Residents told to look out for key clues amid Dezi Freeman manhunt

A former detective has revealed the ominous sign that could force a desperate Dezi Freeman to emerge from hiding as the manhunt for the alleged cop killer continues.

Alleged double cop killer Dezi Freeman will become desperate and emerge soon in search for necessities to ensure he stays alive, a former federal detective has warned.

The self-proclaimed sovereign citizen has been on the run for 38 days since he allegedly fatally shot two police officers and seriously injured a third at his property at Porepunkah, northeast Victoria, before he fled into nearby dense bushland.

A $1 million reward and a large-scale manhunt involving some 450 officers, including Australian Defence Force personnel, and hi-tech equipment has yielded no results.

Dezi Freeman has been on the run since allegedly shooting dead two police officers in rural Victoria late August. Picture: Supplied

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Dr David Craig, a retired federal detective superintendent with 22 years of policing experience, said residents near Mount Buffalo National Park would need to keep an eye out.

“Locals need to be very vigilant in relation to anything that doesn’t look right,” he told news.com.au.

The former policeman said it could be as simple as a shed door being left open, a quad bike out of its usual spot, a missing chicken from a yard, or weird noises at night.

Dr Craig, who has been involved in a number of manhunts including high-profile New Zealand fugitive Tom Phillips, said he has seen items taken from properties around the four-week mark when criminals on-the-run get desperate.

“Food has been taken out of fridges … a rope has been taken from garages, just things that they might need to supplement the way he’s existing,” he said.

“Anything that’s odd in the Porepunkah area, anything at all — and he may not even be there, and he may be dead — but if he is there and he resurfaces, there’ll be a reason he’s coming out.

“He’ll need some sort of resourcing and that might be quite minor. It might simply just be some fuel … it could be for an underground generator. But predominantly food and water.

“So if he knows certain neighbours are out or gone, then sneaking into a house and stealing resources is quite a valid tactic and not very noticeable. The locals need to notice the small stuff, anything small.”

Police in dense bushland this week continuing the manhunt. Picture: Victoria Police

Residents near Mount Buffalo National Park have been told to keep a close eye on personal items as Freeman may surface out of desperation. Picture: Victoria Police

There have been no signs of the sovereign citizen despite the large scale search and $1 million reward for his arrest. Picture: Victoria Police

Police have said 1400 tips have been provided to the hotline and Crime Stoppers, but have continued to call out for assistance.

Dr Craig described the figure as “quite small” and stressed residents should not be worried about whether their report was significant or not.

“Let the police worry about whether it’s important,” he said.

“Every little bit of information that may seem really minor — but when there’s a few minor pieces of information that can put together pieces of the puzzle, (it) can actually lead to some meaningful intelligence that could solve this situation.”

Information, which can be provided anonymously, will be analysed and corroborated with other intelligence from an independent or public source.

If that’s not possible, officers on the ground as well as in offices make inquiries to determine if the tip is relevant.

Manhunt continues

The large operation hunting for the alleged cop killer saw some significant movement on Wednesday when police carried out an operation.

Officers raided a property in Goomalibee, near Benalla, about 1.5 hours west of Porepunkah, and intercepted a man about 80km further west. Both the man and property were cleared in relation to the Freeman hunt.

An operation this week in a nearby town yielded no results. Picture: 7News

More than 200 officers remain the Porepunkah area. Picture: NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

The search had been wound back from 450 police to some 250 personnel. But an extra 100 Public Order Response Team crews joined the operation.

Cadaver dogs – trained to find missing people or human remains – were also deployed.

The bushland where Freeman fled has been described as “very dense” and temperatures around the time he disappeared fell to single digits.

Freeman is a known survivalist, and a lover of the outdoors, with social media photos showing his regular adventures in bushland.

Why he has still not been found has stumped locals.

A number of theories have been floated, including that Freeman was hiding in an underground mineshaft, or that he was dead given no heat signatures have been detected.

Police did not weigh in on how long the search would continue, given there have been little sign of the fugitive’s whereabouts and that extra officers had to be taken off regular duties and sent to the search area from across Victoria.

Freeman has been described as a survivalist and thrives in the outdoors. Picture: Supplied

Dr Craig said he did not see the operating ending, despite the cost to taxpayers.

“I can’t see them stopping this case at all,” he told news.com.au. “I think they will reduce it to a small, multidisciplinary task force, which is basically everyone they’ve got there at the moment but just less of them.

“I would say over the next eight weeks if there’s no positive sign then it will be scaled down to a small task force of probably about 50 people that are predominantly working on intelligence with the capacity to respond very quickly and ramp up to a large magnitude if there is any credible intelligence or sighting.”

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.