Victoria Police have announced a new taskforce will take the lead in the search for alleged cop killer Desmond (Dezi) Freeman, as the national park where he was thought to have fled partially reopens to the public.
From Friday, the Taskforce Summit, which will be based in the Great Alpine Area, will take primacy in the ongoing manhunt, the police said.
The taskforce will be led by a detective inspector from the state's Anti-Gangs Division and will include detectives from Crime Command, as well as specialist resources from the Fugitive Squad, Armed Crime Squad, VIPER Taskforce, Special Operations Group, Search and Rescue Squad, and local Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems members.
Police said tactical officers, the Public Order Response Team and other specialist resources have searched large areas of the Mount Buffalo National Park in north-east Victoria, which will partially reopen to the public on Friday.
The park has been closed since 26 August after two police officers were allegedly shot dead as they and other officers served a search warrant at Freeman's home in Porepunkah, 300km north-east of Melbourne.
Police said they will continue to maintain an enhanced presence in the area, and the homicide investigations will continue into the killings of Neal Thompson and Vadim De Waart-Hottart.
Martin O'Brien, assistant commissioner for Victoria Police, said that while the search for Freeman has been "challenging", the "investigation is far from over", and the public could play a key role.
"However, we do believe it will only be brought to resolution through assistance from members of the public. I strongly urge anyone with any information at all, no matter how small you think it may be, to come forward and contact Crime Stoppers," he said.
"This could be sightings of Freeman, information you're hearing in your local communities, even suspicious activity on your property — whatever it is, we want to hear from you. As always, this can be done anonymously."
The police said anyone who sees Freeman should phone triple zero (000) immediately and not approach him.
A reward of up to $1 million remains for information leading to Freeman's arrest.
The search for Freeman
The search for 56-year-old Freeman has included intensive efforts and hundreds of Victoria Police officers and specialist resources from Australia and New Zealand. It is the largest tactical operation in Australian history.
At the height of the search for Freeman, around 400 officers were out looking for him; however, that number was scaled back to about 200 in recent weeks.
The police said tactical officers, the Public Order Response Team and other specialist resources have searched large areas of the Mount Buffalo National Park, which will reopen to the public on Friday.
Extensive air searches and investigations into over 1,700 pieces of intelligence have also failed so far to lead to Freeman's arrest.
