A three-day police hunt for an armed man, which spanned three days, seven towns and two states, ended when he was shot dead by police Wednesday last week.
Stanley Turvey, 33, had been on the run from police for three days before he was shot at a rural property in Ardmona about 10.15am.
Victoria Police’s Special Operations Group attended the Turnbull Rd, Ardmona, property where they were confronted by Mr Turvey, who was allegedly armed, and subsequently shot him.
First aid was provided and paramedics declared him dead at the scene.
Mr Turvey’s shooting ended a manhunt that started on Monday, September 18, and included a dramatic standoff at Finley on day two.
The manhunt spanned northern and north-eastern Victoria and southern NSW and involved pursuits, a police car rollover, the taking of a hostage at gunpoint and car thefts.
The search for Mr Turvey started when he shot a gun into the air when police went to a Katandra West property for a firearm protection order check about noon on Monday, September 18.
A police chase ensued and a police van rolled on Creighton Rd at Marungi soon afterwards.
From there, police allege Mr Turvey stopped at a random residence in Youanmite where he forced a man to drive him to Finley at gunpoint.
The hostage was released in Finley and was not physically injured, police said.
Police arrived at the Finley home about 5.20pm and, after a five-hour stand-off, they forced open the door to the house only to discover Mr Turvey was not there.
The following morning, police responded to reports that a man armed with a firearm allegedly assaulted a woman in Witt St, Yarrawonga, just before 10am, before threatening some construction workers at Sacred Heart Primary School and stealing a ute.
The manhunt moved to Tatura Tuesday afternoon when the stolen ute was found there.
Mr Turvey’s final stop was the Armona property the next morning, where he died.
It was the biggest search across the two states in eight years.
Only the search for father and son Gino and Mark Stocco in 2015 was bigger.
In that case, a police search spanned two weeks as they crossed between NSW and Victoria – starting with the pair firing two shots at police vehicles at Wagga Wagga.
The search for them also came to the Goulburn and Murray valleys, and included them ramming a police vehicle near St James.
Police swarmed the region while searching for the pair, in an operation similar to what happened in the search for Mr Turvey.
Eastern Region Acting Assistant Commissioner Karen Nyholm said police from the Shepparton and Wangaratta police commands had been involved in the search for Mr Turvey, as well as police from Melbourne.
She said Mr Turvey’s death was not how police had wanted the hunt to end, instead hoping it would end with police arresting him.
“With the risk of his conduct and behaviour and violent offending, it was important we took him into custody,” she said.
“This is not the outcome we wanted … (but) we have to do what we have to do to protect the public and ourselves.”
Throughout the three days, police called on the public for help to locate Mr Turvey, and Asst Comm Nyholm thanked the public for their calls throughout the investigation.
Homicide Squad detectives will investigate the shooting with oversight by the Professional Standards Command, as per standard procedure.
The Coroner will also investigate his death.