AAP
NSW police deny that a $250,000 reward for accused murderer and skilled bushman Malcolm Naden means they have again failed to capture the elusive fugitive.
Premier Barry O'Farrell announced on Friday that he had increased the reward for information leading to Naden's capture from $100,000 to $250,000.
Naden is accused of shooting a 33-year-old officer with a single rifle shot on Wednesday morning (AEST) as police attempted to corner him at a remote campsite near Nowendoc in northern NSW.
Officers from the Tactical Operations Unit did not sight Naden but believe he was the gunman.
Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione joined Mr O'Farrell at Friday's announcement and denied asking the state government to increase the reward because their investigation had hit a dead end.
"We are hot on his tail," Mr Scipione said.
"But at the end of the day you need everything going for you, not just a few things."
Mr Scipione said police believed Naden - one of NSW's most wanted men - remained in the Nowendoc area but bad weather was still hampering the search.
"We've had days where there has been less than 20 metres visibility," he said.
"We're hopeful of good weather, and that will certainly assist us."
Mr Scipione also hinted that Naden might be receiving help.
"If somebody may be assisting him that we're not aware of ... they could bring it to our attention and we can deal with it," he said.
Asked what he would say to anybody who might have been helping Naden, Mr Scipione said it needed to be understood he was a serious criminal.
"This is really not a man that you want to entertain in your house," he said.
"He's on the run. He's armed. He's dangerous."
Naden disappeared in June 2005 from his grandparents' home in west Dubbo, days before 24-year-old mother-of-two Kristy Scholes was found strangled in his bedroom.
He is also wanted over the indecent assault of a 15-year-old girl in Dubbo in 2004 and for questioning over the disappearance of another 24-year-old woman in January 2005.
The current operation is the seventh time police have tried to capture him.
The officer Naden shot was wounded in the shoulder and treated in hospital before being released on Wednesday.
Police are prepared to shoot Naden if he uses a firearm to try to escape future capture.