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 post1 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 post2 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 statement3 said.
There has been speculation that he may have entered a...
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