The hunt for alleged cop killer Dezi Freeman (inset) is ramping up.
Stark new photos from the Victoria Police reveal the reality of the ongoing manhunt for alleged cop killer and sovereign citizen Dezi Freeman.
In one photo, a specialist officer lies before a tunnel in fatigues, searching into the dark.
In another, an officer kneels between a cave covered overhead with dense bush, while a third shows three officers crouched in a dark, narrow cave.
The photos, released on Sunday, demonstrate the brutal reality of the now weeks-long search for the man accused of shooting and killing Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart on August 26 on a property outside the small Victorian town of Porepunkah in the state’s northeast.
In an update on Sunday, Acting Deputy Commissioner Regional Operations Russell Barrett said the massive search operation was still focused on the area around Porepunkah.
Freeman, also known as Desmond Filby, fled into bushland on foot after the shooting.
Hundreds of specialist police have fanned out across the dense terrain since the shooting to try to capture Freeman.
Barrett said the search was the largest tactical policing operation in Australia’s history.
The specialist operations group has employed officers from every Australian state and New Zealand.
“Over 125 specialist detectives scoured and searched an area in the immediate vicinity of Freeman’s location,” Barrett said.
“This included extremely rugged areas, by crawling through caves, by traversing rivers and walls, by searching plantations and gorges.
“It’s an extensive area, really difficult terrain.
“We searched for hundreds of properties – with and without warrant – made our way through abandoned structures, we searched mine shafts, bays, huts, and the operations continue.”
The police have also offered an A$1 million ($1.11m) reward for information that leads to the capture of the man.
In early September, Superintendent Brett Kahan said “people know” where the fugitive might be hiding.
Victoria Police have received more than 1100 pieces of information.
The search has now entered its 20th day.
Barrett said the police were open to “all options” regarding Freeman’s whereabouts.
“He may be in the area, he may be harboured, he may be dead,” the policeman said.
“The investigation by Victoria police will never end, we will always look for [Freeman] until he is located.”
The police lifted their travel warning for the Porepunkah area on Sunday.
Barrett said the change to the travel advice had been decided to “allow the community to return to a state of normality”.
The police had earlier advised members of the public to avoid Porepunkah.
Both constables, de Waart-Hottart, 34, and Thompson, 59, died at the scene.
A third officer was wounded in the shooting that has rocked the nation and devastated Victoria’s law enforcement community.
Last week, the police and religious and political leaders from across Australia farewelled Thompson and de Waart-Hottart in two affecting services at the Victorian Police Academy.
Hundreds of officers attended the academy chapel and thousands more watched the services via a livestream.
Through the service for Thompson, a candle burned in the centre of the chapel and Senior Police Chaplain Drew Mellow said it embodied the long-serving officer’s “light, love and legacy”.
“I draw your attention towards the candle burning in the central part of our chapel today,” Mellow said.
“The flicker of the candle reminds us of the ongoing light, love and legacy of Neal John Thompson.
“That legacy remains with us, as we move into the next season of our life. Neal’s presence will always remain with us, in different and in special ways.”
Uniformed police officers lined the road outside the chapel for honour guard processions, saluting the fallen officers as their caskets passed by.
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