In Porepunkah, an anxious community searches for answers with a fugitive on the loose

Locals in the community of Porepunkah have told SBS News they're worried for police hunting for an armed gunman on the loose in their town, saying the suspect knows the bush "like the back of his hand".

Residents in the town of Porepunkah are anxious as a manhunt is underway in their town for a gunman suspected of killing two police officers. Credit: AAP/SBS

When Glenn Siede heard three gunshots ring out near a river on his commercial property in rural Porepunkah, he initially didn't think much of it.

Siede owns two caravan parks close to the property where two police officers were shot dead in the regional town, 300km north-east of Melbourne, on what he assumed was an average Tuesday.

An alleged sovereign citizen, 56-year-old Dezi Freeman, remains on the loose and is suspected of opening fire on the officers who'd been conducting a search warrant.

Siede was doing some maintenance work when he heard the bangs.

Glenn and Andrea Siede own a caravan park near the property where two police officers were shot dead by a suspected sovereign citizen. Credit: Tys Occhiuzzi/SBS News

"It was a few gunshots," he told SBS News on Wednesday at his Mount Buffalo caravan park, a four-minute drive from the property where the officers were shot dead.

"We're surrounded by bush, and there's a lot of deer hunting going around here, so we just thought, yeah, right on, somebody's out there."

The property believed to be where two Victorian police officers were murdered in Porepunkah. Source: AAP / Simon Dallinger

A community on edge

The town of Porepunkah is known for its stunning and picturesque landscape. Commonly known as a tourist attraction, along the Great Alpine Road, it's the closest town to Mount Buffalo National Park.

But residents are now coming to grips with the knowledge that one of their community members is suspected by police of killing two officers on the job and now leading police on a chase.

On Wednesday, police warned everyone in the town to "be vigilant" and stay indoors, with the "heavily-armed" gunman still on the loose.

Police at the Porepunkah property where two Victoria Police officers were allegedly murdered. Source: AAP / Simon Dallinger

"They [the police] just kept saying: 'Just get all your keys out your cars, make sure everyone's safe and lock yourselves in'," Andrea Siede, who co- owns the caravan parks, said.

The Siedes said they didn't know Freeman personally, but had seen him around town.

"He knows the bush like the back of his hand," Glenn Siede said.

"So the poor police have got some dealings there. There's a lot of mine shafts and gold shafts and dugouts up in that bush. They've got some challenges, and I feel sorry for them."

Dezi Freeman featured in a 2018 episode of A Current Affair. Credit: SUPPLIED/PR IMAGE

Who is Dezi Freeman?

Victoria Police commissioner Mike Bush said "anything is possible" when asked about Freeman's whereabouts.

"He knows that area, even though we have experts in the area, he will know that area better than us," Bush said.

"So, that's why we're putting in every expert and supported by local knowledge as well."

Dezi Freeman has been described as a "very active sovereign citizen" who is held in "high regard" by followers of the movement that has alarmed extremism experts and law enforcement authorities.

In October last year, Freeman launched a Supreme Court case over three driving convictions in 2020, for speeding, using a phone while driving and refusing to give an oral fluid sample for testing.

He originally appealed to the County Court, where he was acquitted of the speeding charge but remained convicted over the other two offences, and then asked for the higher court to review the decision.

'It's really shocking'

Independent MP Helen Haines, the local member for the town, said her community is "completely shocked and devastated".

"The grief is enormous. And the concern and fear in the community is profound. So we need to wrap ourselves around all of these people and when this offender is finally brought in, there will be significant, significant work to be done to support the community and to support our police officers who put themselves in danger every single day for us."

Cafes around the town are operating, but most people are choosing takeaway and returning home.

"It's pretty quiet," cafe owner Lauren Hannah said.

Hannah's children went into lockdown at school yesterday. She said they were holding up well.

"They've responded really well. I think the school took great care of them yesterday."

Gopi Reddy, who works at the Porepunkah Road House, said the community was in shock.

"It's pretty shocking, and two of the police were died, and it's pretty distressing."

— With additional reporting by the Australian Associated Press.