Dezi Freeman man cleared of link after Benalla-area search
A man has been cleared of involvement in the manhunt for Dezi Freeman after a large-scale police search converged on an isolated farming area in north-east Victoria on Wednesday.
Authorities confirmed that a property searched in Goomalibee was cleared, and a man intercepted in the town of Undera—about 80 kilometres from Goomalibee—also has no link to the investigation. “He has been cleared of any link to our current investigation,” a police spokesperson said.
Scale and location of the operation
Specialist police units, including as many as 20 police vehicles and a helicopter, were deployed as part of the planned operation on Wednesday afternoon. The intense search centered on the hamlet of Goomalibee, near Benalla, 100 kilometres west of the alpine town of Porepunkah. There was no sign of investigators at the large rural property on Thursday morning; the property sits down a narrow country road lined with mature gum trees and blooming canola fields. A long driveway leads to a small collection of buildings and sheds surrounded by paddocks.
Police said Thursday’s movements were part of the ongoing investigation, with detectives continuing to explore every avenue of enquiry.
What residents observed
Sharon Purcell, a Goomalibee farmer, said she saw “a whole lot of unmarked police cars” stationed on a neighbouring driveway. Speaking to this masthead on Wednesday, she said she had not been informed about the operation beforehand and noticed the chopper overhead around 2:45pm. “The chopper’s gone now; it might have been up there for an hour,” she said. “There’s a heap of bloody vehicles; I’ve probably seen about 20.”
The case behind the search
Dezi Freeman is alleged to have shot dead Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart, 35, and Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, 59, on August 26. The two officers were part of a group attempting to serve Freeman with a warrant over alleged historical sex abuse. Another detective was seriously wounded in the incident.
Ongoing investigation
Authorities emphasised that the investigation remains active as detectives work to explore all avenues and follow new leads. The fact that a property was cleared and a person intercepted elsewhere does not close the case; instead, police said such steps are routine and part of a broader inquiry into Freeman’s whereabouts and actions in the days surrounding the August incident.
