{"id":212143,"date":"2025-10-14T07:15:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T07:15:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/212143\/"},"modified":"2025-10-14T07:15:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T07:15:12","slug":"police-make-shock-admission-about-the-search-for-dezi-freeman-as-search-marks-a-grim-milestone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/212143\/","title":{"rendered":"Police make shock admission about the search for Dezi Freeman – as search marks a grim milestone"},"content":{"rendered":"

By NICHOLAS WILSON, NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA<\/a> and MELISSA MEEHAN FOR AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS <\/p>\n

Published: 00:03 EDT, 14 October 2025 | Updated: 01:21 EDT, 14 October 2025 <\/p>\n

A national park extensively searched during the hunt for Dezi Freeman will partially reopen to the public, as police admit the alleged cop killer may have left the area.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Freeman, 56, has not been seen since August 26 when he allegedly gunned down officers Neal Thompson and Vadim de Waart-Hottart and injured a third inside a makeshift bus in Porepunkah, in Victoria’s high country.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Believing he may have fled into surrounding bushland on foot following the shooting, police closed large parts of Mount Buffalo National Park to the public.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hundreds of officers spent weeks scouring the national park with the help of the Victoria Police Air Wing and other specialist support.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now, seven weeks later and with no trace of Freeman, investigators are confident the park can be partly reopened to visitors from Tuesday.<\/p>\n

‘The reopening of the park does not signify the end of the search for Freeman, and Victoria Police will continue to maintain a strong presence in the area,’ police said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Freeman’s brother James Filby suspects he may have perished in the Mount Buffalo wilderness, adding Freeman would hope police never find his body.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘I hope he has peace now. I imagine his last hours… were cold, lonely, fearful,’ Mr Filby wrote.<\/p>\n

\"Dezi <\/p>\n

Dezi Freeman(pictured) has been at large for nearly two months, since he allegedly shot and killed two police officers in Porepunkah on August 26<\/p>\n

\"Police <\/p>\n

Police have reopened parts of Mount Buffalo National Park to the public as the search for the alleged killer (pictured) continues<\/p>\n

‘What Dez did was wrong, but he’s my brother and I miss him. I know he would want to be buried on Mount Buffalo and never found by police. But we need closure.’<\/p>\n

Hundreds of Victoria Police officers and specialist resources from across Australia and New Zealand have been involved in the search for Freeman.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Police have spoken to more than 800 people, searched hundreds of properties and investigated over 1,600 pieces of intelligence, including public tips.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Daily Mail previously reported the search is estimated to have cost taxpayers up to $100million, with hundreds of heavily-armed officers remaining in the area.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite nearly two months of fruitless searching, Commissioner Mike Bush said finding Freeman remained one of the force’s top priorities.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘Is he still alive? We don’t know. Is he alive and still in the area? We have no real information to suggest that,’ he told reporters on Monday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘Or has he been unable to leave the area and is being looked after by others?<\/p>\n

‘We don’t know – all of those are assumptions, possibilities, and we plan a resource for those three.’\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Police <\/p>\n

Police spent weeks searching the national park, including assistance from the Air Wing\u00a0<\/p>\n

He said there had been 1,400 tips to police with ‘every one of those pursued twice’.<\/p>\n

‘We encourage anyone who believes they have any information that could help us find this person, please don’t hesitate to let us know.’<\/p>\n

Parts of Mount Buffalo park will remain closed and police are urging anyone with hunting or trail cameras to check their video and share any information that might help investigators.<\/p>\n

A dangerous person alert remains in force at the park and surrounding areas on the Vic Emergency website, warning locals and visitors to ‘remain vigilant’.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Parks Victoria confirmed the update, stating most of the popular sites, trails and roads would reopen and police would continue to maintain a presence in the area.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Police offered a $1million reward for information leading to Freeman’s capture<\/a>, which is the largest financial offer in Victoria’s history for facilitating an arrest.<\/p>\n

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