A 12-day manhunt for accused double murderer Dezi Freeman has been bolstered by a million-dollar reward offer for information leading to his arrest.
Police denied Saturday’s offer for information leading to the arrest of Australia’s most wanted man was a sign investigators had hit a dead end.
Despite more than 450 officers dedicated to finding Freeman in the past 12 days, no trace of the alleged cop killer has been found.
The 56-year-old fugitive is accused of shooting Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart and Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson during a deadly confrontation at Porepunkah, about 300 kilometres north-east of Melbourne, on August 26.
Victoria Police announced the bounty on Saturday in the hope it would tempt someone who knows where Freeman is hiding to contact them, with suspicions he might be receiving assistance from people within his network.
Unlike usual information rewards, police would need only to arrest Freeman for the informant to collect, rather than convict him, as is standard practice.
“Someone may be assisting him, someone may know where he is but has thought, ‘No, I’m not going to say anything. I’m going to leave it at that’,” Homicide Squad Detective Inspector Dean Thomas said.
“This is an opportunity to come forward, share that information and look at a reward of up to $1 million which is, as we know, life-changing for most people.”
“It’s not an act of desperation and it’s far from it,” he said.
He said police had considered offering a reward from the outset of their investigation but decided it now was the best time to use it as a tool.
Thomas was quick to caution anyone interested in “vigilante justice” from actively searching for Freeman, noting he had already allegedly killed twice and authorities could mistake them for the accused.
The reward was announced a day after police farewelled a fallen comrade in a heartfelt funeral.
There were thousands of mourners at de Waart-Hottart’s funeral at the Victoria Police Academy in Melbourne on Friday.
The slain policeman’s mother and father, Carolina de Waart and Alain Hottart, travelled from Belgium for the solemn service, while his brother Sacha de Waart-Hottart delivered a teary eulogy.
Thompson, 59, will be laid to rest on Monday.
Police continue to search for the pair’s alleged killer, with more than 100 properties in the alpine area scoured, although bad weather has hampered efforts.
The military has been called in to help and is providing a planning specialist and air surveillance assets at the request of Victoria Police.
The million-dollar offer in return for information is described as Victoria’s biggest.
Similar rewards have been issued for assistance leading to a conviction including the record £8000 put up to help find bushranger Ned Kelly in the 1870s.
-AAP
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