Augustus “Gus” Lamont was last seen on September 27, playing on a mound of dirt near his family’s sheep station, deep in the Australian Outback.

According to reports, the 4-year-old had been left alone for about half an hour before his grandmother went to call him inside — but he was gone.

Since then, a frantic search has gripped the nation, with all of Australia holding its breath as rescuers race against time to find the missing boy.

Locals fear

Four-year-old August “Gus” Lamont is still missing after he was last spotted playing outside his family’s Oak Park Station property, roughly 25 miles south of Yunta in South Australia, on September 27.

The search has become one of the largest in South Australia’s recent history – a desperate mission fueled by hope and heartbreak. Friends, family, and rescuers refuses to give up, believing the little boy may have wandered off in the cooler evening hours “because of the heat and flies” during the day.

Other locals fear that little Gus may have wandered into one of the area’s many hidden hazards — including old, unmarked mine shafts or wells.