A week-long manhunt in rural Victoria has intensified as police warned on Monday that fugitive Dezi Freeman, accused of fatally shooting two officers, is receiving assistance from sympathisers within the community.
Freeman, 56, a self-identifying “sovereign citizen”, vanished into dense bushland near rural Porepunkah last Tuesday, when officers arrived with a search warrant reportedly tied to a sex crimes investigation.
Despite extensive operations involving helicopters, armoured vehicles, and heavily armed police, he has not been seen since.
Authorities believe locals may be helping him evade capture.
“People know the whereabouts of the person who has killed two cops,” Superintendent Brett Kahan said.
“People have chosen, for whatever reason, not to come forward. I’m taking this time to appeal to you to come forward.
“You are committing an extremely serious crime by harbouring or assisting in the escape of Dezi Freeman.”
He would not confirm how many individuals were under suspicion.
According to Mr Kahan, police suspect Freeman, who had earlier changed his surname from Desmond Christopher Filby to “Dezi Freeman” – a symbolic gesture of his belief in personal sovereignty – is backed by a “wide” support network.
Earlier, Mr Kahan had appealed directly to Freeman to call triple-0 – the emergency service number for Australia – and surrender.
“If Dezi Freeman is watching this, ring triple-0,” Mr Kahan said last week. “We will support a surrender plan; that option is open to him.”
On Monday, however, Mr Kahan announced that the surrender plan previously offered to Freeman was now being extended to anyone suspected of assisting him.
“Take up that offer, by whichever means you like, whether it be [calling] triple zero or otherwise,” he said. “We will formulate a surrender plan.”
Freeman was believed to be armed and “very dangerous”.
He had previously publicly expressed hostility toward authority as he strongly believed in the “sovereign” movement – a movement known for promoting conspiracy theories and hostility toward law enforcement.
Amalia (Mali) Freeman, the fugitive’s wife, previously called on him to surrender and expressed sympathy to the families of the officers he is accused of killing. In a statement, shared via her lawyer, Ms Freeman said she and her children “respected the important work of Victoria Police and do not hold anti-authority views”.
Mr Kahan said on Monday that police had gathered over 450 intelligence tips from the public to aid the manhunt and urged anyone with further information to come forward.
“What I can say, the outpouring of assistance from the local community has been simply remarkable in respect to those that know Dezi,” he said.
Last week, Victoria police chief commissioner Mike Bush said of Freeman: “He will know that area better than us so that is why we are putting in every expert, supported by local knowledge.”
“Our understanding is that he understands bushcraft well, which provides a challenge to us.”
Neighbours also vouched that Freeman was an adept outdoorsman. “He’s well-versed in the bush and there’s caves up there, so it’ll be a while before they find him, I think,” one told the ABC.
Freeman is accused of killing two officers, Neal Thompson, 59, and Vadim De Waart, 35, during an ambush at his bus-home near Porepunkah.
Thompson was allegedly shot through the door with a homemade shotgun, while De Waart was fatally struck through a window. A third officer survived by hiding under the bus for nearly an hour until help arrived.
“We owe it to Vadim and we owe it to Neal. And we owe it to not only the Victoria Police community, but the community at large,” Mr Kahan said on Monday.
“Because what we shouldn’t forget, is we’re looking for a person who killed two people.”
Meanwhile, police have also established a dedicated mobile centre in nearby Bright, operating daily to encourage people to share information.
“We’re opening up other avenues for the public to approach us to give information about Dezi Freeman’s whereabouts,” Mr Kahan said.
“Take that opportunity. They’ll be there daylight hours, every single day of the week, every single day of the weekend.”
Mr Kahan added: “We continue the search believing that Desi Freeman, who is suspected of killing two police officers, is alive.
“We are absolutely hunting for a fugitive, and we continue to do so.”
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