The Elusive Fugitive: Three Months Without Trace
Nearly three months have passed since Desmond "Dezi" Freeman allegedly shot and killed two police officers in the quiet Victorian town of Porepunkah, yet the suspected gunman remains at large, leaving a community grappling with uncertainty and a police force facing one of Australia's most challenging manhunts.
The case of Freeman, who fled into the Mount Buffalo national park after the shooting on 30 September that claimed the lives of Det Sen Const Neal Thompson and Sen Const Vadim de Waart-Hottart, has become increasingly mysterious with each passing week. A third officer was wounded in the incident that has left Victoria Police with more questions than answers.
A Community Living in the Shadow of Tragedy
In Porepunkah, a sleepy village that typically attracts tourists to its picturesque surroundings, there are few visible reminders of the horror that unfolded three months earlier. The whir of police drones that once dominated the skies has been replaced by the sounds of mountain bikers and holidaymakers returning to the area.
At the end of Rayner Track, where the shooting occurred, a gate remains closed with a cardboard sign warning that criminal complaints will be filed against trespassers. A video camera perched in a tree monitors the property where Freeman lived in a bus with his wife and their two youngest children.
Fabio Zambelli, who lives on the property, described the stress of being surrounded by a crime scene that has drawn intense scrutiny. "The amount of stress, as I'm sure you can appreciate, is really quite a lot," he told reporters.
Local Connections and Unanswered Questions
Neighbours living nearby, who asked to remain anonymous, recall when Freeman himself installed the gate at the end of the lane. The couple, referred to as Mick and Jill, remain deeply unsettled by events that occurred just over the rise from their property.
"It's the first time I locked the fucking home for years, ever actually," Mick revealed, explaining how the incident had shattered their sense of security in the rural community.
Jill expressed concern about the area's reputation, stating: "You want this area to be notorious because it's beautiful and it's a lovely place for people to come. But now everyone has a nasty little tag in their mind about Porepunkah and Bright: 'That's where all the sovereign citizens are.'"
The neighbours had a personal connection to one of the slain officers, Det Sen Const Neal Thompson, whom they described as "a hunter, a fisher … a bloke's bloke." According to Mick, Thompson knew Freeman and was specifically assigned to serve the warrant regarding historical sexual offences because of his calm demeanour and established rapport.
Police Theories and Growing Mythology
Mike Bush, the chief commissioner of Victoria police, visited the region recently and outlined the three possibilities investigators are considering: Freeman is still in the area being harboured by locals; he is dead; or he has escaped the region entirely.
Bush described the first option as "the most remote" but acknowledged police cannot rule it out. He drew parallels not with Australian cases but with Tom Phillips, the New Zealand fugitive who remained on the run for almost four years before being shot dead by police.
"We're still no clearer as to whether he's dead or alive," Bush admitted during his visit.
As the mystery deepens, misinformation and conspiracy theories have proliferated online. Gerard Gill of Deakin University's AVERT research network tracks these developments and suggests an inquest could help counteract false narratives while providing answers about the threats posed by individuals like Freeman.
"We're trying to understand this as a social problem and community problem, as well as a policing problem, but if it's become a policing problem it's gone too far," Gill explained. "That's what inquests can unpack."
A History of Unusual Behaviour
Trevor McKibbin, the local Country Fire Authority captain, first encountered Freeman under extraordinary circumstances during the Black Summer bushfires of January 2020. He found Freeman standing under burning pine trees near Yarrarabula Creek, taking photographs while wearing CFA gear that had allowed him to bypass police roadblocks.
"He was just standing there, taking photos, with pine trees going up above him," McKibbin recalled. He had little reason to think of Freeman again until the man became Australia's most wanted fugitive.
The period between their encounter and the shootings proved transformational for Freeman. Shortly after the bushfires, the COVID-19 pandemic swept through Australia, accelerating Freeman's descent into conspiracy theories and the so-called "freedom movement" that would ultimately define his final months before the tragedy.
With a $1 million reward still unclaimed and no definitive leads about Freeman's whereabouts, the case continues to challenge investigators and haunt a community forever changed by events that began at the end of a dirt track in Porepunkah.
