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Press play to hear the safety message from police
Police are confident they will find the state's most wanted man - described as a "master bushman" - as they continue to search bushland in the state's north today.
Malcolm Naden, 38, who has a $100,000 bounty on his head, has been on the run since June 2005 after allegedly strangling 24-year-old Kristy Scholes.
The search resumed at 8.20am when five unmarked and unremarkable four-wheel-drives pulled out of the car park of the Nowendoc Memorial Hall.
Inside were perhaps a dozen anti-terrorist police, all in camouflage, carrying sidearms and sniper rifles. German Shepherds barked from the back of two of the vehicles.
A short time later, two of the four-wheel-drives returned unoccupied, but for the drivers.
It was just over 24 hours since police in nearby bushland approached a campsite thought to be that of the accused murderer.
One shot was fired, a bullet passing clean through the shoulder of one of the policemen. The 33-year-old senior constable has since been released from John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle.
Police did not see where the shot came from and could not return fire.
It appears the anti-terrorist police are unlikely to be supported by air today, with cloud brushing tree tops on the nearby hills and the constant drizzle expected to continue or worsen over the coming days.
Nowendoc is a tiny hamlet about an hour's drive from Tamworth, inland from Port Macquarie. But at this elevation it is known to snow in winter and even today it was 10 degrees just after dawn.
Police have been hunting Naden since he disappeared from his grandparents' home in Dubbo where police found the strangled body of his cousin Ms Scholes.
He is also thought to have been involved in the disappearance of another cousin, Lateesha Nolan, in January that year.
Since then Naden has been on the run, living off the land and from supplies stolen from remote homes.
Earlier today, NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said police would stay in the area until Naden is found.
"I'm confident that we will [find him]," Mr Scipione told Sky News this morning.
"It's a matter of time and certainly on this occasion he may have got away, but I'd be surprised if we don't get him and hopefully very soon."
Naden, who is also suspected of sexually assaulting a child, has been able to hide for so long because of his survival skills, Mr Scipione said.
"He's a master bushman.
"There is no doubt this man knows that country, knows how to evade police and, more importantly, can survive in conditions that most of us couldn't survive in.
"That makes it very difficult for us."
Mr Scipione warned that members of the public should not approach Naden if he is spotted.
"If anyone sees this man, or anything that looks suspicious, ring triple-0 and ring it straight away.
"We have got police up there who are ready to deal with him, so we're seeking the assistance of the community on this occasion."
Mr Scipione said he had spoken to the injured officer, who was in "good spirits" and is recovering at home.