THE reward for accused murderer Malcolm Naden has more than doubled to $250,000 as the hunt for him in northern New South Wales enters its third day.

Naden slipped away from scores of heavily armed and camouflaged police yesterday as poor weather hampered a massive manhunt in bush near Tamworth, north of Sydney.

Naden - who has has been on the run from police for more than six years - is believed to be on foot, armed and dangerous.

He has evaded capture in rugged bushland near Nowendoc since Wednesday, after he allegedly shot an officer.

At a press conference this morning, NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell announced he was increasing the reward for information leading to his capture to $250,000.

Thermal imaging and infrared technology on board a police helicopter was used to track the fugitive to his bush hideout near Nowendoc.

But Naden was able to elude capture yet again as the weather closed in.

Police last night said darkness and clear weather was their best friend in the hunt for Naden, 37, due to new equipment on the recently updated Polair chopper, which includes a forward looking infra red scanning system. But the chopper will remain grounded until the weather improves, giving Naden time to move.

It was with that advanced technology that Naden was tracked to his hideout in the Nowendoc area on Wednesday but the highly experienced bushman shot at police to avoid capture.

It is believed officers were less than 20m from his hideout when he fired a single shot from a rifle, hitting a 33-year-old senior constable in the right shoulder.

The sniper attack by the former abattoir worker - who has been on the run since 2005 after being suspected of murdering two women - has forced police to step up their hunt for him.

Dozens of specialist officers were mobilised overnight to track him down.

Teams of anti-terrorist police began moving out into the scrub about 8am, armed with sniper rifles and dressed in full camouflage "Ghillie suits", complete with face paint. Each group had at least two german shepherd dogs with them to aid the hunt.

"Highly skilled police have concentrated on two areas where we believe (Naden) might have been," acting Deputy Commissioner of Specialist Operations Dave Hudson said. He said it was not about saturating the area with police, but going about it tactically.

"This is not a numbers game. We have to enter with purpose. It's not a matter of swamping the area with police," Mr Hudson said.

How the hunt began

In 2005, Naden disappeared from his grandparents' Dubbo home where the body of his strangled cousin Kristy Scholes was found dumped in a bedroom.

He is also suspected to have been involved in the disappearance of another of his cousins, Lateesha Nolan, a few months earlier, and the rape of a 15-year-old schoolgirl.

Other than a stint living in the roof of a building at Western Plains Zoo at Dubbo for a few months in early 2006, police believe Naden has been hiding out in the bush ever since, spending much of his time in scrub around the Barrington Tops.

Police yesterday released an updated image of what they believe Naden would now look like, with an overgrown beard and long hair.

"The last sighting of him suggested he was rather unkempt looking," Mr Hudson said.

Town in lockdown

The usually relaxed tiny township of Nowendoc was deserted yesterday. Only a few people surfaced for a game of tennis and a barbecue, with the rest of the townsfolk in lockdown.

Doors were locked shut for the first time in years and curtains were drawn.

Even the general store was closed for much of the day, opening for just three hours

in the afternoon so people could stock up on supplies. Those who did show their face in the town centre said it felt like they were living in a "ghost town".

Resident Kim Hart said the townspeople weren't used to locking their homes.

"Everyone knows each other, we've never felt the need to lock up like this before," she said. "Under these circumstances we will have to keep going this way until he is caught."

Police spent the early hours of the morning checking cars coming in and out of town.

'If he sees us, he runs'

Most of the locals, like Anthony Green, knew Naden had been living close by in the Nowendoc State Forest bushland for at least three months but said they weren't worried he would attack - until now.

"He's been known to break in and steal food around here and Barrington Tops," he said.

"He'd never hurt us though because we're one of his own. If he sees us, he runs. I think he's more scared of us than we are of him."

Another local, who didn't want to be named, said a friend had encountered Naden while horse riding through the forest several weeks ago.

"He obviously didn't hear her coming and he ran off so quickly," she said.

Mr Hudson said police would continue to scour the bush as long as there was a chance of finding him.

"We are reassessing the situation day by day, but for as long as we believe there is a viable chance of arresting Naden, we will stay out there," he said.