Samantha Murphy search focuses on Enfield State Park, about 25km south of Ballarat
Detectives from the Missing Persons Squad have launched a “targeted” search for the body of missing Ballarat mum Samantha Murphy.
Specialist police have launched a fresh search for the body of missing Ballarat mother of three Samantha Murphy.
New information has led detectives from the Missing Persons Squad to Enfield State Park, about 25km south of Ballarat.
Investigators on Wednesday scoured bushland in the area, which is about 30 minutes drive from the Murphy family’s Eureka St home where Samantha was last seen about 7am on February 4, 2024, when she set out for a run in the Canadian State Forest.
Patrick Orren Stephenson, the son of former Richmond and Geelong AFL player Orren Stephenson, was charged with the 51-year-old’s murder about a month later, on March 7, 2024.
The 23-year-old has pleaded not guilty and is due to face a Supreme Court trial next year.
A Victoria Police spokesperson confirmed yesterday’s “targeted” search was part of the investigation into the disappearance of Ms Murphy but remained tight-lipped about the fresh intelligence that had sparked the renewed search.
“Since February 2024, police have regularly undertaken a range of enquiries and small-scale searches as part of the current investigation,” the spokesperson said.
Bushland in Enfield State Park – which is littered with disused mineshafts – has been searched multiple times since her disappearance.
It is about 5km from where the 51-year-old’s mobile phone was discovered in a dam in May last year.
Extensive searches have also been conducted in the Woowookarung Regional Park, Mount Clear, Buninyong and Scotchmans Lead and Brown Hill and Black Hill areas.
Police on Wednesday said they were unable to share any specific details about their latest search efforts, but urged members of the public not to attend the area.
When asked whether he believed Ms Murphy could be found, Regional Operations Deputy Commissioner Bob Hill said police would not give up their search for the missing mother.
“We’ve conducted a number of searches in that area (Ballarat), to no avail,” he said.
“We will continue to focus on that investigation until we get a resolution.”
Mr Hill would not be drawn on whether Mr Stephenson had cooperated with the investigation, or exactly what type of intelligence had sparked the fresh search of the rugged bushland.
“This is another search that is based on more intelligence that would indicate that we need to conduct more work in that area,” he said.
“We will continue our focus in that area.”
Mr Hill was also unable to say whether any other items connected to Ms Murphy had been uncovered since her phone was found in a Durham Lead dam last year.
Exactly how long this week’s search effort would last remained unclear.
“Closure is required for the family, for the loved ones. We are committed to resolving that as we are with all serious and violent crimes,” Mr Hill said.
The new search comes after Mr Stephenson was escorted to Ballarat bushland by authorities earlier this year in search of her remains.
The Herald Sun revealed in April that Mr Stephenson had been taken from prison under heavy police guard to bushland near where Ms Murphy was last seen alive in a desperate bid for a breakthrough in the case.
In May, Mr Stephenson was again taken from Melbourne Assessment Prison to a remote area in Enfield State Park, with excavators brought in to dig up an undisclosed area in a bid to find Ms Murphy’s remains.
It is not suggested Mr Stephenson knows where Ms Murphy’s body was left or that he was involved in her alleged murder.
It is understood he has remained uncooperative with detectives.
The fresh search is the most significant development in the investigation into Ms Murphy’s alleged murder in some time.
It comes after officers found her waterlogged phone buried in mud on the edge of a Durham Lead dam on May 29 last year.
Detectives have also examined a car, studied more than 12,000 hours of CCTV and combed through phone records, including messages, as part of its case.
It is understood a critical part of the investigation has also surrounded Mr Stephenson’s internet searches.
His trial is set to begin in April next year.
Originally published as Samantha Murphy search focuses on Enfield State Park, about 25km south of Ballarat
