Dezi Freeman update: Police reveal new vision as gunshot clue sparks renewed search for alleged cop killer

Victoria Police have announced they “strongly believe” fugitive Desmond “Dezi” Freeman is dead just hours after launching a fresh search for the fugitive in a new area of the Mount Buffalo National Park in Victoria’s north-east this morning.

Detective Inspector Adam Tilley told the media there was no evidence to indicate Freeman was still alive, five months after he allegedly killed two police officers.

Speaking to the media on Monday, Insp Tilley said caves, mines and rivers in the area are being thoroughly searched.

“This will not finish,” he said.

“This will continue. We hope to have answers this week, but if we don’t, this is the number-one priority of Victoria police.”

This week’s fresh search is based on information from a witness who heard a gunshot at 11.45am on August 26, 2025.

Police said they corroborated that information and have since conducted firearms testing three times near Rayner Track.

Freeman has been at large after allegedly shooting dead Detective Senior Constable Neal Thompson, 59, and Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart, 34, and seriously injuring a third officer as they served a warrant at his home in Porepunkah on August 26.

The gunshot, heard about an hour and a half after the fatal shooting of two police officers, sparked the renewed search for Freeman.

From Monday, over 100 officers with cadaver dogs will scour the dense scrub of Mount Buffalo National Park in Victoria’s alpine region during a targeted five-day operation.

Around 9am AEDT, police, with the dogs, had arrived and were getting started.

More than 450 officers were deployed in the days after the killings, combing through disused mines, caves and dugouts in and around the rural community.

But despite the massive effort, they found no trace of the 56-year-old who was last seen fleeing into bushland shortly after the shooting.

There have been no confirmed sightings of Freeman, and a $1 million reward, the largest ever offered in Victoria, is in place for any information that leads to his arrest.

Where are police searching for Dezi Freeman?

The renewed search is centred on an area adjoining a section searched in December, when officers spent five days combing nearly a square kilometre of thick bushland, conducting line searches and clearing caves.

Both searches, police say, are “based on intelligence” linked to a gunshot heard around 11.45am on August 26, around 45 minutes after the fatal incident at Freeman’s Porepunkah property.

Firearm tests were conducted in the vicinity of the property in November last year.

Newly released vision has revealed the harsh wilderness where officers have returned to hunt for Freeman.

Victoria Police say there is still no sign that Freeman is receiving help, though the possibility could not yet be ruled out.

“There remains nothing to indicate that Freeman is being assisted by a specific person, however, given the difficult terrain and the requirement for various supplies, this remains a possibility,” a statement read.

“Police are also open to the possibilities that he remains at large alone, or is dead as a result of self-harm or misadventure.”

Detective Inspector Adam Tilley from Taskforce Summit said investigators will continue to work through all scenarios, but had no clear evidence to favour one.

“The same three possibilities remain open to us – Freeman is either dead, being harboured, or has gotten out from the area and surviving alone. At this time, there is no intelligence to move us away from these possibilities or to make any one the more likely scenario, so we have to keep an open mind,” he said on Monday.

Det. Insp. Tilley says police will continue to conduct targeted intelligence-based searches and will have a presence in the local community for the foreseeable future.

“There is no doubt that everyone involved wants an answer and I want to reaffirm that Victoria Police remains committed to doing everything we can to locate Desmond Freeman and get that answer,” he said.

“We’ve also been clear from the start that we believe information from the community will be crucial in resolving this matter.

“This could be anything you have heard about Freeman’s actions on the day, or the shooting, or his current whereabouts, or anything you may have seen in the Mount Buffalo National Park area that you think is suspicious or could be connected to Freeman.”

Detectives have investigated over 2000 pieces of intelligence, including information received from the public.

Freeman was last seen at his Porepunkah property on August 26 shortly after the fatal shooting, wearing dark green (khaki) tracksuit pants, dark green rain jacket, brown Blundstone boots and reading glasses.

Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000