WHAT WAS CLAIMED
Missing child Gus Lamont has been found, kidnapped or parts of his body have been discovered.
OUR VERDICT
False. Police have not found him or any physical evidence nor have they determined his condition.
AAP FACTCHECK - False claims about the search for a missing four-year-old boy near an outback sheep station are being shared by engagement bait pages on social media.
The sensational claims are false and appear to be designed to trick users into clicking links to external websites.
Gus Lamont wandered off from the Oak Park Station homestead, about 40km south of Yunta, in South Australia's Mid North region, on September 27.
At the time of writing, SA Police have pledged to "never give up hope of finding Gus" but concede he is probably dead.
However, Facebook pages are claiming that his fate has been unveiled and that items like a backpack, a shirt and even a body part have been found.
One Facebook post claims he has been found alive.
"GUS LAMONT IS ALIVE?!: 4-Year-Old Boy's Parents BREAK DOWN IN TEARS After His MIRACULOUS Return — The Ch!ll.ing Truth FINALLY REVEALED After 7 Days of Desperate Searching, Leaving Australia — and the World — Absolutely STUNNED," the caption reads.
Another post from the same page claims his fate had been unveiled.
"The Ch!ll.ing Secret About the Hidden Cave FINALLY UNVEILS the Fate of the 4-Year-Old 'Little Lamb'," the post claims.
However, the posts are false and there are no credible reports backing up the claims.
The four-year-old's fate is unknown and no evidence had been found at the time of writing with the case handed over to the missing persons unit, an SA Police statement said.
There has been speculation that he may have entered a mine shaft, the Daily Mail reported, but police have not revealed any official findings about his whereabouts.
Another post claims guard dogs led police to a "hidden trail" that uncovered evidence about his whereabouts.
"A SOAKED Backpack and Tiny Footprints Emerge from the Dust, SPARKING a MAJOR BRE@KTHROUGH in the Hunt for Missing 4-Year-Old Gus Lamont," the post claims.
A fourth post claims police found a "small shimmering green item" that might turn "the entire investigation upside down".
Another Facebook page posted a photo purporting to show Gus being carried into a vehicle by a man, suggesting that he had been kidnapped from the property.
"An eyewitness reports seeing a boy matching Gus Lamont's description with an unfamiliar man in a car about 100km from Yunta," the caption reads.
There are no credible reports or police briefings about sightings of Gus being carried into a vehicle and the image appears to be AI-generated.
A clear sign is the unnaturally long finger on the hand of the man supposedly holding the child.
Another page claims searchers found a Minions shirt like the one Gus was wearing prior to his disappearance, while another claims bloodstains and a body part had been found.
But police say they haven't found any physical evidence related to Gus's disappearance.
"At this point, no trace of Gus has been located. No tangible pieces of evidence, such as footprints, a hat or clothing, have been located to identify any direction of travel to assist searchers," SA Police Assistant Commissioner Ian Parrott said in a statement.
The Facebook pages sharing the false claims appear to be engagement bait operations that use fake, sensational news or celebrity stories to encourage users to click on links to external websites laden with ads or scams.
AAP FactCheck has previously debunked claims from one of the aforementioned pages about an NZ fugitive who was killed recently in a shootout with police.
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