September 30, 2025<\/a><\/p>\nA major search of the area will continue on Wednesday as the boy’s devastated family clings to hope he’ll be found alive.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alone in searing temperatures and without food or water, the best hope is that Gus has found shelter and is waiting to be rescued.<\/p>\n
His distraught family earlier released a statement saying they were “struggling to comprehend what has happened”.<\/p>\n
“Gus’s absence is felt in all of us, and we miss him more than words can express,” Bill Harbison said on behalf of the family on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
“Our hearts are aching and we are holding on to hope that he will be found and returned safely.”<\/p>\n
The adventurous boy had been playing in the sand near the family homestead when he disappeared.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Despite frantic efforts, his family found no trace and called emergency crews to widen the search around their property near Yunta, about 300km north of Adelaide.<\/p>\n
Extensive ground searches involving State Emergency Service volunteers on trail bikes, all-terrain vehicles, dogs and a drone have been carried out, while helicopters, police divers and mounted officers have also been involved.<\/p>\n
Fears are escalating for the safety of the missing boy, but police don’t believe his disappearance is suspicious.<\/p>\n
Superintendent Mark Syrus previously said police hadn’t given up hope of finding the preschooler alive.<\/p>\n
PolAir continued aerial searches throughout the night, but found no trace of the missing boy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“We always work on the worst-case scenario – he hasn’t had any water or food, but we’re hoping that he’s just crawled up underneath a bush somewhere and just stayed put, conserving some energy,” Supt Syrus said.<\/p>\n
“The human body is an amazing thing, and we’re hoping that he’s just stayed put, kept out of the sun.”<\/p>\n
Gus has long, blond, curly hair. He was last seen wearing a grey sun hat, a cobalt blue T-shirt with a yellow minion on the front, light-grey long pants and boots.<\/p>\n