Police swamped with ‘remarkable’ tips about where Dezi Freeman could be – as they ramp up the hunt for the alleged cop killer

Additional police could join the 450-strong force tasked with tracking down alleged cop killer Dezi Freeman.

Police have received a ‘remarkable’ amount of information from locals in the past 18 hours after setting up a public information caravan in the nearby town of Bright.

Local police Superintendent Brett Kahan hasn’t ruled out issuing a public reward for information as the week-long manhunt ramps up, the ABC reported.

‘It’s an avenue that we will explore,’ Supt Kahan said.

‘All I say is that the number of police in the area is increasing at the end of the week (since the shooting).

‘So instead of decreasing our commitment to this, we’re increasing, and we’ll continue to throw the full arm of Victoria Police towards the search for this armed fugitive.’

Supt Kahan reiterated his officers’ commitment to tracking down Freeman.

‘I hear all the time that Dezi is a master of navigating the bush,’ he said.

‘But I’d like to say Victoria Police are pretty good at it too. So the hunt will continue until we find him.’

Police are preparing for a worst-case scenario in the hunt for alleged cop murderer Dezi Freeman, who is believed to be armed and dangerous.

Daily Mail can reveal – via sources close to the manhunt – that the Bright Hospital has been set up as a multi-trauma centre with an anesthesiologist on standby at all times.

About 450 police from around Australia are searching for Freeman amid freezing conditions in Victoria’s High Country.

An insider revealed to Daily Mail that it’s believed cops still have ‘no idea’ where he is.

A command centre has been set up in Bright, just a few kilometres from the search area, where locals are encouraged to provide any information they may have in relation to Freeman, as police continue one of the largest manhunts in Australia’s history.

The police helicopter returned to the mountain range near Dezi Freeman’s bush compound at 10.30am on Tuesday.

Our Daily Mail reporter at the scene Karleigh Smith is reporting that the chopper is currently circling low around the Buckland Valley Road region, which has been scoured previously.

Armoured cop vehicles, known as Bearcats, were also spotted returning to Mount Buffalo Road, which has been blocked off again.

The family of suspected cop killer Dezi Freeman has warned that ‘he won’t go to jail’ if the alleged double cop killer is eventually tracked down by police.

A family member, speaking exclusively to Daily Mail on the condition of anonymity, has revealed they fear what he is capable of if cornered.

‘He won’t go to jail. Never. Ever,’ they claimed.

‘He knows there is a life sentence waiting for him and he won’t serve a single day of it.’

Click on the story below for more details.

Anyone helping alleged cop killer Dezi Freeman evade police faces lengthy jail time, former detective Charlie Bezzina has warned.

Victoria Police revealed on Monday that they believed people knew of Freeman’s whereabouts but haven’t come forward.

Bezzina said the revelation Freeman is likely being helped is ‘absolutely abhorrent’.

‘If that’s the case, they place themselves in a very volatile situation because these special operations guys don’t muck around, and I’ve seen them in action,’ he told Sunrise on Tuesday.

‘If you are helping this fugitive, the long-term effect is it’s perverting the course of justice, which carries 25 years.’

• Dezi Freeman, 56, remains on the run one week after he allegedly gunned down Detective Neal Thompson, 59, and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart, 35, at his Porepunkah property in Victoria’s High Country.
• Ten officers attended the property to serve a warrant over historic sex assault charges involving a minor when Freeman allegedly opened fire, killing two and wounding a third.
• Freeman allegedly stole the officers’ service pistols and a police radio before fleeing into the bush, sparking one of Australia’s biggest-ever manhunts.
• More than 450 heavily armed officers, special operations units and air support are scouring the mountainous terrain in search of him.
• Superintendent Brett Kahan said on Monday that people are harbouring Freeman and refusing to come forward despite knowing his whereabouts.
• Kahan warned that anyone assisting him could face consequences, while also offering to negotiate a surrender plan for Freeman or anyone helping him.
• He confirmed police remain in contact with Dezi’s wife, Amalia, but noted: ‘It’s two different things to be speaking with police and co-operating with police.’
• Despite the huge operation, there have been no confirmed sightings, but police insist they believe Freeman is still alive in the High Country.
• In nearby Bright, the town’s urgent care hospital has been set up as a multi-trauma centre, as police prepare for the worst-case scenario.