Police have swooped on properties in Wangaratta, about 75 kilometres from Porepunkah, on the eighth day of the manhunt for accused gunman Dezi Freeman.
Plain-clothed officers and unmarked police cars went door-to-door and knocked on windows to try and gather intelligence in the search for the suspected cop killer.
The officers appeared to zero in on one unit block in Wangaratta earlier today.
Retired police officer Ian Veitch told 9News that police had fears members of the public could be allowing Freeman to move around undetected.
Superintendent Brett Kahan said he yesterday he believed Freeman was being helped and urged anyone with information to come forward.
“They would have been looking at that from the start also, but certainly the assistance may not be that they’re hiding him,” Veitch said.
“It may be they’re assisting him. It’s allowing him to move around.”
Police also returned to the scene of the alleged crime in Porepunkah earlier today.
Fugitive Freeman’s semi-rural property was swarmed by officers, with bearcats and special operations crews seen visiting the home this morning, along with a helicopter spotted circling above.
There has been no official sighting of Freeman since he fled into the bush on foot after allegedly gunning down two police officers and injuring a third.
Officers Neal Thompson, 59, and Vadim De Waart, 35, were killed when a team of 10 police officers arrived at Freeman’s home in Porepunkah to execute a search warrant related to historic sex offences on Tuesday, August 26.
Including the initial response that Tuesday, today is the eighth day of the search for Freeman.
Police have spoken to neighbours and searched nearby properties in the manhunt for the country’s most wanted man.
Around 450 pieces of of intelligence have already been gathered from the public so far, but police now need more information.
Kahan called for Freeman to contact triple zero to make a “surrender plan” – and then, in his own words, “changed tack”.
“I extend that invitation to anyone who is harbouring, considering harbouring or knows something about the people who are harbouring [Freeman],” Kahan said.
“You are committing an extremely serious crime by harbouring or assisting in the escape of Dezi Freeman.”
Kahan said he believed somebody knew where Freeman was.
Freeman’s wife Amalia also spoke out on Sunday, urging him to turn himself in. She is not accused of any wrongdoing.
Alpine Shire Council Mayor Sarah Nicholas visited Porepunkah yesterday and in a message posted online, praised the community’s strength.
“It’s great to see the camaraderie that the community members are showing towards and between each other,” she said.
“I wanted to remind everybody to keep vigilant. There’s still a very active police presence and we need to be sure that we keep ourselves as safe as possible.”
She said the council was working on providing support services for those in need in the short and long term.
