NOW: Police have recovered newly enhanced CCTV footage from the day Gus went missing — and what they found has completely shifted the direction of the investigation.
According to investigators, the video shows a small boy matching Gus’s appearance walking several steps behind a man wearing a distinctive red hat. The boy appears hesitant, slowing down at times, while the man continues forward without looking back.
But the most alarming part is that the man was not anyone previously identified by family, neighbors, or witnesses. Police confirmed that he does not match the description of any known relatives, teachers, delivery workers, or locals who were in the area that morning.
In the footage, the man in the red hat keeps his face angled downward, making identification difficult. At one point, he briefly turns his head toward the security camera, but the angle captures only part of his jawline and a small scar near the neck, a detail investigators are now analyzing frame by frame.
Authorities say the man’s behavior is “highly unusual,” especially because:
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He walks ahead of the boy without interacting.
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He keeps his hands in his pockets the entire time.
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And just seconds before the camera’s view cuts off, he appears to gesture for the boy to keep up.
Detectives are now working to pull footage from nearby streets to trace where the man and the boy went next. Police emphasize they have not identified the man and have not confirmed whether he played a role in the disappearance — but the footage is being treated as a critical lead.
The investigation is intensifying as authorities urgently search for anyone who may recognize the man with the red hat.