{"id":214823,"date":"2025-09-10T06:28:19","date_gmt":"2025-09-10T06:28:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/214823\/"},"modified":"2025-09-10T06:28:19","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T06:28:19","slug":"police-reviewing-hundreds-of-porepunkah-shooting-tip-offs-after-posting-dezi-freeman-reward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/214823\/","title":{"rendered":"Police reviewing hundreds of Porepunkah shooting tip-offs after posting Dezi Freeman reward"},"content":{"rendered":"

Victoria Police say they’ve received about 200 tip-offs in relation to the possible whereabouts of alleged Porepunkah gunman Dezi Freeman since announcing a $1 million reward over the weekend.<\/p>\n

The new tip-offs mean police have received about 1,000 pieces of information in relation to the case.<\/p>\n

But they are yet to confirm a sighting of the 59-year-old in the two weeks since the fatal shooting, officers confirmed on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Searches of the bushland surrounding Porepunkah remain a focus for police, 16 days into the manhunt.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Forest\"<\/p>\n

Dezi Freeman walked into the dense bushland near Porepunkah on foot, and has not been sighted by police since. (ABC News: Danielle Bonica)<\/p>\n

Superintendent Craig Darlow said police remain committed to searching the rough terrain for as long as it takes to locate Mr Freeman.<\/p>\n

“We’ve searched caves, we’ve searched mineshafts, huts, and we’ll continue to do that over the coming weeks if need be,” he said.<\/p>\n

Superintendent Darlow acknowledged the toll the police operation has taken on the town of Porepunkah, which has seen business traffic plummet as tourists are warned away from visiting.<\/p>\n

“Whilst some of the people in the community might be frustrated with this and have difficulties with this, we request that they be patient and understand that we have a job to do,” he said.<\/p>\n

Detective Superintendent Jason Kelly and Superintendent Craig Darlow are providing an update on the search for fugitive Dezi Freeman.<\/p>\n

1h agoWed 10 Sep 2025 at 5:00am<\/p>\n

That concludes the press conference<\/p>\n

Police wrap up their update from Porepunkah on the hunt for Dezi Freeman.<\/p>\n

The 56-year-old alleged gunman remains on the run, and there have been no confirmed sightings since the day of the shooting.<\/p>\n

Thank you for joining our coverage.<\/p>\n

1h agoWed 10 Sep 2025 at 4:58am<\/p>\n

Police say resolve to find fugitive has not wavered<\/p>\n

Detective Superintendent Kelly says police are not getting frustrated with the lack of resolution.<\/p>\n

He says instead, the recent funerals of Neal Thompson and Vadim De Waart-Hottart, and the visit from the latter’s parents, had only bolstered their resolve.<\/p>\n

1h agoWed 10 Sep 2025 at 4:56am<\/p>\n

Police working to give access to Porepunkah property to owners<\/p>\n

Detective Superintendent Kelly says the property where the shooting occurred was no longer considered a crime scene.<\/p>\n

\n

“That property has been searched by Victoria Police a number of times,” he says.<\/p>\n

“We’ll work with owners in relation to steps going forward to the return of that property, at the appropriate time.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Show morePolice address alleged shooting video leak<\/p>\n

Mr Freeman was last seen escaping into bushland on foot after 10 police officers entered his Porepunkah property to execute a warrant relating to historical sex offences.<\/p>\n

Today, police addressed media reports purporting to show screenshots of a video of the police officers speaking with Mr Freeman before the eventual shooting.<\/p>\n

\"Police<\/p>\n

Police officers appear to stand in a makeshift kitchen attached to Dezi Freeman’s bus as they prepare to serve him with a warrant. (Daily Mail)<\/p>\n

The images provided some of the first public insight into the lead-up to the shooting, appearing to show police officers near a bus that has been converted into a makeshift living arrangement.<\/p>\n

Other images show police attempting to gain access to the bus using a crowbar, with media reporting Mr Freeman is heard in the video swearing and insulting police from inside the bus.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A Victoria Police officer appears to be using a crowbar to try and open Freeman’s bus door. (Daily Mail)<\/p>\n

Detective Superintendent Kelly on Wednesday said the video was not filmed by Victoria Police, but by a member of the Freeman family.<\/p>\n

“All I can say is, from a Victoria Police point of view, it is both distressing and disappointing,” he said.<\/p>\n

“I can only imagine the impact that’s had on the family of Neal [Thompson]\u00a0and Vadim [de Waart-Hottart] and the colleagues that were present, and the broader Victoria Police and law enforcement across Australia.”<\/p>\n

‘Emotional’ tour made by parents of fallen police officer<\/p>\n

The parents of Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart, one of two officers killed in the Porepunkah shooting a fortnight ago, have flown to regional Victoria to meet with their late son’s colleagues.<\/p>\n

The 34-year-old’s mother, Carolina de Waart, and father, Alain Hottart, flew by helicopter to the police staging area in Ovens, about 13 kilometres north-west of Porepunkah, on Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n

Detective Superintendent Jason Kelly said Ms de Waart and Mr Hottart were introduced to police investigators on Wednesday to provide the couple with “a greater understanding of the magnitude of the manhunt”.<\/p>\n

“I think the community could appreciate it’s a very distressing time for them, very emotional,” he said.<\/p>\n

“The police who were there, it was a very emotional time for us.”<\/p>\n

\"Senior<\/p>\n

Carolina de Waart and Alain Hottart have visited police officers in the Porepunkah area.\u00a0 (ABC News)<\/p>\n

Senior Constable de Waart-Hottart and Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, 59, were shot dead on August 26, with the alleged gunman Dezi Freeman still on the run.<\/p>\n

The pair were among a group of 10 police officers serving a warrant for historical sex offences at a rural property in Porepunkah when they were shot and killed.<\/p>\n

Senior Constable de Waart-Hottart, who was on temporary assignment in Wangaratta, was last Friday honoured at a police funeral at the Victoria Police Academy in Melbourne, with about 3,000 people gathering for the service.<\/p>\n

\"a<\/p>\n

Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart has been remembered as a “hero” who loved the outdoors and travelling. (Victoria Police)<\/p>\n

His mother and father, who live in Belgium, attended the funeral, where their son was remembered as a “hero” with a “contagious smile”.<\/p>\n

Senior Constable de Waart-Hottart’s brother Sacha, urged the police chapel to remember his older brother for “how he lived, not how he died”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Carolina de Waart and her son Sacha embrace during the funeral in Melbourne last Friday. (AAP: Con Chronis)<\/p>\n

The late senior constable was remembered as an upbeat adventurer who constantly sought out new experiences and loved the outdoors and travelling.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Victoria Police say they’ve received about 200 tip-offs in relation to the possible whereabouts of alleged Porepunkah gunman…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":214824,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4740,111,101502,50,9475,7207,100523,101,117411],"class_list":{"0":"post-214823","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-australia","9":"tag-belgium","10":"tag-dezi-freeman","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-parents","13":"tag-police","14":"tag-porepunkah","15":"tag-shooting","16":"tag-vadim-de-waart-hottart"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115178590295541385","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214823","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=214823"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214823\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/214824"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=214823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=214823"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=214823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}