By KYLIE STEVENS, SENIOR BREAKING NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA and KARLEIGH SMITH IN POREPUNKAH
Updated: 07:02 EDT, 2 September 2025
The manhunt for Dezi Freeman has entered its eighth day.
Freeman allegedly gunned down Detective Neal Thompson, 59, and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart, 35, at his rural property in Porepunkah in the Victorian High Country last Tuesday.
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Under cover of darkness
Tactical police have begun what looks to be a night operation on a hilltop overlooking Porepunkah.
Exclusive Daily Mail pictures show a law enforcement convoy, including heavily armed officers, arriving on a hillside along Ritchie Road, which overlooks the township.
Around 5.45pm, they were seen parking at the base of the hill, getting out of their vehicles with their firearms and looking at a map ahead of the operation,
They then embarked on their ascent.
The area is blanketed by a sparse pine plantation – a change from the dense bushland being scoured in Mt Buffalo National park.
Tuesday marked one week since Dezi Freeman allegedly opened fire during a warrant execution at his bush compound, killing two policemen and wounding another.
As night fell, the convoy’s lights could be seen from the road into Porepunkah from Bright.
Dramatic update in Dezi Freeman manhunt
Gun-toting tactical police and sniffer dogs converged on a small residential area outside Porepunkah on Tuesday afternoon as the manhunt for alleged cop killer Dezi Freeman entered its eighth day.
Daily Mail photos show the heavy presence of armed police parked on Harris Lane near the Porepunkah airstrip, around 4km from the town centre. The officers crossed a small bridge and their operations were out of view.
It is understood police did not attend a specific address.
Residents speculated that police were searching along the Buckland River for any sign of Freeman, who has now been on the run for a week.
One local told Daily Mail that she was not frightened of the possibility of Freeman being in the area, insisting he would not hurt the public.
More wild weather on the way
The police manhunt for Dezi Freeman could again be hampered by wild weather if the search continues for a ninth day on Wednesday.
A severe weather warning has been issued for Victoria’s alpine region.
‘A cold front will cross southern Victoria overnight, strengthening the northwesterly flow about the elevated parts of the eastern ranges during Wednesday,’ the latest update from the Bureau of Meteorology said.
‘Damaging winds averaging 55-65 km/h with peak gusts of up to 100 km/h are possible from around sunrise on Wednesday, becoming more likely during the late morning and afternoon.’
The strong gusts are forecast to ease by the evening.
Authorities urge motorists to avoid travel if possible.
Pictured below is the police helicopter in action during poor visibility conditions on Tuesday.
Manhunt takes heavy toll on local businesses
Local business owners have pleaded for more support as the manhunt for Dezi Freeman continues.
Life is slowly returning to normal in Porepunkah and surrounding towns at the base of Mount Buffalo in Victoria’s High Country.
While most businesses have reopened in recent days, many have been hit financially by the manhunt, which has resulted in multiple roadblocks.
Andrea Siede and her family operate two caravan parks, where all bookings have been cancelled due to road closures and visitors rethinking their plans.
‘We’ve still got our mortgages to pay, we’ve got our staff to pay. Our bills don’t stop and it just puts you on the back foot again,’ she told the ABC
‘It sounds selfish when you talk about your business and finances … when two police officers have lost their lives but you can’t help but think “Okay we’ve got to try and push through this” and “how long is this going to take?”
Ms Siede said she would appreciate some financial support from the government but isn’t holding her breath.
‘We’re just planning towards the next few months ahead of us,’ she said.
The Siedes aren’t the only business owners affected.
Marty Robinson runs Marty’s Porepunkah Garage.
He told AAP that most of his bookings were cancelled last week, and this week is proving just as quiet.
New roadblocks and chopper action
The police helicopter returned to the mountain range near Dezi Freeman’s bush compound at 10.30am on Tuesday.
Our Daily Mail reporter at the scene Karleigh Smith is reporting that the chopper is currently circling low around the Buckland Valley Road region, which has been previously searched.
Armoured cop vehicles, known as Bearcats, were also spotted returning to Mount Buffalo Road, which has been blocked off again.
