She said the footage, about half an hour after the August 26 tragedy, had been handed to police and potentially provides a large piece of the puzzle about how Ms Freeman evaded the eight surviving officers while carrying a young child.

Ms Wilson said Ms Freeman was picked up by a car, before being rushed from the area near where two police lay dead and another was seriously injured.

The development comes as new drone vision by The Australian shows in detail the layout of the broader scene where Dezi Freeman allegedly killed the police; the footage also shows two people on Tuesday walking near the Freemans’ bus before walking towards cover.

The drone footage, filmed after the no-fly zone was lifted, showed that the most likely escape route for Ms Freeman was dashing through bush near the bus and dropping into a neighbour’s farming property before walking down Barrett Lane, a dirt track by the river before being picked up.

She had a child and a small plastic bag, Ms Wilson said.

“I’ve given it all to police,’’ Ms Wilson said. “Her son (Koah) came and got her from here, half an hour after the police were killed.

“She got in the car and took off.’’

Koah Freeman, 20, declined to comment citing legal and police advice and Ms Freeman did not respond.

Ms Wilson said she was upset with the way some members of the local Porepunkah and Bright communities had sided against members of the force, including restricting access to shops and raising money for Freeman’s family.

“It’s dividing the town now. It’s ridiculous. He’s (Freeman) been giving the locals a lot of grief for many years,’’ Ms Wilson said.

While there is still strong overall support for police after the tragedy, The Australian has spoken to multiple people angry with the overt security presence in Porepunkah and Bright and questioned how the shootout could happen as it did.

Police said in a statement when asked about the security footage: “We will not be providing comment on any operational activities in relation to our ongoing investigation.

“Any significant updates will be issued to all media through the usual channels.’’

Police were asked whether there was any plan to release the footage and whether they had determined how Ms Freeman was able to flee the scene and whether the alleged killer was with her.

In the hours after the deadly attack, police were furious with Freeman’s Filipino-born wife, who seems to have a strong reputation in the community for her volunteer work and for teaching children music.

There is the same support for Koah Freeman.

Freeman’s means of escape

There are two ways in which Ms Freeman could have left the area; one is via Rayner Track where the main entrance is to the farm, owned by locals Rebecca and Andrew Swift.

But The Australian’s aerial footage suggests this would have likely led to her being confronted by police.

The second option of her heading into bush and dropping down on the local farm is more likely as she could simply have had to walk through to Barrett Lane, which ultimately leads to Mount Buffalo Road, about two kilometres from Porepunkah, about 300 kilometres northeast of Melbourne.

The family met about 30 metres down Barrett Lane, according to Ms Wilson.

Any police review of the deaths will examine how Freeman and his wife were able to escape, although the shootout clearly created massive problems for the police survivors, particularly as Freeman was heavily armed.

The Buckland River is shallow but relatively fast-flowing below the property where the Freemans lived. The Australian revealed on September 1 that Freeman was a – pretty average – kayaker and some locals believe he could have either paddled or floated in a wetsuit to freedom.

However, guns don’t tend to work well when wet and none of the weapons have been found.

Ms Wilson said that the unemployed Freeman had previously told her he was an archaeologist and she said he thought he was above the law.

The Australian’s drone footage shows the main red-roofed farmhouse hemmed in by dense bushland and scattered outbuildings.

The vision captures two small cabin outposts built near the Swifts’ main house, with the couple believed to have hosted visitors who helped harvest chestnuts from the orchards.

Nearby to the east, sits Freeman’s converted Hino bus that was powered by solar panels, shaded by a wide canopy and flanked by a burgundy shipping container and two grey sheds stacked high with timber. 

In the drone footage, two figures could be seen walking from the bus, which police no longer consider a crime scene.

On the ground, debris, chestnuts and rubbish were strewn across the site after police searched the scene. A grey Honda CRV, believed to be Mali’s, had its windows smashed and tyres slashed.

Beside it, a white van had also been disabled, with its tyres cut open. None of this finer detail could be seen in the drone footage.

Inside the annex, which leads into the bus, what appears to be a makeshift kitchen had been built. It had a fridge, a cabinet full of plates, an airfryer and a variety of condiments.

‘Cold-blooded murder’

Ten police officers arrived to serve a warrant linked to historical sexual assault allegations on August 26.

Within minutes, two officers – Detective Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart – were gunned down in what investigators have branded an act of “cold-blooded murder”. 

Another officer was wounded, forced to crawl beneath the bus for cover as Freeman armed himself with one of the fallen officers’ weapons.

Police have not detailed exactly what happened when Freeman fled.

In the chaos, it is believed Koah – Freeman’s eldest son – received a desperate phone call from his mother.

Koah told The Australian on September 6 that the shootings had blindsided the family.

“There was nothing that could’ve possibly indicated that would lead up to this moment. I would even say that everything was going perfectly fine,” Koah said.


“No one saw it coming, put it that way.


“It was just another random Tuesday for me, and the biggest worry I had in my mind was what I was going to have for lunch that day.”

Asked how he found out about the incident, he said: “I got a phone call and that was that really. It was from mum at the time. It was devastating.”

Dogs called in, man cleared

Victoria Police on Thursday revealed specialist search dogs from Queensland Police were deployed to Mount Buffalo to scour rugged bush in search for the suspected cop killer.

Police said they had been conducting further searches in the national park over the past two days, which involved nearly 100 additional officers being brought up from the Public Order Response Team.

It comes as a man had been cleared of any involvement with Freeman after a massive police search converged on an isolated farming area on Wednesday.

Police confirmed that the property searched at Goomalibee, near Benalla, was cleared, and a man intercepted in the town of Undera – about 80 kilometres from Goomalibee – was also cleared of involvement.

There has been no confirmed sighting of Freeman since he disappeared 37 days ago, with a record
$1 million reward still on offer.