to look at the behaviour of the people who entered that property unlawfully.”
SA Police has not said whether the Daily Mail team has been reported for trespassing.
Images and footage of the confrontation, published by Daily Mail, showed Ms Murray emerging from the remote homestead near Yunta brandishing a shotgun during a heated exchange.
“Get out, you are trespassing,” the grandmother, who is transgender, shouted in the video.
“Get out now.”
Ms Murray continued to shout at Ms Bray, who was accompanied by a photographer.
“Shut your face and get out,” Ms Murray said.
“You want to have the police on you? Because you’ve been warned not to come here.
“Now get out.”
The Daily Mail wrote Ms Bray arrived at the property on Thursday to “ask the family if they wanted to share their story”.
Ms Bray reportedly offered her condolences to Gus’ other grandmother Shannon Murray, before the reporter turned to walk back to her vehicle.
But then Josie emerged and the exchange escalated.
Police said on Thursday “the family has asked that media representatives do not enter their property”.
It comes as police and State Emergency Service volunteers will be on the ground at the property from early this morning to drain a dam, located 600m from the homestead on Gus’s grandparents property where he went missing on September 27.
SA Police’s Water Operations unit arrived in Yunta on Thursday in preparation for the fresh search.
SA Police said the 4.5m-deep dam was previously searched by divers in the initial days of the search for Gus but the move to drain the water will enable a comprehensive visual search to be completed.
While no new intel had been revealed, police say the renewed search of the dam is being undertaken to rule out the possibility Gus may have drowned.
Two previous search operations turned up no physical evidence connected to Gus’ disappearance.
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Originally published as 3.2 million litres drained as search for missing boy Gus Lamont continues
