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A national park that was closed for nearly two months during the search for suspected cop killer Dezi Freeman has reopened, with police indicating that he might have left the vicinity.
Freeman, 56, has been missing since August 26 after he allegedly shot and killed officers Neal Thompson and Vadim de Waart-Hottart, and wounded a third officer at his residence in Porepunkah, located in Victoria’s highlands.
Authorities shut down parts of Mount Buffalo National Park, suspecting he had escaped into the surrounding wilderness following the incident.
Police spent weeks scouring the area, including the national park with the help of the Victoria Police Air Wing and other specialist support.
Now, seven weeks later and with no trace of Freeman, investigators are confident the park can be partly reopened to visitors from Tuesday.
‘The park’s reopening isn’t the conclusion of the hunt for Freeman; Victoria Police will persist in maintaining a substantial presence in the region,’ Victoria Police stated.
Freeman’s brother James Filby suspects he may have perished in the Mount Buffalo wilderness, adding Freeman would hope police never find his body.
‘I hope he has peace now. I imagine his last hours… were cold, lonely, fearful,’ Mr Filby wrote.
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
Police have reopened parts of Mount Buffalo National Park to the public as the search for the alleged killer (pictured) continues
‘What Dez did was wrong, but he’s my brother, and I miss him. I believe he would want to be laid to rest on Mount Buffalo and never discovered by authorities. However, we need closure.’
Hundreds of Victoria Police officers and specialist resources from across Australia and New Zealand have been involved in the search for Freeman.
Police have conducted interviews with over 800 individuals, searched hundreds of properties, and reviewed more than 1,600 pieces of intelligence, including public leads.
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.
Despite nearly two months of fruitless searching, Commissioner Mike Bush said finding Freeman remained one of the force’s top priorities.
‘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.
‘Or has he been unable to leave the area and is being looked after by others?
‘We don’t know – all of those are assumptions, possibilities, and we plan a resource for those three.’
Police spent weeks searching the national park, including assistance from the Air Wing
He said there had been 1,400 tips to police with ‘every one of those pursued twice’.
‘We encourage anyone who believes they have any information that could help us find this person, please don’t hesitate to let us know.’
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.
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’.
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.
Police offered a $1 million reward for information leading to Freeman’s capture, which is the largest financial offer in Victoria’s history for facilitating an arrest.
