The heartbroken grandfather of Ruben Scott has one hope left after being told the toddler is presumed to have died alone on a remote Cape York cattle station.

“Hopefully we can find Ruben today,” Noel Scott said on Friday, holding back tears. “We are preparing for the worst.” 

Late on Thursday, police sat the Scott family down and told them too much time had passed for the two-year-old to have survived.

He was last seen by his mother Natasha Scott at 5.44pm on Tuesday before he wandered away from the homestead on Koolatah Station – a vast, rugged property on the western side of Cape York Peninsula.

Search crews have spent the intervening days combing dense bushland and nearby waterways but have failed to find a trace of the boy.

The best they can do for his family now is to find his body.

“Last night I had to sit with the family and advise them the survivability of their son and grandson has now passed,” Cape Patrol Inspector Mark Henderson said on Friday.

“That won’t stop our efforts. We won’t stop, we will continue to try to find young Ruben and bring closure for the family.” 

Eight police divers have travelled to the station, which is known as a crocodile habitat.

On Friday their efforts were focused on a large lake that lies behind the homestead.

“They are being assisted by (environment department) officers who are helping us gauge the level of crocodile infestation in that area,” Insp Henderson said.

He offered thanks to the army of volunteers and emergency personnel who joined the search for Ruben.

“We’ve had some 1700 square kilometres, 450,000 square acres, to search.

“It’s been a very hard task and we’ve given it our best but pediatric experts now tell us that survivability has passed.”

Earlier, Ms Scott thanked everyone who had helped spread the message about her son and joined in to look for him.

“Come home baby please Aunty Reesey misses you we all miss you,” his aunt Cherese Scott wrote on Facebook.

“We want our Ruby home safe and sound.” 

Family, station employees and workers from neighbouring stations began looking for the boy on Tuesday and called police around nightfall when they couldn’t find him.

They continued searching through Tuesday night and were joined on Wednesday by State Emergency Services personnel, rangers and workers from a construction site in Kowanyama.