When police announced a new search for missing four-year-old Gus earlier this week, it came with a renewed hope for answers.<\/p>\n
But the latest search came to an end on Friday with crews finding no sign of the little boy.<\/p>\n
“Police had been hopeful the extensive ground searches would uncover any evidence of Gus, but this has not been the case,” police announced on Friday as the search ended.<\/p>\n
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The terrain and weather conditions have proved challenging for search teams. (ABC News: Isabella Carbone)<\/p>\n
It has been three weeks since the four-year-old went missing from his family’s sheep station,<\/a> 43 kilometres south of Yunta.<\/p>\n The isolated homestead, which is located about 350 kilometres north of Adelaide, spans about 6,000 hectares and is a complex mix of terrain.<\/p>\n Terrain that has caused difficulties for those involved with the search.<\/p>\n Gus was last seen playing outside his family’s homestead about 40 kilometres south of the remote town of Yunta.<\/p>\n Last seen by his grandmother on September 27, “playing in the sand like he normally does”, Gus’s family searched the property for the “adventurous” boy for three hours before authorities were called in.<\/p>\n The initial search, which police announced would be scaled back a week after Gus went missing<\/a>, covered more than 470 square kilometres, part of which was searched from the air.<\/p>\n Police said this week’s ground search, which again involved officers, ADF members and SES volunteers, extended the search to a 5.5 kilometre radius from the homestead \u2014 equating to 95 square kilometres being searched by foot.<\/p>\n Dozens of ADF personnel were among those who took part in the renewed ground searches. (ABC News: Isabella Carbone)<\/p>\n Trackers and local property owners were also called in across both searches.<\/p>\n But efforts were hampered this week with “extreme heat and windy conditions” resulting in a shorter search on Thursday<\/a>, with Friday’s search concluding in the early afternoon<\/a>.<\/p>\n “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,” police said.<\/p>\n “Each of these factors may have contributed to the lack of evidence discovered.”<\/p>\n Police have been searching remote bushland. (ABC News: Justin Hewitson)<\/p>\n Aside from a footprint with a “very similar boot pattern to what Gus was wearing when he went missing” that was found about 500 metres from the homestead during the first search, no trace of the boy has been found since.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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