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A man has been cleared of involvement in the manhunt for Dezi Freeman, who is accused of fatally shooting two police officers, after a massive police search converged on an isolated farming area in north-east Victoria on Wednesday.
Police confirmed that the property that was searched in Goomalibee has been cleared, and a man intercepted in the nearby town of Undera was also cleared of involvement.
Alleged Porepunkah gunman Dezi Freeman, pictured in 2018.Credit: Nine/A Current Affair
“He has been cleared of any link to our current investigation,” a police spokesperson said.
Officers had swooped on the hamlet of Goomalibee, near the town of Benalla, 100 kilometres west of Porepunkah, where Freeman allegedly shot dead two police officers in late August. Specialist police units, including as many as 20 police vehicles and a helicopter, were deployed as part of the planned operation on Wednesday afternoon.
There was no sign of investigators at the large rural property on Thursday morning. The property is down a narrow country road lined with mature gum trees and blooming canola fields.
A long driveway leads to a small collection of buildings and sheds surrounded by paddocks.
Police said Thursday’s movements were part of the ongoing investigation, continuing work by detectives to explore all avenues of enquiry.
Sharon Purcell, a Goomalibee farmer, reported seeing “a whole lot of unmarked police cars” stationed on a driveway at her neighbouring property.
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Speaking to this masthead on Wednesday, she said she had not received any information from police about the operation before first noticing emergency services in the area around 2.45pm.
“The chopper’s gone now, it might have been up there for an hour,” she said. “It just about sent my cattle crazy. There’s a heap of bloody vehicles, I’ve probably seen about 20.”
Freeman is alleged to have shot dead Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart, 35, and Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, 59, on August 26.
The two officers were part of a group attempting to serve Freeman with a warrant over alleged historical sex abuse. Another detective was seriously wounded in the incident.
Freeman then fled into nearby bushland and has not been seen since, despite a search involving hundreds of police officers that has now extended for over a month.
Police confirmed earlier this week that they had scaled back that operation.
with Alexander Darling
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