Police scour dense bushland as focus of search for Dezi Freeman shifts

Friday, 5 December 2025 13:20

Specialist police, including cadaver dogs, have spent five days combing back through heavy terrain in Mount Buffalo National Park.

Police say they have shifted the focus in their months-long hunt for wanted fugitive Dezi Freeman after spending a week again scouring dense bushland in Victoria's high country.

Specialist police including search and rescue, the drone unit, the dog squad and two NSW Police cadaver dogs have spent five days of the past week combing through almost a square kilometre of heavy terrain in Mount Buffalo National Park in search of the accused cop killer.

The same area was searched in September as part of a targeted hunt for an active armed offender, but police say this most recent search was looking for Freeman's body, or any evidence of him.

Police are combing through dense bushland in Mount Buffalo National Park in search of Freeman's body.

Hundreds of specialist police resources have scoured the Porepunkah area since the fatal police shooting on August 26.

Freeman, 56, has not been seen since that day, when police officers Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart were shot dead at his Porepunakh home while serving a warrant.

Despite thorough line searches and cave clearances over the last five days, no trace of Freeman has been found.

Extensive searches of the park have also been conducted from the air, supported by Victoria Police Air Wing and other specialist support.

Detectives have looked into 1950 pieces of intelligence in relation to Freeman's disappearance.

Victoria's Mount Buffalo National Park has officially reopened after an extensive, eight week manhunt for accused police killer Dezi Freeman.

Police said they will continued to have an "enhanced presence" in the Porepunkah and Mount Buffalo National Park areas.

"I want to reaffirm to the community that Victoria Police remains committed to doing everything we can – using every available resource and the necessary capabilities – to locate Desmond Freeman," Crime Command assistant commissioner Martin O'Brien said.

"We will continue to conduct targeted searches such as this one based on intelligence. We will maintain a presence in the community, and we are determined we will see this to resolution.

A reward of up to $1 million remains for information leading to Freeman's arrest.

Anyone with any information on Freeman's location, or anything the community notices at the Mount Buffalo National Park should be reported to Crime Stoppers Victoria via 1800 333 000 or www.crimestoppersvic.com.au

Anyone who sees Freeman should phone Triple Zero immediately and not approach him.

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