dailynewsnblog
Key events
Latest search related to ‘gunshot’ heard shortly after the shooting at Dezi Freeman’s property
Victoria police said the renewed search for Dezi Freeman is based on intelligence official obtained in the hunt for the man they said is in “relation to a gunshot heard a short time after the fatal incident at Freeman’s Rayner Track property”.
The new search is scheduled to go for five days, and will focus on an area of Mount Buffalo national park near a similar search that took place in December, which encompassed thick bush and heavy terrain. Police said detectives have held a range of firearms tests in the vicinity as part of the enquiries.
There is nothing to indicate that Freeman is being aided by a specific person, but police say that remains a possibility. Adam Tilley, a detective inspector with a taskforce focused on finding the man, said in a statement:
It remains our number one priority to locate Freeman and the extensive and systematic searches conducted over the past five months are testament to this.
The same three possibilities remain open to us – Freeman is either dead, being harboured, or has gotten out from the area and surviving alone. At this time there is no intelligence to move us away from these possibilities or to make any one the more likely scenario, so we have to keep an open mind.
There is no doubt that everyone involved wants an answer and I want to reaffirm that Victoria Police remains committed to doing everything we can to locate Desmond Freeman and get that answer.
Good morning
Good morning, and welcome to Monday. Nick Visser here to take you through the day’s news. Here’s what’s on deck to start the week:
Victoria police will begin a renewed search for fugitive Dezi Freeman in the Mount Buffalo national park. More than 100 police and volunteers will hunt for the man near an area searched in December, more than five months after two officers were fatally shot at Freeman’s property in Porepunkah. Police said the new five-day search is based on “intelligence derived from information police obtained in relation to a gunshot heard a short time after the fatal incident at Freeman’s Rayner Track property” in August.
A Queensland MP will attempt to trigger a spill motion against Nationals leader David Littleproud today as politicians return to Canberra for the next parliament sitting. Several Nationals members expect the motion will fail to trigger a vote on Littleproud’s leadership as it will need the backing of a colleague in the party room.
Stick with us.
