A photograph that has circulated widely online in recent days is being described by some sources close to the investigation as showing four-year-old Gus Lamont approximately one month before he vanished from the remote Oak Park Station near Yunta, South Australia. The image — timestamped mid-August 2025 — depicts a shirtless Gus standing outdoors with what appear to be multiple linear bruises, welts and possible abrasions across his upper and mid-back. The marks are clearly visible in natural daylight and have prompted intense speculation and renewed calls for answers in a case already reclassified as a major crime with strong indications of foul play.

South Australian Police have not officially confirmed the authenticity or origin of the photograph, nor have they commented on whether it has been submitted as evidence. However, detectives are aware of its existence and are actively assessing any images or digital material that could provide context to Gus’s final weeks. A spokesperson for Major Crime reiterated on 9 February 2026 that “all lines of inquiry remain open” and that the investigation is examining every aspect of the boy’s life in the lead-up to 27 September 2025, including any reports of prior injury or mistreatment.

The emergence of the photo has added a disturbing new dimension to a case that has gripped Australia since Gus disappeared while playing outside the family homestead. Initial accounts placed the boy near a dirt mound shortly before 5 p.m.; when his grandmother returned to call him inside roughly half an hour later, he was gone. No cries for help were heard, no footprints led away into the scrub, and exhaustive searches — including helicopters, drones, cadaver dogs and community volunteers — found no trace of clothing, toys or any sign that Gus had wandered into the outback.

By early February 2026 police had shifted the investigation to a homicide inquiry, publicly stating that Gus is believed deceased and that the most likely explanation lies inside the household rather than in the vast surrounding bushland. Superintendent Darren Fielke of Major Crime has repeatedly emphasised that Gus’s parents are not suspects and continue to cooperate fully. Attention has therefore focused on the two maternal grandparents — Josie Murray and Shannon Murray — who were living at the station with Gus, his mother Jessica and younger brother Ronnie.

Both grandparents retained separate high-profile criminal lawyers within hours of the major-crime declaration: Andrew Ey for Josie and Casey Isaacs for Shannon. The decision to engage independent counsel rather than a single family solicitor has been interpreted by many observers as a sign of potential divergence in their accounts or individual legal concerns.

The leaked image has intensified scrutiny on the environment inside the homestead in the weeks and months leading up to Gus’s disappearance. If the photograph is genuine and the injuries are as they appear, it raises immediate questions about whether Gus had been subjected to physical harm prior to the day he vanished. Linear marks of that nature are often associated with striking with a linear object (belt, cord, switch or similar implement), though medical experts caution that without clinical examination bruising patterns can have multiple innocent explanations — accidental falls against furniture, rough play, insect bites or even medical conditions.

The former FBI behavioural analyst who has followed the case closely described the photograph — assuming it is authentic — as “extremely concerning in the context of an already suspicious disappearance.” He noted that children who suffer repeated or escalating physical abuse frequently exhibit such marks on the back and buttocks — areas less visible when clothed — and that abusers sometimes escalate to fatal violence when they feel control slipping or when an incident risks exposure. “The fact that the child is smiling in the photo, if that is indeed Gus, does not rule out prior abuse,” the analyst said. “Many abused children learn to present as happy and compliant around adults, especially when photographed.”

Public reaction to the image has been swift and emotional. On Australian social-media platforms and international true-crime forums, users have expressed horror, anger and renewed demands for transparency. Many have called for the immediate removal of Gus from the care of any adult present at Oak Park Station in the lead-up to his disappearance, even though no child-protection orders have been publicly disclosed. Others have questioned why visible injuries — if they were present and reported — did not trigger earlier intervention by child-welfare authorities or mandatory reporters in the community.

Kensington Palace has not commented on the photograph, but sources close to the investigation say detectives are treating it seriously and are attempting to verify its date, location and provenance. If the image was taken by a family member or someone inside the household, it could become pivotal evidence in establishing a pattern of behaviour or prior harm.

The broader timeline remains deeply troubling. Police have confirmed that the front-door Ring camera was deliberately disabled or removed at 1:47 a.m. on 28 September, that motion was detected by the device at 2:03 a.m. (but no video was saved due to lack of cloud subscription), and that Gus’s presence at the property effectively ended around 2:28 a.m. when his pacemaker’s Bluetooth link to his mother’s phone dropped permanently. The phone itself remained in the house.

No arrest has been made. No formal suspect has been charged. Forensic results from items seized during January searches — including vehicles, electronic devices and clothing — are still pending. Ground searches around the station have been scaled back, but specialist cadaver-detection teams continue to work the property and nearby gullies.

For Gus’s parents, Jessica and her partner, the emergence of the photograph has added another layer of anguish to an already unbearable ordeal. They have remained largely silent on social media since the major-crime reclassification, communicating only through brief police-approved statements that express continued hope for answers and plead for privacy.

The image of a smiling four-year-old boy with unexplained marks on his back has now joined the other haunting elements of this case: the disabled camera, the 26-minute delay before motion detection, the pacemaker’s sudden disconnect, the suspect who once lived in the home and was trusted by Gus, and the grandparents who hired separate lawyers almost immediately after the homicide inquiry was announced.

As forensic analysis continues and detectives prepare possible arrest applications, the question looms larger than ever: if Gus was injured before he disappeared — and if someone inside the household knew — how long had the danger been present, and why did no one intervene?

The quiet sheep station at Oak Park, once an ordinary family home, now stands as the epicentre of a tragedy that may have begun long before the afternoon of 27 September 2025.