Australian town gripped with fear of random killer

Residents of a small southern New South Wales town are scared there could be a random killer in their midst and police need to do more to ease their fears, the mayor says.

The bodies of a man and a woman aged in their 30s were found shot dead in a car on an isolated dirt road near the Murray River border town of Moama on Wednesday morning.

Police have established a strike team to investigate the crime.

No weapon has been found and the gunman remains at large.

Murray Shire mayor Tom Weyrich said many people in the twin tourist towns of Echuca-Moama were shocked and frightened by the shotgun killings.

"This sort of thing doesn't happen here," Mr Weyrich told AAP.

"This is having a major effect on people and more than anything else, people want to know what's going on. Do we actually have someone out there with a gun?

"What I want from the police is an assurance that we don't have somebody out there who's randomly killing people."

Mr Weyrich said police communications with the community could have been better.

"This is a very, very serious crime. We have two people shot dead with shotguns at close range. This is the sort of thing you see on TV, not in your back yard," he said.

"I need something from the police. I'm going to phone the local inspector at Deniliquin [once again] to see what I can find out."

Mr Weyrich discounted the possibility the local chapter of the Bandidos outlaw motorcycle gang is linked to the crime.

"I know a couple of guys in the Bandidos and they have a club house in Echuca but there's nothing to indicate to me that they have any involvement in this," he said.

"The speculation is that this is drug-related. I have a couple of names put to me that are involved and, if those names are correct, they have a long history with drugs. They are from Echuca."

Local pair yet to be formally identified

Meanwhile, police today said the man and woman found shot to death were believed to be locals.

The pair are believed to be a 36-year-old Moama man and a 36-year-old Mathoura woman.

Initial investigations indicate they suffered gunshot wounds.

Police have established a special strike force, Operation Kennedia, to investigate the deaths and today renewed their calls for public assistance.

The bodies were found beside Old Deniliquin Rd, an isolated stretch of unsealed road a few kilometres north of Moama.

The pair are yet to be formally identified.

- AAP