Desperate locals in towns close to Dezi Freeman’s deadly ambush reveal their biggest fear – and it’s not the ‘armed and dangerous’ gunman

Locals in the towns close to where Dezi Freeman shot dead two police officers are living in fear – not of the gunman himself – but the impact his actions have had on their livelihoods. 

Small business owners told Daily Mail they have haemorrhaged money since police advised holidaymakers to avoid the picturesque towns of Porepunkah and Bright despite perfect skiing conditions at nearby resorts.

Victoria Police lifted its travel warning on Sunday – nearly three weeks after it was enforced – but operators fear the damage to their bottom line may be irreparable, especially as travellers are frightened off by the gunman still being at large.

Bright usually has up to 5,000 visitors on weekends – but hotel occupancy rates have been near zero since the manhunt in Victoria’s High Country began on August 26.

One local hotelier revealed they had just lost an annual whole-of-house booking worth $7,000 for the AFL Grand Final long weekend, with the client explaining it was ‘because of the shooting’.

Leanne Boyd, who owns Bright’s Cherry Walk Cafe, said she was at least $22,000 down in turnover since the shootings on August 26, with tourists abandoning the town due to fear of Freeman, described by police as ‘armed and dangerous’.

She described Bright as ‘a town on the brink’. 

Ms Boyd insisted the public was not at risk. 

‘Dezi is not a danger to the community. To the police, maybe, but not normal people,’ she said, adding that she did not condone Freeman’s actions.

Ms Boyd begged the Victorian Government to provide financial assistance to business owners doing it tough.

After growing up on a rural property and seeing the mental health impact financial stress has had on farmers, she told Daily Mail she fears suicides may occur among desperate business owners.

‘One of the local camping supplies stores here only made $15 yesterday,’ she said on Wednesday.

‘My question to (Victorian) Premier Jacinta Allan and her government is when are we going to get an economy package, because we cannot afford to pay our staff… there is no sign of this man who ran off into the bush, so when is it going to end?’

It is understood official correspondence to the Allan Government pleading for financial assistance has so far gone unanswered.

Bright Chamber of Commerce president Marcus Warner said there was no framework for a financial package because the economic downturn couldn’t be attributed to a disaster or emergency such as a bushfire, flood or pandemic. 

He said as the manhunt dragged on, businesses are ‘looking at about 80 per cent in losses across the board’.

He explained that even though around 400 police – along with packs of national media – have converged on the region, it’s nowhere near the usual foot traffic.

‘We are seeing a significant police presence in the area, and while we may bump into them in coffee shops – some locals are even buying them a coffee – they are getting their own catering and operational support at their command centre in Ovens,’ he explained. 

‘So that isn’t going to keep the lights on.’

Daily Mail understands a large contingent of officers are staying in Myrtleford, a 30-minute drive from Bright and Porepunkah. 

Mr Warner said some hotels are experiencing 100 per cent cancellations, coffee shops and small businesses are reporting 60 per cent downturns, and, heartbreakingly, ‘hundreds of casual staff have had to be let go’. 

His own business, local produce outlet Pepo Farms – near the police command centre in Ovens – ‘usually does several thousands of dollars of income on weekends’.

Last weekend, Pepo Farms took less than $300 and was forced to close early. 

In several press conferences, police have urged travellers to take alternate routes to the Falls Creek and Mount Hotham ski fields, instructing them to take the longer route past Mt Beauty – therefore bypassing Porepunkah and Bright.

‘Normally those people are coming through town and we get a huge part of that trade,’ Ms Boyd said.

‘So they don’t come here, they don’t get coffee, stay here, or hire their ski chains here.’

Ms Boyd said she’s had to cut staff shifts to make up for the lower spending. 

‘The staff are anxious. I don’t think they’re afraid of Dezi coming into town and harming them… That’s not what it is. It’s more the uncertainty of… “When do I get paid?”‘

Daily Mail can reveal that on Thursday, Mr Warner met with Victoria Police, along with local government representatives and the area’s Federal MP Helen Haines to discuss the financial crisis facing local businesses as the hunt for Freeman drags on.

Locals are begging for police to change the messaging about avoiding the area – which, we understand, they are open to.

‘The message is to be alert but not alarmed, and the police are not deviating from their search or from the area,’ Mr Warner revealed.  

Police confirmed there have been no sightings of Freeman, 56, since he vanished on foot into the rugged Alpine terrain on August 26.

Since then, the area has been lashed with blizzards, rain and freezing temperatures. 

Near constant aerial searches – including using thermal technology – along with Special Operations officers scouring the Mount Buffalo National Park and local residences, has failed to turn up any sighting of Freeman.

Locals are divided over theories he is hiding in a cave or an abandoned mine shaft, has fled the area, or has died.

Mr Warner said there were already plans in the works to relaunch the region to tourists once the Freeman situation is resolved.