After a week-long search in the outback for a missing preschooler failed to deliver the hoped-for miracle, police have scaled back their operation as they concede the boy is likely dead.

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August, known as Gus, went missing from his family's sheep station in the remote South Australian mid-north on Saturday afternoon.

The only trace found of the four-year-old was a tiny footprint in the dirt about 500 metres from the family homestead, despite an extensive search involving police, Defence Force personnel and large numbers

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