A shocking new development has emerged in the mysterious disappearance of six-year-old Gus Lamont, after an elderly farmer from the outskirts of Maple County reported seeing a small boy running alone toward the nearby woods — just hours after Gus was last seen outside his school.
The witness, Harold Brigs, 78, has lived near Ashfield Woods for more than five decades and says he “knows every sound and shadow” in that area. But what he saw on that cold, gray morning has haunted him ever since.
“I looked up from the field and saw this little boy,” Brigs told local reporters, his voice trembling. “He was running — fast — like he was scared of something. He had a blue backpack… or maybe it was dark green. I didn’t think much of it until I saw his face on the news that night.”
According to police sources, Brigs’s description matches Gus’s clothing on the day he vanished — including a striped hoodie and small canvas shoes. What makes the report even more chilling is the direction the boy was heading: straight toward the dense forest area behind the old drainage canal, where authorities have since discovered the boy’s backpack floating near a tunnel outlet.
“This could very well be the last confirmed sighting of Gus Lamont alive,” said Detective Chief Inspector Maria Hensley during a tense Friday press briefing. “Mr. Brigs’s statement aligns disturbingly well with our timeline.”
Police have since cordoned off more than 60 acres of forest, deploying search dogs, heat drones, and ground-penetrating radar in hopes of uncovering any trace of movement.
But investigators say one detail in Brigs’s testimony has raised eyebrows — and deep concern.
“He wasn’t alone for long,” Brigs said. “A few minutes later, I heard the sound of an engine. I turned my head and saw a white van parked near the old fence line. The driver stepped out, looked around for a moment, then got back in. That’s when I knew something wasn’t right.”
Detectives are now working to identify the van and its driver, believed to be the same vehicle seen in a separate video provided by a local teenager earlier this week — footage that appeared to show Gus walking along the road near Maplewood Primary just before disappearing from view.
The proximity of both sightings — and their connection to the mysterious van — has left investigators “deeply unsettled.”
“The timeline fits almost too perfectly,” one insider revealed. “If Mr. Brigs really did see Gus that morning, then something happened between that moment and the van’s reappearance. And that’s where the trail goes dark.”
Locals have described Ashfield Woods as eerie and sprawling, filled with abandoned hunting cabins and long-forgotten dirt paths. Police have confirmed that several forensic units are currently combing the area after the discovery of fresh footprints believed to belong to a small child.
Meanwhile, residents in Maple County say the atmosphere has grown heavy with fear and speculation.
“Everyone’s locking their doors now,” said one neighbor. “If that boy really ran into those woods, God help him. Nobody goes there alone.”
The Lamont family, desperate for answers, issued a brief statement through their spokesperson late Saturday:
“We are praying this lead helps bring our son home. Please, if anyone else saw something that morning, come forward.”
As investigators dig deeper into the farmer’s account, forensic experts are analyzing soil samples, tire tracks, and drone footage from the wooded area. But the question haunting everyone remains the same —
If Gus really was running toward the woods that morning… what was he running from?