Victoria Police have eased travel warnings in the state’s north-east, as suspected police shooter Desmond Freeman remains at large.
Freeman is wanted over the fatal shooting of two police officers in Porepunkah last month.
Police said residents are no longer being warned to avoid the area, to “allow the community to return to a state of normality.”
Shooting
On 26 August, ten police officers attended a Porepunkah property to serve an arrest warrant to Freeman.
It has been reported that the warrant was related to historic sex offences.
At the property, two police officers were shot dead: 59-year-old Neal Thompson and 35-year-old Vadim De Waart-Hottart.
A third officer was injured and taken to hospital.
Dezi Freeman left the property and remains at large.
Search
Porepunkah, in Victoria’s north-east Alpine region, is a small rural town of around 1,000 people, located near Mount Buffalo National Park.
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Police said the search is taking place in “difficult” terrain, including caves, abandoned dugouts, and mine shafts.
Freeman was last seen fleeing on foot after the shooting, disappearing into bushland. He is believed to be armed and dangerous.
Police say they cannot confirm whether he is alive or dead.
More than 450 Victorian police officers remain in the search area, accompanied by interstate, federal, and New Zealand police. Victoria Police described the search as the “largest tactical policing operation ever undertaken in Australia’s policing history.”
Authorities say they’ve received more than 1,100 reports from the community since the incident.
So far, police say there have been no confirmed sightings of Freeman.
Mount Buffalo National Park remains closed.
Advice
In a media update over the weekend, Acting Deputy Commissioner Russell Barrett described the change to travel warnings as “a really difficult decision”.
“It’s a big decision to change that warning, but we’re really conscious of the impact on the community. We take into account a range of intelligence and information at our hands, which is continually changing,” Barrett said.
Police have warned residents that warnings could be reinstated as the situation continues to be assessed on a “day-by-day” basis.
