Overview

• Victoria Police maintain significant deployments across Mount Buffalo and nearby bushland after the August 26 killings of two officers and the wounding of a third.
• More than 1,000 public tip-offs and a $1 million reward have not produced a breakthrough, with no verified sighting since Freeman was seen fleeing with police firearms.
• A retired homicide detective cautions the one-month effort could strain budgets and personnel welfare as warmer weather raises bushfire risks.
• Investigators and commentators outline key possibilities for Freeman’s status, including hiding in rugged terrain, being harboured by associates, or being deceased and undiscovered.
• Police continue to offer a safe surrender plan, though a criminologist says Freeman’s sovereign-citizen ideology makes voluntary surrender unlikely.