A 61-year-man has been arrested and interviewed by detectives investigating the whereabouts of dangerous fugitive Dezi Freeman, accused of killing two police officers.
The manhunt is in its sixth day with hundreds of police continuing to scour Victoria’s high country wilderness amid strong winds and chilly conditions.
Freeman, 56, fled into the bush on Tuesday following a fatal confrontation at a property in Porepunkah, about 300 kilometres northeast of Melbourne.
Victoria Police say they have arrested a man at a property in Bright, about six kilometres from Porepunkah.
The arrest follows the execution of a search warrant about 4.45pm on Friday, in which guns and cannabis were seized from the home.
The man was being interviewed by investigators on Saturday afternoon.
When asked whether the man was associated with Freeman, a Victoria Police spokesperson told AAP that line of inquiry would form part of the interview conducted by detectives.
Freeman is accused of killing Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, 59, and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart, 35.
Temperatures plunged below six degrees in the early hours of Saturday, with wind gusts of more than 60kmh in Porepunkah after blizzard-like conditions.
Snow was predicted down to levels of 700 metres.
The Sunday Herald Sun spoke to family members who described the shift that occurred in Freeman when he purchased a computer in 2014, which gave him access to conspiracy theories and anti-government content.
Freeman’s nephew, Luke Filby, told the Sunday Herald Sun he used to “hate on” people for being on computers, but once he got access to the internet he became “hooked” on YouTube — “gaining as much information as he could to get away from law enforcement”.
“When he got his computer and the internet in 2014 it slowly deteriorated him from there,” said Filby.
“He became a doomscrolling addict.”
Another family member said Freeman’s hatred of authority extended to him allegedly refusing to take his injured son to hospital after a motorbike accident.
“He refused to seek treatment for (his son) when he had that motorbike accident and fractured both arms,” she told the Sunday Herald Sun.
“That poor kid suffered for three weeks with no treatment or pain medication. He wrote religious inscriptions on (his son’s) arms to heal him.”
She claimed Freeman had control of his wife’s passport.
“He hated women with as much venom as he hated police and authorities,” she added.
“He also hated healthcare workers, doctors, nurses, specialists, psychologists.
“He hated pharmaceutical companies and medicines and vaccines.
“None of the kids have birth certificates. He took Mali’s passport too so she couldn’t leave to go back to the Philippines.”
More than 450 police officers have been deployed to Porepunkah as part of the search, which has included examining disused mines, caves and dugouts in and around the rural community.
Victoria Police issued a statement on Saturday afternoon, saying it would be relocating its forward command post from Feathertop Winery just outside Porepunkah to a government office in the town of Ovens, about 12 kilometres away.
“The new site is a fit-for-purpose facility and will best support Victoria Police’s operational activity moving forward,” the statement said.
“We would like to reassure the community that police are not leaving the area.”
Freeman’s 42-year-old wife Mali and 15-year-old son were arrested on Thursday night following an operation at an address in Chandler Court near the town’s centre, before they were interviewed and released.
“There may or may not be charges that follow,” Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush said.
Police helicopters and drones have been circling the area for days in the hope of catching a sign of the fugitive’s whereabouts.
Concerned friend Marlie Thomas said Freeman had become more withdrawn in the days before the fatal shootings.
She attends the local Our Lady of Snows Catholic church — alongside Freeman and his wife — which remains closed.
“We knew he was withdrawing a little bit,” she told AAP.
“We said, ‘we’ve got to keep a closer eye on him’.”
A weekly parkrun event in nearby Bright was cancelled on Saturday after police “recommended this is the best thing to do”, organisers said on social media.
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.
-with AAP
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