Frantic search for father and son fugitives Gino and Mark Stocco may have gone cold

Australia’s most wanted father and son have evaded capture yet again, despite police closing in on the pair.

The latest reported sighting of Gino Stocco, 58, and his son Mark Stocco, 35, was near Tarcutta, southeast of Wagga, where properties were searched Monday.

Police are warning the fugitive duo are increasingly desperate and dangerous as they remain on the run amid fears their trail may have gone cold.

Police swarmed a property just south of Tarcutta off the Hume Highway where it is believed a white Toyota LandCruiser may have been abandoned.

• Stoccos lay low in southern NSW

• Father-son fugitive duo still on the run in Victoria

• Alleged crimes of Gino and Mark Stocco

However after two hours, the search was declared a dead end.

Police also raced down the Hume Highway after reports of another sighting of a white LandCrusier, but they could not find the vehicle.

The pair are thought to be travelling in a stolen LandCruiser with South Australian number plates S415 AZL, but have also used plates from Victoria and NSW.

The Stoccos have been using at least four different number plates.

The pair are thought to be travelling in a stolen Landcruiser with South Australian number plates S415 AZL. Photo: Supplied

However the vast southern terrains of NSW are making it increasingly difficult to track down the father-son duo, who have been on the run for eight years and have been described as modern-day bushrangers.

Gino and Mark Stocco are believed to be using little known bushtracks where police believe they have stashed away food, clothing, weapons and other supplies. Photo: Supplied

It's a wide area, making it easy to hide. And any sighting of the many, many white Landcruisers that grace the countryside means that police are constantly diverting resources to potentially consolidate any possible leads.

NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione has urged the pair to hand themselves in.

"You've gone past the point of no return. It's time to stop. Give yourself up and let us deal with what it is you've done," he told Seven Network on Monday.

"This is a life and death situation simply on the basis they've tried to kill police officers."

Police want to charge Gino Stocco and his son Mark Stocco with 13 offences each, including attempted murder. Photo: Supplied

Police want to charge the pair with 13 offences each, including attempted murder, after they fired on two police vehicles in Wagga Wagga on October 16 before a going on a trip that may have taken them as far south as Victoria's Gippsland region.

Last Monday the pair were spotted in Euroa, then on Wednesday they were filmed in a Bairnsdale supermarket.

Mark and Gino Stocco were spotted at a petrol station in NSW, where they drove off after failing to pay for fuel. Photo: Supplied

They rammed a police car at St James on Thursday, were seen in Sale on Saturday morning and in Gundagai on Saturday night.

Footage captured on CCTV confirms the pair stopped their LandCruiser at South Gundagai at 9pm on Saturday, before stealing $200 worth of petrol.

The pair may now be on their way back to Victoria from NSW, after days of crossing back and forward over the border.

"They may well be back in Victoria, they may well have headed north. We don't know,” Victoria Police assistant commissioner Rick Nugent said.

Nugent told 3AW on Monday that the Stuccos are believed to be running out of money.

"We know they've slipped up a couple of times and it's just a matter of time before they slip up again," he said.

The Stoccos are thought to be using little known bushtracks where police believe they have stashed away food, clothing, weapons and other supplies.

"We haven't found any stashes yet." a police spokesperson told Sunrise.

Wagga Wagga Local Area Command crime manager Darren Cloake said the duo were known to have secured odd jobs during the eight years they have been on the run.

However with their faces now splashed across the media, the Stoccos have been uprooted from their relatively anonymous existence doing odd jobs. The manhunt is forcing them to take risks just to get by, which could lead to their capture.

The massive manhunt for the Stoccos has been compared to the huge search which led to the capture of former fugitive Malcolm Naden.

Police are hoping that the Stoccos, like Naden did, will become sloppy and start leaving more clues behind.

Police have urged the public to continue reporting possible sightings but not to approach the men as they have a high-powered rifle and are considered dangerous.

Morning news break – October 26