WE’VE LOST TWO COLLEAGUES.” That chilling line now looms over Mount Buffalo as more than 100 officers push into a darker, tighter phase of the Dezi Freeman manhunt. The operation has turned heavier, eerily quiet, and fiercely guarded — with police refusing to say what they’re truly looking for. Read more
In the shadow of Victoria’s rugged alpine peaks, a haunting phrase uttered by a top cop has cast a pall over the vast wilderness of Mount Buffalo National Park: “We’ve lost two colleagues.” Those stark words, delivered with grim determination by Detective Inspector Adam Tilley, now hang like a shroud over the latest phase of the desperate manhunt for Dezi Freeman – the alleged sovereign citizen gunman accused of ambushing and slaughtering two brave police officers in a hail of bullets last August. As more than 100 officers, backed by cadaver dogs, drones, and specialist teams from across the nation, push deeper into the dense bushland, the operation has turned eerily quiet and guarded. Police are tight-lipped about what – or who – they’re really searching for, fueling wild speculation: Is this still a hunt for a fugitive on the run, or the somber recovery of a body long claimed by the unforgiving outback? With no sign of Freeman after five grueling months, one chilling question lingers: Has Australia’s most wanted man met his end in a self-inflicted twist, or is he still out there, evading justice in the shadows?
The renewed search, launched on February 2, 2026, zeroed in on a 1.3-square-kilometer patch of treacherous terrain in the park’s remote north-east – a labyrinth of steep gullies, thick scrub, and hidden caves that could swallow a man whole. Over five intense days, volunteers and interstate experts joined Victoria Police in a painstaking grid-by-grid comb, their high-vis vests cutting through the green like beacons of hope – or harbingers of closure. But by Thursday, February 5, the operation wrapped up empty-handed: no body, no weapons, no closure for the families left shattered by Freeman’s alleged rampage. “We strongly believe Freeman is dead if he’s still in the area,” police insiders confided, pointing to a single, ominous gunshot heard by a witness just two hours after the deadly shootout. Acoustic testing in November – and further blasts fired during the search – narrowed the echo to this very spot, raising the specter of suicide.
Armed police officers patrol the fields in the hunt for Dezi Freeman, in a scene reminiscent of the intense search operations.
Yet, as the mountain falls silent once more, doubts creep in. Freeman, a 56-year-old bushcraft expert who knew these hills like the back of his hand, vanished armed to the teeth: a homemade shotgun, a rifle, and the very handguns snatched from his fallen victims. Could a man so versed in survival – posting online rants about “exterminating” cops and rejecting government authority – have simply offed himself? Or is he holed up in a mine shaft, aided by sympathizers in the sovereign citizen underworld? “We will not stop,” Tilley vowed, his voice cracking with emotion. “We’ve lost two colleagues and have a third member that’s seriously injured.” But with the park partially reopened and the $1 million reward – the largest in Victorian history – yielding over 1,400 tips but no breakthrough, is this the final chapter of a saga that’s gripped Australia for 167 days?
The Fatal Ambush: A Morning of Horror in Porepunkah
To understand the gravity of this hunt, rewind to that fateful morning of August 26, 2025, in the sleepy rural hamlet of Porepunkah, 320km northeast of Melbourne. Ten officers arrived at Freeman’s ramshackle compound – a converted bus and shipping containers dubbed Four Gully Farm – to serve a firearms prohibition order linked to allegations of a sexual offense against a child under 16. What should have been routine turned into a bloodbath. Freeman, holed up inside with his wife and young child, allegedly unleashed hell: Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, 32, was shot as he entered through a window; Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart, 45, fell next in the chaos. A third officer took a bullet to the leg, cowering under the bus for nearly an hour as Freeman attempted to fire on a fourth – only for his makeshift shotgun to jam.
The slain heroes were no strangers to duty. Thompson, a dedicated detective from the sexual offenses squad, was remembered as a “gentle giant” with a passion for justice. De Waart-Hottart, a veteran senior constable, left behind a devastated family who described him as a “loving father and husband.” Their funerals in Melbourne drew thousands, with blue ribbons fluttering across Victoria in tribute.
