A reward of up to $1 million has been offered for information leading to the arrest of Desmond 'Dezi' Freeman, who as of Monday evening remained at large almost two weeks after allegedly murdering two police officers at his property on the outskirts of Porepunkah.

Victoria Police announced the reward last Saturday, as more than 450 police and defence force specialists continued to search dense bushland behind the Rayner Track property where a heavily armed Freeman was last seen fleeing after fatally shooting Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart-Hottart on the morning of Tuesday, 26 August.

The officers were among 10 members executing a search warrant at Freeman's property as part of an investigation by the Wangaratta Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation Team.

A third officer was seriously injured after being shot in the lower body and still recovering at home.

Detective Inspector Dean Thomas from the Homicide Squad which is leading the investigation into the deaths of the officers, said the reward of up to $1M for information that leads to Freeman's arrest, was part of the effort to bring him into custody peacefully and safely.

He said while the offering of a reward for a murder investigation is not unusual in itself, what sets this apart is that this reward is for arrest and not conviction – and it is the largest reward ever offered for an arrest in Victoria.

“This figure recognises the seriousness of this violent offending and our commitment to locating Freeman as soon as possible so that he is no longer a risk to the broader community," he said.

“Our aim in offering this reward is that it will lead someone out there, who may not have been willing to come forward until this time, to contact police.

“There is no doubt that up to a million dollars is a life changing amount of money for anyone and has the potential to completely change their circumstances

“We believe this investigation will only be brought to resolution through assistance from members of the public and again, I am urging anyone with any information at all to come forward and contact Crime Stoppers.

“This could be sightings of Freeman, information you’re hearing in your local communities, even suspicious activity on your property – whatever it is, we want you to tell us.

“I would also like to stress to members of the public that if you see Freeman, then we need you to call triple zero immediately because this will give police the very best chance of apprehending him.

“Freeman has killed two people and injured a third, and it’s immensely important that we can bring him into custody safely as soon as possible – hopefully this reward helps do just that.”

Det Insp Thomas said the reward was offered to anyone, which could include family members of the accused gunman.

He said the reward was not an act of desperation, "far from it", explaining there were many active lines of enquiry being pursued and police were "buoyed" by information that had come into date, all of which is being investigated.

Det Insp Thomas said the last confirmed sighting of Freeman was on the day of the fatal shootings.

Over the past 13 days, hundreds of properties, as well as many miles of dense bushland in the Mt Buffalo National Park, including caves and old mines, have been searched on foot and from the air by heavily armed police officers from across a range of specialist areas, assisted by personnel from a number of other agencies.