Stocco NSW arrests turn to murder probe

The manhunt for fugitives Gino and Mark Stocco has ended and a murder investigation is underway after police discovered a body on the "perfect hideway", in NSW, where the two men were arrested.

Heavily-armed police arrested the father and son, who had been on the run for eight years, at a property at Elong Elong on Wednesday morning before discovering a a 68-year-old man's body on the farm.

"If you didn't know where you were going, you wouldn't find it," local real estate agent Denise Male said of the Pinevale property, near Dubbo. "It has that aura about it, it's almost spooky."

Police said two tip-offs helped them track down the Stoccos and that the pair didn't give up without a fight.

"They did not surrender to police or hand themselves in," Acting Assistant Commissioner Clint Pheeney said in Dubbo.

"There was some resistance to the arrests."

Both men suffered minor injuries and have been taken to Dubbo Base Hospital. On Tuesday, police were told a suspicious vehicle, believed to be a stolen Toyota LandCruiser, had been sighted in the Goonoo State Forest, not far from Dunedoo.

The tip-off correlated with information from a Sydney police station, provided by the relative of the 68-year-old man whose body was found.

Body found on property following arrest of wanted #Stoccos near Dunedoo https://t.co/bIsev54DYg— NSW Police (@nswpolice) October 28, 2015

The dead man, believed to be the property's caretaker, had been missing since October 8.

Wednesday's arrest wasn't the first time the fugitives had been to the "isolated" property, police believe.

"We believe they had been conducting some work there at the premises...I think it was before the long weekend in October," Mr Pheeney said.

"Overall, this has been a very intense operation which has spanned a number of states." Mr Pheeney said no firearms or ammunition have yet been located on the 385-hectare property. "It is a large property and will take some time to be totally searched," he said.

The hunt for the dangerous duo had been stepped up earlier this month after Gino and Mark allegedly shot at two police cars in Wagga Wagga. Gino Stocco's father Peter said his son's problems started a decade ago following marriage problems. "He married the wrong woman," Peter Stocco told Fairfax Media.

Since the October 16 shootout, Gino, 58, and Mark, 35, had evaded police across NSW and Victoria in a white Toyota LandCruiser allegedly stolen from a property near Holbrook. Police believe the pair had been changing the appearance of the vehicle, including switching number plates.

Three sets of number plates were stolen from a Tumbarumba caravan park on October 20, including a pair of South Australian plates last seen on the vehicle.

Police had wanted to charge the pair with 13 offences each, including attempted murder, following the alleged shoot out.

They were also wanted on warrants in relation to property damage in Queensland, dating back to 2007.

But Mr Pheeney said police were still working out what charges would be laid on Wednesday night.