In a shocking new twist to the disappearance of six-year-old Gus Lamont, a local man has come forward claiming he saw an adult carrying what appeared to be a sleeping child into a dilapidated barn on the outskirts of Maple County — just one night after Gus was last seen.
The witness, identified only as “Daniel,” told investigators he didn’t realize the significance of what he saw until he recognized the child’s face on the news days later.
“It was around midnight,” Daniel recalled in an exclusive interview with The Daily Ledger. “I was driving home when I noticed this man walking down the dirt road, holding a kid in his arms. The boy’s head was resting on the man’s shoulder. At first, I thought it was just a father carrying his son. But something about it didn’t feel right — the kid wasn’t moving at all.”
According to Daniel, the man disappeared into an abandoned red barn near the old Miller property, a remote area surrounded by farmland and dense woods. The witness described the man as tall, wearing a dark jacket and a cap, and said he stayed in the barn for “at least fifteen minutes” before leaving in a white van — the same vehicle now linked to multiple leads in Gus’s case.
“He came out alone,” Daniel added quietly. “No child. Just him.”
Within hours of the statement, police sealed off the entire property and began an intensive forensic search, deploying cadaver dogs, crime scene units, and thermal drones to scour every inch of the area.
Detective Chief Inspector Maria Hensley, who is leading the investigation, described the tip as “potentially the most significant development we’ve had in weeks.”
“We are treating this witness’s report with utmost seriousness,” Hensley said during a tense press briefing. “Search operations are ongoing, and every structure, including the barn and surrounding fields, will be thoroughly examined.”
Sources close to the investigation revealed that detectives discovered faint traces of blood near one of the barn’s rear doors, along with a child’s sock partially buried under loose hay. Forensic teams are currently running DNA analysis to confirm whether the items belong to Gus.
Local residents say the barn has long been considered “a strange place,” often avoided by children and rumored to be used by trespassers at night.
“People hear noises out there all the time,” said one neighbor. “But nobody ever goes close enough to check. The idea that a child might’ve been taken there… it’s terrifying.”
Authorities have not released further information about the man described by Daniel but confirmed they are reviewing CCTV footage from nearby gas stations and farms to trace the van’s route.
Meanwhile, the Lamont family continues to plead for answers. In a heartbreaking statement, Gus’s mother said:
“If someone saw my boy, if he’s out there somewhere, please… tell the police. We just want him home.”
The community remains on edge as officers continue to dig, literally and figuratively, into what could become the most crucial location in the entire investigation.
And as one officer reportedly told The Ledger:
“If what the witness saw is true, then this barn could hold the key to everything — the who, the how, and the why behind Gus Lamont’s disappearance.”
For now, search teams remain stationed at the property overnight, working under floodlights. Every sound, every rustle in the dark, carries the same chilling question —
Was Gus Lamont ever inside that barn?