Dezi Freeman: Top cop's update on major search for notorious Porepunkah fugitive
A manhunt for Australia’s most wanted fugitive has been scaled back, five weeks after two police officers were gunned down at a rural property.
More than 200 police remain in the Victorian high country searching for Dezi Freeman after he allegedly killed Neal Thompson and Vadim de Waart-Hottart as they carried at a search warrant at his home in Porepunkah.
The 56-year-old has been on the run since, fleeing into dense bushland from the mountainous town about 300km northeast of Melbourne.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Despite no confirmed sighting of the trained bush survivalist since the shooting, Victoria Police commissioner Mike Bush said authorities were determined to find him.
Officers, including specialist teams from interstate and abroad, have searched more than 40 square kilometres of land by foot and air in the hunt for Freeman.
In the hours and days after the killings, more than 400 police were deployed in the search.
The Australian Defence Force also joined the operation at the request of Victoria Police, sending a planning specialist and air surveillance assets to help personnel on the ground.
“We will not give up until we find that person,” Mr Bush told reporters on Monday following a service for National Police Remembrance Day.
“This has really damaged our police service and the community and we are determined to bring this matter to a conclusion.”
The police chief conceded the search was “absolutely” becoming more challenging as time goes on as the force rotated officers conducting the search and providing reassurance to the local community.
He said police had received 1400 pieces of information from the public and daily offers of resource support from commissioners around Australia and New Zealand.
Deputy commissioner Bob Hill attended a memorial service in Wangaratta on behalf of the force, where the aftermath of the local officers’ deaths remains raw.
In Melbourne, the names of Detective Leading Senior Constable Thompson and Senior Constable de Waart-Hottart have been added alongside 175 other fallen soldiers at the Police Memorial on St Kilda Road.
Victoria Police have offered a $1 million reward and the possibility of indemnity for information leading to the capture of Freeman, the largest financial offer in the state’s history for facilitating an arrest.
Local businesses have pleaded for visitors to return to the region after travel restrictions were reduced for Porepunkah and nearby towns three weeks into the search, but Mount Buffalo National Park remains closed.
Businesses that lost money during the search became eligible for $5000 grants, as many missed out on a bumper snow season as the final stops for snow seekers en route to Mount Hotham and Falls Creek resorts.
