'Anomalies' in images could prompt further search for young Gus Lamont - ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Superintendent Darren Fielke fought back tears as he insisted on the determination of police. (ABC News: Che Chorley)

As authorities announced a $1 million reward for critical information about Gus Lamont's disappearance, Detective Superintendent Darren Fielke reflected candidly on police's commitment to achieving a breakthrough.

A prominent criminologist told the ABC that police would have thought "very carefully" about when to announce the reward, and that now was the right time.

Superintendent Fielke also hinted at "anomalies" in aerial imagery that could prompt further searches.

When the lead detective in the investigation into the disappearance of four-year-old Gus Lamont spoke of the "unwavering commitment" of police, he couldn't stop a waver from briefly entering his voice before he regathered his composure.

"They are working their arses off, on this job, sometimes thanklessly," Superintendent Darren Fielke said of his fellow detectives on the case.

Superintendent Fielke, who is the officer in charge of SA Police's Major Crime Investigation Branch, made those comments at a media conference on Wednesday, on the eve of the first anniversary of Gus being reported missing from his outback home near Yunta.

It has been almost a year since Gus Lamont was reported missing on Saturday, September 27, 2025. (Supplied: SA Police)

Seasoned senior police officers are not in the habit of being publicly unrestrained in their feelings — the requirements of the job perhaps dictate against anything other than dispassionately professional demeanour.

But Superintendent Fielke's moment of emotion underlined the police's fierce determination.

Wednesday's media conference was the setting for two significant developments — a video appeal from Gus's grief-stricken parents, and the announcement of a reward of up to $1 million for information leading to a conviction over the boy's disappearance or to "the location of his remains".

"A reward is a legitimate strategy that we use in police investigations," Superintendent Fielke said.

"In the past 12 months we've paid out a significant amount of money for rewards, for cold case matters, that wouldn't have been resolved without a reward being offered, so we know they work.

"One million dollars is a life-changing amount of money for someone. Now is the time to come forward."

An incentive of that magnitude is not unprecedented in South Australia's policing history.

Superintendent Fielke said there had been, in total, 17 missing children's cases that had prompted million-dollar rewards, and added that police had been seeking the latest one from the SA government "in the last few weeks".

Footage of Gus riding a bike was released earlier this year. (Supplied: SA Police)

Criminologist Xanthe Weston told the ABC she thought the timing of that move was right.

She said in the immediate aftermath of Gus's disappearance, police were inundated with information, "but clearly they need a push now".

"They've thought this through very carefully," Dr Weston said.

"It feels like it's been a long time, but actually, strategically, I don't think it would have worked earlier in the investigation.

"[Initially] the police were receiving a lot of information from the public that they certainly followed up."

Xanthe Weston says she suspects police had very carefully considered the timing of the reward. (ABC Newcastle: Romy Stephens)

Dr Weston cautioned that rewards were double-edged swords, and could elicit not just legitimate intelligence but false information.

"If somebody is involved in Gus's disappearance, it's likely they've talked to somebody. People generally don't keep these things totally secret to themselves," she said.

"What the police need is genuine information; what they don't need is people calling with theories and guesses."

The challenge presented by misinformation is one police are acutely aware of.

"We need people to come forward with information that will help drive this investigation forward," Superintendent Fielke said.

"Theories and conspiracies are not what we're looking for."

But police have multiple irons in the fire.

The early days of the search for Gus on Oak Park Station. (Supplied: SA Police)

While the media conference focused mostly focused on matters beyond the investigation, the chief detective's comments still offered a glimpse of a potential new line of enquiry.

Superintendent Fielke said detectives from Taskforce Horizon — the police unit established to investigate Gus's disappearance — had recently completed "a painstaking, methodical, forensically detailed manual" scouring of imagery gathered during aerial searches above Gus's home, Oak Park Station.

"As a result of that manual searching, we have identified some anomalies in the imagery that has been provided to us," he said.

A map released earlier this year showing the search areas undertaken around Gus's home. (Supplied: SAPOL)

Asked to elaborate on what those anomalies are, Superintendent Fielke was reluctant, citing investigational reasons.

But he was adamant that, as the first anniversary of Gus's disappearance approaches, police are as "focused and determined" as ever.