In a jaw-dropping new twist in the disappearance of nine-year-old Gus Lamont, a neighbor who lives just a few doors down from the Lamont family has come forward with an explosive claim — insisting she knows exactly where the missing boy is.
According to her chilling statement, the answer isn’t miles away in the wilderness, as many feared — it’s right here, close to home.
“I’m certain the boy is there,” she told reporters in an exclusive interview. “People are looking too far. They don’t realize what’s been happening right under their noses.”
The claim that stopped investigators in their tracks
The neighbor, who has asked to remain anonymous for her safety, said she contacted police after noticing “unusual activity” at a vacant property located less than one kilometer from the Lamont family home.
“There were lights on inside late at night,” she revealed. “Then they’d go out suddenly when someone passed by. I heard noises too — not like animals, but voices. Small ones.”
She described hearing what she believed to be a child’s muffled cry two nights ago, prompting her to immediately alert local authorities.
“I froze when I heard it,” she said. “It wasn’t the wind. It was a child. I know it.”
Police swarm the location after midnight tip-off
Within hours of the tip, a team of police officers — along with two K9 units — arrived at the abandoned house. The area was cordoned off just before 2 a.m., with forensics seen entering the property carrying thermal scanners and portable lights.
According to an inside source, the officers discovered fresh footprints in the backyard and signs that someone may have recently been staying inside.
“There were food wrappers, blankets, and a small flashlight,” the source confirmed. “Everything looked hastily abandoned, like someone knew we were coming.”
Investigators are now running DNA tests on several items recovered from the scene, including a torn piece of blue fabric that “appears consistent with the clothing Gus was last seen wearing.”
A shocking possibility emerges
What’s even more disturbing is that the location of the abandoned property fits a pattern police had previously dismissed — multiple witnesses reported seeing a white van passing near that area on the night Gus vanished.
“If this tip checks out,” said one investigator, “it could completely change our timeline and prove that Gus never left the neighborhood.”
The Lamont family has been informed of the latest development but have declined to comment publicly.
Neighborhood shaken — fear replaces hope
Locals are rattled by the idea that Gus could have been so close all along.
“It’s horrifying to think he might’ve been right here while we were out searching miles away,” one resident told The Herald Wire. “Every sound, every shadow — now we can’t stop wondering if we missed something.”
Several neighbors also recalled seeing unfamiliar people around the vacant home in recent weeks, but none had reported it at the time.
“It’s an old house,” one man said. “We thought maybe squatters. No one imagined it could be tied to this.”
Police tighten the investigation
Detective Inspector Megan Holt, leading the investigation, confirmed that the site mentioned by the neighbor is now “a major point of interest.”
“We are following up on all credible information,” she said during a short press briefing. “We urge the public not to interfere with the area and to report anything — no matter how small — that may assist in the search.”
When pressed about whether any evidence suggests Gus was recently there, Holt paused before replying:
“We can’t confirm that yet… but what we found inside was enough to make every officer on scene go silent.”
An eerie silence — and growing suspense
As the sun rises over the quiet Adelaide neighborhood, tension fills the air. Reporters crowd the street, neighbors peek from their windows, and social media is exploding with theories — some hopeful, others far darker.
“If she’s right, if the boy really was there,” one local woman whispered, “then someone knew — and they’ve been keeping it hidden.”
Police are expected to release an official update within the next 24 hours, but until then, one question grips the nation:
Was Gus Lamont right there all along — hidden in plain sight?