The grandmothers of missing South Australian child Gus Lamont have broken cover for the first time since he vanished from their remote sheep station.

Fiercely private Josie and Shannon Murray – Gus’ maternal grandparents – left Oak Park Station, 40km south of Yunta, on Tuesday and drove 90 minutes to Peterborough, where the Daily Mail pictured them at a café.

According to police, Shannon was the last person to see the four-year-old on the evening of September 27, when he was playing in the sand outside the family homestead at 5pm.

When she went to call him inside at 5.30pm, he was gone.

Multiple land, air and waterway searches have failed to find the boy, and police believe he wandered off into the difficult terrain surrounding Oak Park.

There is little hope he will be found alive.

Our exclusive photographs show Shannon for the first time since Gus disappeared. Until now, she has never been pictured in the press, nor has she spoken publicly.

For online sleuths tracking every twist in the case, a clear image of the last person to see Gus alive represents a missing piece in a puzzle that has confounded police and captivated the public for over six weeks.

Seen for the first time outside the family’s Oak Park sheep station, Gus Lamont’s grandmothers Josie (formerly Robert), left, and Shannon Murray, right, attend a meeting at a café 90 minutes from their Yunta home, in Peterborough, South Australia

Following their meeting, the couple was later seen in Jamestown, about 20 minutes from Peterborough, where they did a large grocery shop and chatted with friends

It was unseasonably chilly in South Australia’s Mid North that day, with Shannon (right) wearing a blue beanie to ward off the 16°C temperatures

Josie, who is transgender, has memorably been pictured before: last month, we photographed her holding a pump-action shotgun and demanding a Daily Mail reporter leave her property.

She was born Robert Murray, married Shannon, and later transitioned to a woman following the death of her father-in-law, war hero Vincent Pfeiffer – described by one Yunta source as ‘a tough guy [who] probably wouldn’t have approved’.

On Tuesday, Josie and Shannon were seen attending what appeared to be a business meeting at Steamtown Dine Inn, a restaurant attached to a Peterborough petrol station.

They were deep in discussion with a man who was showing them information on an iPad.

It has been speculated within the community that, following the tragedy of Gus going missing, the Murrays may be looking to sell Oak Park – which has been passed down through Shannon’s side of the family for multiple generations.

The couple are in their 70s, and their only child is Gus’s mother Jessica – who insiders say may not be able to carry on the family legacy after the trauma of losing her son.

The local rumour mill suggests that Shannon and Josie may have been meeting with a stock and land agent, possibly to sell up. However, our own investigation found that the man they were speaking to was actually an employee of ElectraNet, which is building a new electrical transmission system in an area that encompasses Yunta.

Josie, who is transgender, was last month pictured holding a pump-action shotgun and demanding a Daily Mail reporter leave her property

Josie (pictured on Tuesday) was born Robert Murray, married Shannon, and later transitioned to a woman following the death of her father-in-law, war hero Vincent Pfeiffer

The local rumour mill suggests that Shannon and Josie may have been meeting with a stock and land agent, possibly to sell Oak Park (pictured)

However, our own investigation found that the man they were speaking to – whose face we have blurred for privacy reasons – was actually an employee of ElectraNet, which is building a new electrical transmission system in an area that encompasses Yunta

Regardless of the purpose of their meeting, Josie and Shannon’s business discussions suggest they are attempting to return to some semblance of normality.

Following their talk, the couple was later seen in Jamestown, about 20 minutes from Peterborough, where they did a large grocery shop and chatted with friends.

It was unseasonably chilly in South Australia’s Mid North that day, with Shannon donning a blue beanie to ward off the 16°C temperatures.

At the time Gus vanished, his father – Jessica’s partner – Joshua Lamont was renovating a farmhouse in Belalie North, about two hours’ drive from Oak Park, with a view to moving in his young family, which also includes one-year-old Ronnie.

However, he now appears to have moved. Joshua refused to speak to a Daily Mail reporter when approached on Tuesday morning.

SA Police chief Grant Stevens recently revealed officers would return to Oak Park for future searches, indicating they have not given up on Gus (pictured)

At the time Gus vanished, his father Joshua Lamont was renovating a farmhouse about two hours’ drive from Oak Park. He now appears to have moved (pictured on Tuesday)

Gus’s parents Jessica and Joshua Lamont are seen together at the South Australian Music Awards in 2019

SA Police chief Grant Stevens recently said that officers would return to Oak Park for future searches, indicating they have not given up on Gus.

‘We’ve been acting on the advice of survivability experts, doctors, medical staff, in relation to how far Gus might travel and how long and how long he would be able to survive without any support or assistance,’ Mr Stevens said.

‘That was a factor that dictated how far we would search and how long.

‘We are continuing to go back because we are still committed to recovering Gus for the family, so everybody has some sense of closure in relation to what’s occurred up in Yunta.’

He did not provide a timeframe, but said search teams would return to the property ‘based on further analysis of data’.

SA Police drained 3.2 million litres of water from a dam near the property last month, but found no trace of the boy.

The dam is about 600 metres from the homestead and roughly 4.5 metres deep.

Commissioner Stevens said there had been two reviews into the search efforts.

‘Peer reviews by experts who have taken an objective view of whether or not things could have gone differently,’ he said.

‘Those reviews have identified opportunities to enhance what we’ve done but there’s been no criticism of the search effort.’

Despite three previous major search operations involving SAPOL, Air Pol, the ADF and SES, Gus has not been found.

It is not suggested any member of Gus’s family was involved in his disappearance.

SOURCE: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15282345/Gus-Lamont-grandmothers-pictured-time.html