Locals give info, more cops to join search
Police have received a ‘remarkable’ amount of information from locals in the past 18 hours after setting up a public information caravan in the town of Bright.
Local police Superintendent Brett Kahan also said additional police will join the 450-strong force tasked with tracking down Freeman.
He also hasn’t ruled out issuing a public reward for information, the ABC reported.
‘It’s an avenue that we will explore,’ Supt Kahan said.
‘All I say is that the number of police in the area is increasing at the end of the week (since the shooting).
‘So instead of decreasing our commitment to this, we’re increasing, and we’ll continue to throw the full arm of Victoria Police towards the search for this armed fugitive.’
Supt Kahan reiterated his officers’ commitment to tracking down Freeman.
‘I hear all the time that Dezi is a master of navigating the bush,’ he said.
‘But I’d like to say Victoria Police are pretty good at it too. So the hunt will continue until we find him.’
Family issues a chilling five-word warning
The family of suspected cop killer Dezi Freeman has warned that ‘he won’t go to jail’ if the alleged double cop killer is eventually tracked down by police.
A family member, speaking exclusively to Daily Mail on the condition of anonymity, has revealed they fear what he is capable of if cornered.
‘He won’t go to jail. Never. Ever,’ they claimed.
‘He knows there is a life sentence waiting for him and he won’t serve a single day of it.’
Click on the story below for more details.
Former top issues dire warning
Anyone helping alleged cop killer Dezi Freeman evade police faces lengthy jail time, former detective Charlie Bezzina has warned.
Victoria Police revealed on Monday that they believed people knew of Freeman’s whereabouts but haven’t come forward.
Bezzina said the revelation Freeman is likely being helped is ‘absolutely abhorrent’.
‘If that’s the case, they place themselves in a very volatile situation because these special operations guys don’t muck around, and I’ve seen them in action,’ he told Sunrise on Tuesday.
‘If you are helping this fugitive, the long-term effect is it’s perverting the course of justice, which carries 25 years.’
What we know so far about the police manhunt for Dezi Freeman
- Dezi Freeman, 56, remains on the run one week after he allegedly gunned down Detective Neal Thompson, 59, and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart, 35, at his Porepunkah property in Victoria’s High Country.
- Ten officers attended the property to serve a warrant over historic sex assault charges involving a minor when Freeman allegedly opened fire, killing two and wounding a third.
- Freeman allegedly stole the officers’ service pistols and a police radio before fleeing into the bush, sparking one of Australia’s biggest-ever manhunts.
- More than 450 heavily armed officers, special operations units and air support are scouring the mountainous terrain in search of him.
- Superintendent Brett Kahan said on Monday that people are harbouring Freeman and refusing to come forward despite knowing his whereabouts.
- Kahan warned that anyone assisting him could face consequences, while also offering to negotiate a surrender plan for Freeman or anyone helping him.
- He confirmed police remain in contact with Dezi’s wife, Amalia, but noted: ‘It’s two different things to be speaking with police and co-operating with police.’
- Despite the huge operation, there have been no confirmed sightings, but police insist they believe Freeman is still alive in the High Country.
- In nearby Bright, the town’s urgent care hospital has been set up as a multi-trauma centre, as police prepare for the worst-case scenario.
Police preparing for the worst
Police are preparing for a worst-case scenario in the hunt for alleged cop murderer Dezi Freeman, who is believed to be armed and dangerous.
Daily Mail can reveal – via sources close to the manhunt – that the Bright Hospital has been set up as a multi-trauma centre with an anesthesiologist on standby at all times.
About 450 police from around Australia are searching for Freeman amid freezing conditions in Victoria’s High Country.
An insider revealed to Daily Mail that it’s believed cops still have ‘no idea’ where he is.
A command centre has been set up in Bright, just a few kilometres from the search area, where locals are encouraged to provide any information they may have in relation to Freeman, as police continue one of the largest manhunts in Australia’s history.
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Dramatic night operation gets underway in the hunt for fugitive gunman Dezi Freeman – as officers with guns drawn converge on hillside near Porepunkah