It didn’t take long for Dezi Freeman to allegedly shoot and kill two police officers before he vanished into the bush in the Victorian high country, seemingly without a trace. That brief moment in time launched a manhunt that has involved hundreds of police officers from all over the country, some of Australia’s elite special forces, a visit from the premier and, as one local described it, a media “circus” in the small town of Porepunkah, in Victoria’s north-east.
It has also profoundly changed the lives of the people who knew and loved the officers who Freeman allegedly killed: Det Leading Sen Const Neal Thompson, 59, a local detective who had been planning his retirement, and Sen Const Vadim De Waart, 35, who was on temporary assignment to the state’s alpine region.
A third officer, who Freeman allegedly shot and injured, was recovering from surgery in hospital on Friday. Meanwhile, dozens of police carried out the fourth day of the search for the suspected gunman whom locals say could be “anywhere” in the wild and imposing terrain around the base of Mount Buffalo.
Senior Victoria police officers have described Thompson as a well loved and respected member of the community who was due to retire next month. De Waart, they say, was a bright young man looking forward to his future who was already known for his professionalism.
Staff at Ineeta cafe in Moyhu, a town in between Porepunkah and Wangaratta, say they are “absolutely devastated” by Thompson’s death. They have paid tribute to the officer, who was a regular customer, in a post on social media, saying he always made them feel safe and was someone “unique” and “larger than life” who had a “heart of gold” and a “softness without words”. Lately, they say, he talked to them about “all the things he was going to do in his retirement”.
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Thompson and De Waart were among 10 officers who police say went to the Rayner Track property to arrest Freeman – who has been linked to the “sovereign citizen” movement – on a warrant relating to charges that had been investigated by detectives from Victoria police’s sexual offences and child abuse team.
Porepunkah locals on Friday were trying to keep things as normal as possible, buying coffees, walking their dogs, taking their children to school, while convoys of cars carrying police officers pursued potential leads about Freeman’s whereabouts, and the journalists in town covering the story chased the police.
“The circus has come to town,” one local buying breakfast mutters.
In some parts of this community, there is a kind of support for Freeman. Many respect his bush skills; others share his views about the government, firearms or the police.
Marty Robinson, who owns the mechanic shop in Porepunkah, describes Freeman as a “new-age Ned Kelly”. He doesn’t have a lot of sympathy for the police.
Freeman, formerly known as Desmond Filby, had expressed hatred of police during previous brushes with the law.
It’s not unusual for people who live in the high country around Porepunkah to hold a firearm licence, live off the land, or choose to not vaccinate their children, locals say. Survival skills are shared among friends. People practise going bush for days.
A local woman, who identifies as part of the survivalist community, says many people in the area share Freeman’s anti-authoritarian views and share information with each other about how to live off the land, such as how to hunt deer.
The woman, who lives near the property Freeman was living on, says he and his family had been living in a converted bus on the property, which she describes as a “commune”.
There are others who have a dimmer view of Freeman. One resident, who asked not to be named, says Porepunkah is an “idyllic place to live” and “not some conspiracy theorist town”.
Another local, who also didn’t want to be identified, says of Freeman: “I wouldn’t say he was well respected.”
“Have your views, but don’t push them. My kids aren’t vaccinated, but I don’t go around telling everyone. [He is] arrogant, maybe.”
But Freeman’s wife is well liked, the woman says, describing her as “the most gentle, gorgeous person”.
Asked if she is worried, she shrugs it off.
“He wouldn’t come for us,” she says.
Police say they arrested Freeman’s wife and a 15-year-old boy at a property in Porepunkah on Thursday night. They were interviewed and released without charges, “pending further inquiries”, police say.
Some people in town are quick to point out that Freeman’s views are radical, or that he did the wrong thing, but everyone seems to agree on one thing – he knows this bushland like no one else.
‘Very difficult’ conditions
Police are preparing for a fifth day of searching for Freeman in terrible conditions, with blizzards expected on Saturday and snow forecast for as low as 600 metres above sea level. Porepunkah, in the alpine foothills, is at 300 metres.
A cold front hit Porepunkah on Friday afternoon, smashing the small town with heavy rain while lightning lit the roads. The granite cliffs in the national park surrounding Mount Buffalo, already barely visible, were engulfed in cloud.
A severe weather warning for winds of up to 110km an hour on the ranges was issued on Friday afternoon.
“That will continue to make conditions very difficult for the police incident up around Porepunkah,” the Victorian emergency management commissioner, Tim Wiebusch, told reporters. “We have not seen a weather system like this for some time.”
Local people speculate about where Freeman could be – maybe he is down a mine shaft, or perhaps he has built an underground bunker. Without a shelter how could he light a fire? Everyone is speculating about whether he has managed to survive, and if so, how?
“He could stay out there for months,” says Glen, who did not give his last name but lives near the property Freeman was living on.
“He won’t go out without a fight.”
Glen has known Freeman for 20 years. He’s taking the police warnings seriously and has told his nextdoor neighbour, a 70-year-old woman, to stay inside. He says lots of people in town hated lockdown, and hated the government intervention during the Covid-19 pandemic. But when Freeman got going on the topic, he was unstoppable, Glen says.
“You would have a beer with him, but you wouldn’t [want to] get him started on that stuff.”
Victoria police say they are throwing everything they have at finding Freeman. They’re not just up against an armed suspect, but are battling a harsh terrain perfect for someone to hide in. And the weather is only going to get worse.
The police say they won’t rest until they find Freeman, but they’ve been tight-lipped about much of the operation. Everyone in town is speculating, but no one really knows how long it will take.
