A friend of accused cop killer Dezi Freeman said the fugitive could potentially have a large network of supporters helping him stay hidden from cops.
Police today revealed they believe Freeman is being harboured by a member of the public after issuing a candid plea .
Bruce Evans, who says he is friends with Freeman, told 9News he doesn’t believe it will “end well” for Freeman as the manhunt nears the end of its seventh day.
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Despite Freeman’s well-documented dislike for cops, Evans said he never believed it would come to this.
“[I was] pretty shocked when I saw it,” Evans said.
“I just didn’t expect a shooting, I didn’t expect a shoot out like that.”
The suspected gunman is accused of killing two Victoria Police officers Neal Thompson, 59, and Vadim De Waart, 35, after police attended his property in Porepunkah to execute a warrant on August 27.
After pleading directly with Freeman to surrender, Superintendent Brett Kahan today widened the net and asked anyone who knows where he is to come forward.
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“I am going to change tack a little bit, and read into this what you will,” Kahan told media.
“I extend that invitation to anyone who is harbouring, considering harbouring or knows something about the people who are harbouring [Freeman].
“You are committing an extremely serious crime by harbouring or assisting in the escape of Dezi Freeman.”
Kahan said he believes people know Freeman’s whereabouts.
Police do not know if it is one person or multiple people potentially concealing Freeman’s location.
“People know the whereabouts of the person who has killed two cops,” he added.
“We are absolutely hunting for a fugitive and we will continue to do so.”
A mobile police facility has been set up in Bright, around 5km from Porepunkah, to gather information from the public.
Kahan confirmed police are still operating under the assumption Freeman is alive.
He said specialist resources have scoured “every neck of the woods”.
”There’s certain areas in and around that dense forestland, which we know has previously been populated by the fugitive,” he said.
Kahan also wouldn’t confirm if Freeman’s wife Mali is cooperating with police, despite her plea for Freeman to surrender yesterday.
Manhunt enters seventh day
Police are still yet to close in on accused gunman Freeman as the manhunt for the alleged cop killer enters its seventh day.
Bulletproof Bearcat armoured police vehicles were seen entering Mount Buffalo National Park overnight.
Freeman has not been seen since two police officers were killed and a third was wounded in a shooting ambush at his Porepunkah property on August 26.
The so-called “sovereign citizen” is alleged to have opened fire on a group of 10 police as they attempted to execute a search warrant related to alleged historic child sex offences.
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Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart were killed and a third officer seriously wounded.
Police have said Freeman remains armed with multiple guns and is skilled in bushcraft.
Yesterday, the fugitive’s wife, Amalia Freeman, issued a statement through her lawyer calling on Dezi Freeman – also known as Desmond Filby – to hand himself in.
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“I lend my full support to Victoria Police in their search for my husband and will co-operate with Victoria Police in any way that I can,” she said.
“Please Dezi, if you see or hear this, call 000 and arrange a surrender plan with the police.
“If anyone is harbouring, helping or supporting Dezi, please call 000 immediate and speak with the police.”
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Amalia Freeman said she felt “deep sorrow” over the deaths of Thompson and De Waart and that neither she nor her children held anti-authority views.
A former outlaw bikie in the area, Stephen Mallett, was charged with weapons and drug offences on Friday but denied having ever met Freeman.
They are both understood to be members of a doomsday survival prep group.
Meanwhile, Freeman’s nephew, Luke, described Mount Buffalo as Freeman’s “holy place”.
“He’s always told me if he wanted to be dead and buried somewhere, it’s going to be on Mount Buffalo,” he said.
Thompson and De Waart will both be farewelled with full police honours in private funeral ceremonies at the Victoria Police Academy in the coming days.
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