“The boy’s body may never be found” — Police Deliver Devastating Update in Gus Lamont Case, Revealing the Heartbreaking Detail That Has Brought an Entire Nation to Tears

After more than three weeks of one of the most intensive and emotional missing-child searches in Western Australian history, police have issued their bleakest statement yet in the disappearance of four-year-old Gus Lamont — admitting they now believe “the boy’s body may never be found”.

In a press conference held outside the Mundaring police station this afternoon, Detective Superintendent Rod Wilde — voice cracking several times — revealed the single detail that has shattered what little hope remained for millions of Australians following the case:

Gus’s favourite blue toy truck — the one he was clutching and playing with in the backyard moments before he vanished — was discovered lodged deep inside a collapsed, unmarked mine shaft more than 2.1 km from the family home.

The small, battery-operated truck — bright blue with yellow wheels, the same one his mother Sarah had given him for his fourth birthday just six weeks earlier — was located yesterday by specialist mine-rescue technicians using fibre-optic cameras lowered into a narrow vertical shaft on the eastern flank of Greenmount Hill. The shaft, part of an abandoned early-1900s gold-prospecting network, drops 18 metres straight down before opening into a partially collapsed horizontal tunnel.

Forensic examination confirmed the toy was jammed between fallen rocks and rotting timber supports at a depth of 14 metres. A tiny fragment of blue fabric — matching the shorts Gus was wearing that day — was caught in the rear axle. No other personal items belonging to the boy have been located.

“This find changes the entire picture,” Supt Wilde said, pausing repeatedly to steady his voice. “The toy’s location strongly suggests Gus either entered the shaft system under his own power or was placed there. The drop is sheer, the opening is extremely narrow — far too small for an adult to fit — and the tunnel beyond has collapsed in multiple places. Given the depth, the lack of oxygen, the unstable structure and the time that has now passed… I have to be honest with the public and with Gus’s family: the boy’s body may never be found.”

The words landed like a physical blow. Sarah Lamont, who has barely left the family home since 28 January, was not present but released a one-sentence statement through police liaison officers:

“That little blue truck was his whole world. Knowing it’s down there in the dark… knowing he might still be holding it… I can’t breathe.”

Search coordinator Sgt Lisa Brennan, fighting back tears, explained the next steps: the shaft has been declared a formal crime scene. Structural engineers and confined-space specialists from Queensland and South Australia are en route. Remote cameras and small drones will be sent as far as possible into the tunnel system; if further progress is deemed too dangerous due to collapse risk, the shaft will likely be sealed with concrete to prevent additional incidents — meaning any remains would remain entombed indefinitely.

The arrest of 38-year-old Daniel Robert Kellett on 9 February had briefly raised hopes of a living rescue. Kellett remains in custody charged with abduction and deprivation of liberty, but police now state there is “no credible intelligence” indicating Gus was removed alive from the property. The prevailing theory is that the child wandered into the bush alone and fell into the shaft.

Across Australia the reaction has been one of collective heartbreak. Yellow ribbons — tied to trees, fences, car mirrors and prams since the first week — are being knotted tighter. Fundraising pages for the family and for abandoned-mine-safety initiatives have surpassed $2.1 million. Candlelight vigils planned for this weekend in Perth, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide are expected to draw record crowds.

Gus’s father spoke outside the family home yesterday evening, voice barely above a whisper:

“He was four. He liked trucks, dinosaurs and giving the biggest hugs. That’s all I want people to remember.”

The image of that tiny blue truck — now evidence entombed in a sealed shaft — has become the defining, unbearable symbol of the case: a child’s most treasured possession marking the place where hope ended.

A four-year-old boy remains missing. A family is shattered beyond words. And a nation is grieving as one.

Police continue to appeal for any information, no matter how small. Contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

The search may soon end. The pain never will.