A fugitive who allegedly murdered two officers in a small rural town in Australia's Victoria is being helped by some members of the community, police have said.
Dezi Freeman has been on the run since last Tuesday, when police arrived at his Porepunkah property to execute a search warrant, reportedly relating to a sex crimes investigation.
Mr. Freeman, a known conspiracy theorist, escaped into thick bushland bordering the property, with a massive manhunt for him now in its seventh day.
His wife, Amalia Freeman, had earlier urged him to turn himself in and offered her condolences to the families of the officers he is alleged to have killed.
Victoria Police - which has previously appealed for Mr. Freeman to surrender - say there had still been no sighting of the 56-year-old.
People know the whereabouts of the person who has killed two cops, Superintendent Brett Kahan said in an update on Monday.
You are committing an extremely serious crime by harbouring or assisting in the escape of Dezi Freeman.
He declined to specify how many people police suspected, or whether they were locals in the town of Porepunkah or nearby areas.
Police had arrested and promptly released Ms. Freeman and a 15-year-old when raiding another Porepunkah property on Thursday night, but have not provided any additional information.
Heavily armed police, helicopters, and armored vehicles have now been searching the area where Mr. Freeman disappeared for almost a week. Perpetrating the serious crimes has revived questions over how Australian authorities deal with the threat posed by conspiracy theorists.
