‘Someone knows’: $1m reward to crack mystery of missing SA boy August ‘Gus’ Lamont

South Australia has announced a $1 million reward for information that could finally solve the baffling disappearance of August “Gus” Lamont, matching the state’s highest reward ever offered in the Beaumont children cold case.

Premier Peter Malinauskas confirmed the unprecedented figure on Wednesday, almost a year since the three‑year‑old vanished without a trace from Oak Park Station near Yunta — a mystery he says has “shocked the nation” and inflicted “untold pain” on the little boy’s family.

“Almost 12 months ago to the day, South Australians learned of the disappearance of Gus Lamont,” the premier said.

“This is a case that hasn’t just shocked our state — it has shocked our nation. When police take on a case like this, they don’t just throw every resource at it. They throw their souls at it.”

Police Minister Michael Brown said investigators remained convinced “someone out there knows something”, urging that person to come forward and “spare his family the pain they are going through”.

In an exclusive interview with 7NEWS , Gus’s grandmother Josie Murray invited cameras onto the sprawling sheep station for the first time, showing areas never before seen by the public — including the spot where Gus was last seen playing on the afternoon before he disappeared.

“It brings me to tears that he’s not here,” she said, pointing to the dusty patch of ground near the homestead.

“Just down here. And then that was the last he was seen, and after that he just disappeared.”

Gus vanished on the evening of September 27, AFL grand final day, while in the care of his other grandparent, who was looking after him and his baby brother.

The alarm triggered the largest police search in South Australian history, with no clues found despite 11 ground searches.

Murray says detectives have told her she is the main suspect, but she insists she is innocent.

“As far as I’m concerned, I still want to know the answer — what happened to him,” she said.

The shearing shed where Murray and Gus’ mother were working that day sits about 15km from the homestead. They returned about 5.30pm to discover Gus missing.

Despite exhaustive searches — 11 full property searches, three dams drained, six mine shafts checked, and a list of 500 people scrutinised — not a single clue has been found. Not even the hat Gus was wearing at the time he went missing.