Wife urges alleged cop killer to turn himself in

The wife of a dangerous fugitive accused of killing two police officers has urged him to surrender and says she will co-operate fully with authorities.

Alleged gunman Dezi Freeman fled into bush in Victoria’s high country wilderness on Tuesday following a fatal confrontation at a property in Porepunkah.

He is accused of killing Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, 59, and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart, 35.

More than 450 police officers have been deployed to the rural community as part of the search, which has included examining disused mines, caves and dugouts.

Freeman’s wife Amalia Freeman on Sunday shared her “deep sorrow” for the deaths of the two officers.

“We echo the requests of the Victoria Police for the swift and safe conclusion of this tragedy,” she said in a statement provided to the ABC.

“I lend my full support to Victoria Police in their search for my husband and will co-operate with Victoria Police in any way that I can.

“Please Dezi, if you see or hear this, call 000 and arrange a surrender plan with the police.”

Police say they have received several reported sightings of Freeman since he went on the run, although none have been confirmed.

Blizzard-like conditions and lashing rain have impacted search efforts.

Potential links between Freeman and a 61-year-old man who has been charged with weapons and drug offences are being investigated.

The man was arrested following a search on Friday of a property in Bright, about 6km from Porepunkah, and the seizure of weapons and a quantity of cannabis, police said.

Whether the man was associated with Freeman formed part of an “ongoing investigation”, a Victoria Police spokeswoman said on Sunday.

“As this matter is before the court we won’t be making any further comment,” she said.

A police forward command post was relocated on Saturday from Feathertop Winery just outside Porepunkah to a government office in the town of Ovens, about 12km away.

“The new site is a fit-for-purpose facility and will best support Victoria Police’s operational activity moving forward,” Victoria Police said in a statement.

“We would like to reassure the community that police are not leaving the area.”

Ms Freeman and the couple’s teenage son were arrested on Thursday following an operation at an address in Chandler Court near the town’s centre, before they were interviewed and released.

Police have said charges “may or may not” follow.

Police helicopters and drones have been circling the area for days in the hope of catching a sign of the fugitive’s whereabouts.

Freeman, who has bush survival experience, was last seen in dark green tracksuit pants, a dark green rain jacket, Blundstone boots and reading glasses, police said.

He is believed to be a sovereign citizen, a follower of an ideology that rejects government authority and the rule of law.