Heartbreaking portraits of the fallen officers: Neal Thompson (left) and Vadim de Waart-Hottart (right), whose deaths sparked the massive manhunt.
Freeman, dressed in dark green tracksuit pants and a rain jacket, bolted into the adjoining Mount Buffalo National Park, armed with the officers’ own Glock pistols. Helicopters buzzed overhead, schools locked down, and locals barricaded doors as the largest manhunt in Aussie history unfolded – nearly 500 officers, including elite tactical units from WA, NSW, and even New Zealand. The Australian Defence Force provided drones and night-vision gear, while ASIO probed Freeman’s sovereign citizen ties.
Who is Dezi Freeman? The Sovereign Citizen ‘Survivalist’ with a Grudge
Born Desmond Christopher Filby in 1968, Freeman reinvented himself as Dezi Bird Freeman – a name steeped in the pseudolegal jargon of the sovereign citizen movement. Raised in Wodonga after a childhood move from Glen Waverley, he honed survival skills in Mount Buffalo since age 16, calling it his “second home.” A freelance photographer by trade, his social media was a powder keg of anti-police venom: “The only good cop is a dead cop,” he ranted, labeling them “friggin Nazis” and “terrorist thugs.” His firearms license revoked in 2020, he built homemade weapons and railed against COVID lockdowns, vaccines, and government “treason.”
Dezi Freeman in a defiant pose, alongside images of the ongoing search in Mount Buffalo.
Experts warn sovereign citizens like Freeman – who reject state authority, claiming they’re exempt from laws – pose a growing threat. “They believe in ‘common law’ fantasies and often arm themselves against perceived tyranny,” says criminologist Dr. Mark Harrison. “Freeman’s case echoes U.S. incidents like Ruby Ridge.” His family, including wife and children, lived off-grid in a bus compound owned by like-minded conspiracy theorists. Wife arrested briefly post-shooting, she publicly begged him to surrender: “Please, Dezi, turn yourself in.” But his brother speculated early on: “He’s probably dead on that mountain.”
Timeline of Terror: From Shootout to Stalemate
- August 26, 2025: Ambush at Four Gully Farm; two officers killed, Freeman flees.
- August 27: Freeman named; manhunt launches with 500+ officers.
- September 6: $1M reward announced.
- October 14: Park partially reopens; police admit he may have escaped.
- November 9: Acoustic tests in bushland.
- February 2, 2026: Five-day search begins, focusing on gunshot site.
- February 5: Search ends fruitless.
The operation covered 40+ sq km, checked hundreds of properties, and even deployed cadaver dogs from NSW. Yet, no trace – not even trail cam footage.
Police comb the dense bushland of Mount Buffalo, where Freeman is believed to have hidden.
Public Outrage and Online Theories: X Erupts
Social media has been ablaze. One X user posted: “Dezi Freeman manhunt = $1M reward, but is he still hiding in Mount Buffalo mine shafts or getting help from locals?” Another: “Police ramp up search for Dezi Freeman near Mount Buffalo as manhunt enters 37th day.” True Crime Updates shared: “Mount Buffalo reopens, but Freeman still at large.” Conspiracy theorists speculate he’s fled to WA or is being harbored by sov-cit networks.
Echoes of Past Manhunts: Lessons from History
This isn’t Australia’s first epic pursuit. Recall Malcolm Naden’s 7-year evasion in NSW bush, or the Snowtown murders’ grim aftermath. “Freeman’s survival skills make him a ghost,” says ex-cop Gary Jubelin. “But nature claims its own – exposure, starvation.”
Family Heartbreak: The Human Cost
The officers’ families endure agony. Thompson’s partner: “He was my world.” De Waart-Hottart’s kids face life without Dad. Freeman’s own kin? Torn between loyalty and horror.
The Hunt Drags On: Hope or Hopeless?
As Mount Buffalo echoes with silence, police insist: “The hunt will not stop.” But with no proof of life, is Freeman a corpse rotting in the wild? Or a phantom mocking justice? Daily Mail Australia will follow every twist.