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No evidence found as ADF joins fresh search for missing Gus

No evidence has been recovered in a fresh search today for missing four-year-old Gus Lamont despite more than 80 soldiers joining the case.

Gus was last seen about 5pm on Saturday, September 27 at his family's homestead Oak Park Station in remote South Australia, about 40km south of Yunta.

The search was called off earlier this month after no trace of Gus was found during a intensive six-day search.

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Missing four-year-old Gus

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Police today resumed the search and launched Taskforce Horizon to investigate Gus' disappearance.

Eighteen police officers, 84 Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel, 33 cars, SES resources, drones and utility terrain vehicles were used are to scour the remote terrain in SA's mid-north today.

The coordinated search has progressed in zones "outside of the original search area", police said.

The search will resume tomorrow, however hot weather is expected to restrict authorities on Thursday.

SA Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said today no stone would be left unturned in the search for Gus.

"We are dedicated to making sure we do everything we possibly can to bring Gus back to his family," Stevens said.

The fresh search was not triggered by any new information, Stevens said.

He said police were returning to the property to extend their search following specialist advice.

"We are looking for up to two days but there will be a continual reassessment," Stevens said.

"The resources that we're deploying may change over time and the use of specialist drones will be another consideration as we move forward as well."

Missing four-year-old Gus Lamont in SA

The search area covered so far has been around 470 square kilometres.

Stevens emphasised the sheer magnitude of the search area and said it was like combing through "100 Adelaide CBDs".

"We are searching in quite unusual terrain, it is a significant effort," he said.

"We're exhausting every opportunity to recover Gus."

Taskforce Horizon consists of 12 specialists who will analyse information and suggest different areas to search.

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Missing four-year-old Gus Lamont in SA

The results from the thermal drone cameras were yet to be analysed but Stevens admitted police were not hopeful it would yield any information.

Stevens said the ongoing search will be coordinated "like any other police operation".

He told reporters there is nothing to suggest foul play in Gus' disappearance.

Police have received more than 150 Crime Stoppers tips since Gus went missing, but warn online speculation has been hurtful to Gus' family.

His family have said in a statement they are "devastated" and "deeply distressed" by his disappearance.

"I would describe them as stoic," Stevens added.

"But you can imagine just how they are feelings, without having Gus and without having answers to exactly where Gus is and what's happened to him.

"This would be traumatic for any family."

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‘She’s been dead for a while’: Man wailed to triple-zero after allegedly killing ex-partner

A man who denies killing his former partner during a violent argument was heard wailing incomprehensibly as he tried to resuscitate her the next day.

Danny Zayat, 30, had been in a volatile relationship with 34-year-old Tatiana Dokhotaru before she was found dead in her south-west Sydney apartment on a Saturday in May 2023.

Zayat is accused of murdering her the previous night after a physically violent and verbally abusive argument heard by neighbours on the 22nd floor of the Liverpool complex.

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Danny Zayat

Two phone calls the concreter made to triple zero the day after the alleged murder were played to his NSW Supreme Court jury trial today.

During the calls, he can be heard at times wailing and speaking incoherently as the operator gave directions on how to administer CPR.

"She's not breathing, she's got blood coming out of her nose," he said during the call.

"It looks like she's been dead for a while."

Police officers and paramedics arrived to find him crying and pleading for someone to help his ex-partner as she lay on the floor of her apartment.

Paramedics attempted to revive her but she was pronounced dead at the scene.

Before calling triple zero, Zayat was heard by neighbours running up and down the corridor outside calling for help.

Leo Nguyen lived in the apartment opposite and told the jury that he heard a male shouting and banging on the apartment doors outside.

"It just sounded like someone was in the hallway just crying, distressed," he said from the witness box.

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Tatiana Dokhotaru

Zayat told police that Dokhotaru wanted to kill herself about a week before she was found dead in the apartment on May 23.

On police body-worn footage, he was seen asking police to check his phone for video footage taken on May 21.

He claimed the 34-year-old was drunk, tripped over and injured herself on that day before expressing thoughts of suicide.

"I took a video of it just for my own sake," he told officers.

Dokhotaru's next-door neighbours, Saska Simic and Husam Alsadi, told the court they heard expletives and thuds from the woman's unit on the night of the alleged murder.

Alsadi also described muffled voices broken up by a male yelling "you f—— slut" and a woman yelling "get out, get out".

