Two police officers who were shot dead while on duty in a rural Australian town have been named, as a massive search continues for their alleged killer.

Victoria Police identified the victims as 59-year-old Detective Neal Thompson – a local officer on the brink of retirement – and 35-year-old Senior Constable Vadim De Waart.

The pair had travelled to the property in Porepunkah, north-east of Melbourne, alongside eight colleagues to execute a warrant for alleged sexual offences. Another officer was seriously injured in the shootout but is recovering after surgery.

Police say the suspect – named as local man Dezi Freeman, 56 – is heavily armed and “still at large” more than 24 hours on.

Thompson joined the force in 1987 and worked with the major fraud and crime squads before moving to the town of Wangaratta – an hour from Porepunkah – in 2007. A great lover of the outdoors, he was planning for his imminent retirement.

De Waart was temporarily posted to Wangarratta, but lived in Melbourne, where the avid traveller had moved from Belgium.

In a statement, Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush said the “devastating loss” of the two officers “struck at the heart” of both the broader policing family and the Porepunkah community.

“It is not lost on me that our members take a risk every time they go to work to protect the Victorian community,” he said. “While we all live with the knowledge that the worst could happen on a shift, we don’t expect it to.”

Groups of officers, a helicopter and at least one armoured vehicle are combing the dense bushland where Mr Freeman absconded – a task locals have likened to finding “a needle in a haystack” – with authorities warning residents to stay inside until he is caught.

Earlier on Wednesday, Mr Bush said police were “pouring every resource” into the search for Mr Freeman, urging people in the Porepunkah area to “be vigilant” and keep safe.

He also confirmed that Mr Freeman’s partner and children were safe, refuting previous media reports that he had taken his family hostage.

Since the shooting there have been no sightings of Mr Freeman, who reportedly knows the local wilderness well, but authorities are focusing their efforts on bush near his home.

“He will know that area better than us so that is why we are putting in every expert, supported by local knowledge,” Mr Bush said.

Surrounded by heavily wooded hills in the Australian Alps, Porepunkah is only about an hour’s drive from the New South Wales border, and Mr Bush said he couldn’t rule out the possibility Mr Freeman may have left the state – though there was currently “no information” to suggest that.

Misty-Rose Wilson, a local business operator, told the BBC those looking for Mr Freeman would be battling very thick bush and a very steep incline, along with dismal weather conditions and low visibility.

“Knowing how hard it would be to track through that area, it’s a bit of a needle in a haystack to be quite honest,” she said.

Marcus Simpson, who manages operations at the local airfield, said the town was in shock after the shooting.

“It’s a good community, tight-knit, and everyone sort of knows most people,” he said.

“[The town] is going to need a bit of a big healing process to get over it.”

Mr Freeman has previously described himself as a “sovereign citizen”, referring to a person that falsely believes they aren’t subject to Australian laws and government authority. His hatred of authority has been well documented in online posts, videos and court documents.

Police have said it is too early to answer questions about Mr Freeman’s beliefs – but the incident has revived questions over how authorities deal with extremists views.

Some, including Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, have noted the similarities between this attack and a shocking 2022 ambush on police in Queensland.

“This threat is very real and we need to be very vigilant about it,” he said in an interview with the ABC on Tuesday night.