In a stunning twist that has sent shockwaves through Victoria’s law enforcement community and the nation at large, Victoria Police announced today the discovery of a hidden underground bunker believed to have been constructed and used by the long-missing fugitive Desmond “Dezi” Freeman. The revelation comes on the very day a major five-day search operation in Mount Buffalo National Park officially wrapped up—without any prior public hints of such a find—raising immediate questions about what authorities knew and when.
The bunker, located in a remote, densely forested ravine approximately 4 kilometers from Freeman’s Porepunkah property and deep within the rugged granite outcrops and thick eucalypt bushland of the national park, was uncovered during the final hours of the renewed operation. Specialists using ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and advanced acoustic sensors—deployed after weeks of analyzing subtle ground anomalies flagged by drone surveys—located an concealed entrance camouflaged beneath fallen logs, moss-covered rocks, and a deliberate layer of natural debris.
Officers described the entrance as a narrow, reinforced steel hatch, roughly 60 cm by 80 cm, disguised to blend seamlessly with the terrain. Once pried open, investigators descended a short ladder into a surprisingly well-engineered subterranean space measuring approximately 4 meters by 6 meters, with a ceiling height of about 2.2 meters. The structure appeared hand-dug and reinforced with timber supports, corrugated iron sheeting, and concrete patching in key areas—consistent with Freeman’s known bushcraft skills, off-grid lifestyle, and sovereign citizen ideology that emphasized self-reliance and preparation for societal collapse.
Inside the dimly lit chamber, lit by battery-powered LED strips still functional after months of disuse, police found extensive stockpiles that painted a picture of meticulous long-term planning:
- Food supplies: Over 200 vacuum-sealed Mylar bags containing freeze-dried meals, rice, beans, canned goods, and energy bars—enough to sustain one person for an estimated 18–24 months with rationing. Several large water filtration systems and 50-liter barrels of stored rainwater were present, connected to a rudimentary collection setup from surface runoff.
- Survival gear: High-end items including thermal blankets, a portable solar generator, multiple knives and machetes, a compact wood-burning stove with chimney venting, medical kits stocked with antibiotics and trauma supplies, night-vision goggles, and a shortwave radio capable of receiving international broadcasts.
- Weapons and ammunition: A cache including several rifles (some matching calibers used in the August 26, 2025 shooting), handguns, thousands of rounds of ammunition, homemade suppressors, and reloading equipment. Ballistics experts are now urgently comparing these to evidence from the fatal incident involving officers Neal Thompson and Vadim De Waart-Hottart.
- Documents and personal items: Notebooks filled with anti-government rants, sovereign citizen manifestos, maps of the Mount Buffalo area marked with escape routes and “safe zones,” and a handwritten journal detailing “operations” against perceived state overreach. Surprisingly, investigators also recovered a collection of old football memorabilia—jerseys, signed programs, and coaching certificates from the 1990s and early 2000s—revealing an unexpected chapter in Freeman’s past: he once worked as a youth football (AFL) coach in regional Victoria before fully embracing his fringe ideology around 2003, when he changed his name to “Dezi Bird Freeman.”
The “unexpected” element that has left detectives and the public reeling is evidence suggesting Freeman may not have been entirely alone in his preparations. A small section of the bunker contained women’s clothing, hygiene products, and what appears to be correspondence addressed to a female associate—fueling speculation that he may have had help from a partner or accomplice who could have supplied or maintained the site. Police have not yet confirmed identities, but sources close to the investigation say this discovery dramatically shifts the narrative from a lone survival scenario to one potentially involving a support network.
Detective Inspector Adam Tilley, speaking at a hastily arranged press conference late this afternoon, described the find as “a game-changer.” “This bunker shows Dezi Freeman was not simply fleeing in panic—he had a plan, resources, and time invested in evading capture,” Tilley said. “We still strongly believe he met his end in the wilderness shortly after the incident—possibly the single gunshot heard by witnesses two hours later was self-inflicted—but this site explains why thermal imaging, drones, and cadaver dogs repeatedly failed to locate him. He could have been underground for extended periods.”
The timing of the announcement—mere hours after the official end of the search, which had been publicly described as yielding “no trace”—has sparked intense debate. Some critics accuse police of withholding information to maintain operational security, while others see it as a major intelligence success. The $1 million reward for information leading to Freeman’s arrest or body remains in place, though authorities now say the focus has shifted toward forensic analysis of the bunker contents.
Freeman, 56, vanished into the bush immediately after the August 26, 2025 shooting at his Rayner Track property during an attempted warrant execution. The incident, which claimed the lives of two officers and injured a third, thrust the sovereign citizen movement into the national spotlight and devastated the small communities of Porepunkah and Bright.
Locals who knew Freeman as a freelance photographer and occasional bushwalker expressed mixed shock and grim recognition. “He always talked about being ready for the end times,” one former neighbor told reporters. “Bunkers, stockpiles—he wasn’t joking.”
As forensic teams continue processing the site and bomb squad specialists assess potential booby traps (none found so far), the discovery reopens painful questions: Could Freeman still be alive elsewhere? Was the bunker part of a larger network? And what drove a man with a seemingly ordinary past—including youth sports coaching—to such extremes?
For now, the wilderness of Mount Buffalo holds one fewer secret—but the full story of Dezi Freeman remains far from over.