½ñÈÕ³Ô¹Ï

One of the grandmothers of missing South Australian boy Gus Lamont has spoken publicly for the first time to deny involvement in her grandson’s disappearance, with a close friend alleging she may have been unfairly targeted by investigators because she is transgender.

Josie Murray, 75, broke her silence in , where she rejected police suspicions about her involvement in the disappearance of her four-year-old grandson and instead urged investigators to further examine the possibility that he was abducted.

Family friend Bill Harbison also claimed he believed that Murray, who is a trans woman, had experienced discrimination during the investigation.

Harbison alleged he challenged police at the time about “targeting her because of her transgender situation” and alleged officers were offended by the suggestion.

In a statement to Star Observer, South Australia Police gave a broad comment about the ongoing investigation but declined to address the allegations of anti-trans discrimination toward Murray.

“The investigation into the disappearance of four-year-old Gus Lamont has been one of the largest and most intensive undertaken by SA Police in connection with a missing person,” a police spokesperson told Star Observer.

Police said the inquiry had involved extensive ground and air searches, multiple agencies and “unlimited resources”, while confirming investigators had continued to examine three possibilities since Gus vanished: that he wandered away and became lost, that he was abducted, or that someone known to him was involved in his disappearance.

“Task Force Horizon has and will continue to investigate any and all information, including information provided by Gus’s family, that could assist in identifying what has happened to Gus,” said the police spokesperson.

“As the investigation is ongoing it is not appropriate for SA Police to discuss specific aspects of the investigation that could compromise any potential future court proceedings.”

Gus Lamont’s grandmother rejects police theory

Gus disappeared from Oak Park Station, a remote property south of Yunta in South Australia, on 27 September last yer. Despite months of searching and several massive operations involving police, SES volunteers, military personnel, specialist trackers and forensic teams, no trace of gus has been found.

Earlier this year, SA Police declared the case a major crime investigation and revealed that a family member living at the property who was known to Gus had become a suspect. Authorities have also previously pointed to inconsistencies in accounts provided by people at the property, and said they no longer believed Gus simply wandered away.

In her Spotlight interview, Murray said investigators had told her they believed she may have concealed Gus’s body following an accident.

“They’ve said that they don’t think I hurt him; they think that I buried him,” she told the progrm. She described the theory as “ludicrous” and denied any involvement in her grandson’s disappearance.

Murray argued that extensive searches of the property would have revealed any evidence supporting that theory.

Key clues allegedly overlooked

Instead, Murray said she believes investigators should place greater focus on the possibility that Gus was taken from the property.

Speaking to Spotlight, Murray said she began wondering early on whether someone could have entered the property and taken the child.

She said that around the time Gus vanished, she’d noticed objects had been moved and recalled seeing tyre tracks from what appeared to be a medium-sized vehicle.

She also claimed a small footprint was found near a dam, but was dismissed by police as being made by a diver.

“He must have had tiny feet,” said Murray.

Harbison also put forward the theory that that a wedge-tailed eagle could have taken Gus, as wedge-tailed eagles “can pick up a 20–25-kilogram kangaroo and take it without much difficulty”.

The interview also revealed that Gus had previously wandered away from family members on the property on an earlier occasion before being located safely.

Nearly nine months after Gus disappeared, no charges have been laid and no arrests have been made. Police maintain the investigation remains active and continue to appeal for information from the public.