"It sounded like it was very guttural," he said of the male's voice.

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The neighbour went to his front door to check on the corridor and the neighbouring apartment.

When he stepped outside, the noises died down, the jury heard.

The couple then went out to their balcony but didn't see or hear anything further.

Prosecutors allege Zayat had a tendency of violent, abusive behaviour to Dokhotaru which eventually turned deadly.

They have said he ended a 89-second triple-zero call she made on the night she was killed after she provided the street address to her apartment, and then threw the phone off the high-rise balcony.

"Yes, hi. My ex-boyfriend's here and he's trying to kill me," she had earlier told the operator.

An autopsy showed that Dokhotaru died from a brain injury caused by blunt force head trauma.

READ MORE: New taskforce formed as ADF joins fresh search for missing Gus

NSW supreme court

Zayat has pleaded not guilty to murder and denies being violent towards his former partner or having anything to do with her death.

He also faces an alternative charge of manslaughter.

The trial continues.

Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

Readers seeking support can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or beyond blue on 1300 22 4636.

National park reopens despite ongoing search for accused gunman Dezi Freeman

A Victorian national park that has been closed for seven weeks during the hunt for alleged gunman Dezi Freeman has finally been reopened, but with restrictions.

It has been 49 days since Freeman allegedly opened fire and killed Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart and Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, who went to execute a search warrant at his remote property in Porepunkah on August 26.

He was last seen fleeing into the bush around Mount Buffalo, with the nearby national park becoming a focus for officers and search crews.

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The Mount Buffalo National Park has remained shut ever since due to the ongoing police operation, but has been partially reopened today after staff checked all the facilities.

Most of the popular visitor sites, trails and roads are now accessible to the public, but some areas still remain restricted and prohibited.

Victoria Police said the park's reopening "does not signify the end of the search for Freeman", and officers will maintain a presence in the area.

"Despite these extensive searches and enquiries, police have not located Desmond Freeman. This work has, however, given Victoria Police the confidence that the park can now reopen, as we know how important it is for the local community," Victoria Police said in a statement.

"With the park reopening, police are urging anyone with hunting or trail cameras to check their footage and share any information that may assist investigators."

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Victoria Police during the search for alleged shooter Dezi Freeman at Mount Buffalo National Park.

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush admitted that investigators were unsure whether Freeman was even alive.

"Is he still alive? We don't know. Is he alive and still in the area? We have no real information to suggest that it's occurred, but we never discount. Or has he been unable to leave the area and is being looked after by others? We don't know," he said at a press conference yesterday.

"All of those are assumptions, possibilities, and we plan and resource for those three."

Freeman, born as Desmond Christopher Filby, is a conspiracy theorist and self-described sovereign citizen with what police said is an extensive knowledge of the bush and survival.

The 56-year-old has been known to police for a while and holds anti-police and government beliefs.

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Porepunkah shooting victims Vadim de Waart and Neal Thompson

Australian and New Zealand police have been working together to search for him since the double-fatal shooting on August 26.

Large areas of Porepunkah and the Mount Buffalo National Park have been searched, more than 800 people have been questioned by police, and investigators have followed more than 1600 clues and tip-offs, according to Victoria Police.

But there is still no sign of Freeman.

A $1 million reward remains for any information that can lead to his arrest.

Police urge anyone with information or who sees suspicious behaviour at the national park to contact Crime Stoppers.

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Federal government releases first ad ahead of looming under-16 social media ban

A new ad campaign is set to roll out to sell Australia's world-leading social media ban to both the parents and kids it will impact.

The ban is set to take effect on December 10 and starting this Sunday, the federal government is rolling out a campaign to increase awareness of the rules for under-16s.

The campaign also aims to explain how the ban will work to both parents and kids.

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A still from the social media laws ad campaign.

It will be rolled out on television, radio and social media, as well as billboards close to schools.

"Until the 10th of December, it is legal for kids to be on social media, and if that's where they are, that's where we need to talk to them about what this means and why we're doing it," Communications Minister Anika Wells said.

This week, Wells met with YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok and Meta to ensure that regulations will be in place for these bans.

But the platforms included in the ban are still not yet final.

"This is definitely not set and forget laws, obviously, this is a fast-evolving space, and we will keep attuned to minimising online harm," she said.

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