Man cleared of link to fugitive Dezi Freeman after Benalla-area search
A man in north-east Victoria has been cleared of involvement in the manhunt for fugitive Dezi Freeman following a major police search near Benalla on Wednesday. Police confirmed the property search at Goomalibee was concluded and an interception in Undera, about 80 kilometres away, found no link to the investigation.
“He has been cleared of any link to our current investigation,” a police spokesperson said, emphasising that investigators are continuing to pursue all leads in the Freeman case.
The operation at a rural property
Specialist units and a substantial police presence — as many as 20 police vehicles and a helicopter — were deployed for the planned afternoon operation in the hamlet of Goomalibee, near Benalla.
On Thursday morning there was no visible sign of investigators at the large rural property, which sits along a narrow country road flanked by mature gum trees and blooming canola. A small cluster of buildings and sheds sits in paddocks behind a long driveway.
Local reaction
Sharon Purcell, a farmer who shares the road, told local media she saw “a whole lot of unmarked police cars” on the driveway of a neighbouring property. She said she only became aware of the operation after emergency services arrived around 2:45pm and noted the helicopter had been overhead for about an hour. “The chopper’s gone now, it might have been up there for an hour,” she said, adding that the noise unsettled her cattle.
Why this matters: the Dezi Freeman case
Freeman is accused of fatally shooting Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart, 35, and Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, 59, on August 26 during an attempt to serve a warrant over alleged historical sex abuse. A third detective was seriously wounded in the incident. Police say the ongoing search for Freeman remains active and investigators are exploring every avenue of inquiry.
Looking ahead
Police say Thursday’s movements were part of the continuing inquiry, designed to pursue any new information and to exhaust all potential lines of enquiry. The response illustrates the scale of resources the force is prepared to deploy in pursuit of Freeman and the safety of officers and the public.
