TRAGIC UPDATE: After six days of intense searching, the renewed hunt for 4-year-old Gus Lamont has ended without answers.

More than 120 officers, K9 units, and drones scoured the woods near Maple Creek, where the boy’s tiny blue sneakers were found half-buried in mud. His mother, Emily Lamont, was seen breaking down as the search teams packed up — a silence heavier than words.

The case now moves into a new phase, but the question of what happened in those final moments remains painfully unresolved.

Renewed search for Gus concludes without answers

When police announced a new search for missing four-year-old Gus earlier this week, it came with a renewed hope for answers.

But the latest search came to an end on Friday with crews finding no sign of the little boy.

“Police had been hopeful the extensive ground searches would uncover any evidence of Gus, but this has not been the case,” police announced on Friday as the search ended.

The terrain and weather conditions have proved challenging for search teams. (ABC News: Isabella Carbone)

It has been three weeks since the four-year-old went missing from his family’s sheep station, 43 kilometres south of Yunta.

The isolated homestead, which is located about 350 kilometres north of Adelaide, spans about 6,000 hectares and is a complex mix of terrain.

Terrain that has caused difficulties for those involved with the search.

Gus was last seen playing outside his family’s homestead about 40 kilometres south of the remote town of Yunta.

Last seen by his grandmother on September 27, “playing in the sand like he normally does”, Gus’s family searched the property for the “adventurous” boy for three hours before authorities were called in.

The initial search, which police announced would be scaled back a week after Gus went missing, covered more than 470 square kilometres, part of which was searched from the air.

Police said this week’s ground search, which again involved officers, ADF members and SES volunteers, extended the search to a 5.5 kilometre radius from the homestead — equating to 95 square kilometres being searched by foot.

Dozens of ADF personnel were among those who took part in the renewed ground searches. (ABC News: Isabella Carbone)

Trackers and local property owners were also called in across both searches.

But efforts were hampered this week with “extreme heat and windy conditions” resulting in a shorter search on Thursday, with Friday’s search concluding in the early afternoon.

Police earlier released this photo of missing four-year-old boy Gus. (Supplied: SAPOL)

“The fact Gus is a small child, the terrain is extremely rugged, harsh and subject to changing weather conditions has made the searching difficult and more challenging for those involved,” police said.

“Each of these factors may have contributed to the lack of evidence discovered.”

Police have been searching remote bushland. (ABC News: Justin Hewitson)

Aside from a footprint with a “very similar boot pattern to what Gus was wearing when he went missing” that was found about 500 metres from the homestead during the first search, no trace of the boy has been found since.

Last week Assistant Commissioner Linda Williams said the discovery of a separate boot print had prompted a search that “involved numerous resources including STAR, Polair [the police helicopter] and a tracker”.

But “the print was subsequently found not to be related to Gus”.

The remote property is about 40 kilometres south of Yunta. (ABC News: Simon Goodes)

An aerial search conducted last weekend included the use of a special drone with infrared capabilities, with results from those searches expected in coming weeks.

“The search for Gus has been one of the largest operations of its type conducted by SA Police,” Friday’s statement read.

“And all involved were initially intensely focused on locating him alive, but this shifted to a determination to provide some closure for his family.”

SA Police say the search has been one of the largest operations of its type it has conducted. (ABC News: Genevieve Blandin de Chalain)

Despite the enormity of the operation, the two separate searches have been distinct in regards to information provided by police.

The first search was led by Superintendent Mark Syrus, who provided regular updates to the media about search efforts and conditions on the ground.

This week, the media was told there would be no police updates on the ground, with all new information coming from Adelaide police HQ, limiting opportunities for the media to ask questions about what had prompted the renewed search.

The area has been described as “harsh” and “extremely rugged”. (ABC News: Isabella Carbone)

Police Commissioner Grant Stevens appeared on two radio networks on Tuesday, including ABC Radio Adelaide, and said the latest operation was “not based on new information” and there was “nothing to suggest foul play”.

“This is a case of us making sure that we leave no stone unturned,” he said.

Former Victoria Police detective Narelle Fraser — who is not involved in the case — told the ABC earlier this week that police made various considerations when deciding to release or protect information in an investigation because people were “like sponges”.

“They want to know everything,” she said.

“Sometimes you can give the media too little information, so they go out seeking their own, or you give them too much and then you know that causes problems as well.”

Former officer Narelle Fraser said renewed searches were not uncommon. (ABC News: Nicole Asher)

Ms Fraser also said it was it was not unusual for police to return to a search, with police on Friday not ruling out further searches at the property.

While police are no longer on the ground, Taskforce Horizon, an operation announced on Tuesday morning, will continue to investigate the disappearance of Gus.

A police vehicle during the search south of Yunta. (ABC News: Isabella Carbone)

The commissioner said the task force would be made up of 12 people, including “a range of specialists who will continue to analyse information, assess opportunities for further searches on the property, and investigate all of the circumstances that possibly might have occurred that’s resulted in Gus going missing”.

“Our hope is that we can find Gus and return him to his family,” he said.

“That will be an important step in their process of working through what can only be described as a tragic course of events.”

Various vehicles were involved in the search. (ABC News: Isabella Carbone)