Disappearance of Ballarat mum Samantha Murphy being treated as ‘suspicious’

Victoria’s top cop has revealed the disappearance of Ballarat mum Samantha Murphy is being treated as suspicious, saying “it’s certainly unusual when we haven’t been able to locate any trace of her”.

Ten days after Ballarat mother-of-three Samantha Murphy went missing, her disappearance is now being treated as suspicious by police.

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said while there were no developments, the case was “unusual” and “suspicious”.

“We keep saying it’s not suspicious but when someone’s been missing for this period of time and we have no trace, well clearly, there must be some suspicions there because we haven’t been able to locate her,” he said.

“It’s certainly unusual when we haven’t been able to locate any trace of her or any other evidence within that period of time and so obviously having Missing Persons involved, it’s suspicious, whether it means there’s foul play involved or not, I don’t know.

“But obviously, detectives are investigating a matter where a woman’s been missing for a significant period of time … call it unusual, call it suspicious, but it certainly is of significant concern to us and so traumatic for the family, so traumatic for her friends.”

Missing mother of three Samantha Murphy.

Ms Murphy left for a jog in the Woowookarung Regional Park.

The Ballarat mum vanished 10 days ago after setting off on a run through bushland on the edge of the city.

A statement issued on Wednesday by the missing persons squad said the investigation remained active and ongoing.

“Again, we have nothing at this time to indicate anything sinister behind her disappearance,” the statement said.

“However, the fact she has been gone for 10 days now and we haven’t located any trace of her despite a significant investigation remains suspicious in itself and is certainly highly concerning for police.

“Detectives are currently following up hundreds of pieces of information in relation to the matter, including the review of CCTV.”

Investigators were continuing to conduct targeted searches of the local area, the statement said.

The search for the missing Ballarat mum was recently scaled back. Picture: Ian Wilson

Police had been leading an extensive search for Ms Murphy but on Saturday it was announced it would be scaled back.

“The investigative stage of the investigation continues and as any new information comes to hand identifying areas of interest, the search will be scaled up,” police said.

Ms Murphy, 51, has not been seen since February 4.

She was last seen leaving her Eureka St, Ballarat East, home about 7am on February 4, as she went for a long run in the Woowookarung Regional Park, and was carrying her phone and wearing a smartwatch.

Ms Murphy regularly jogged long distances through remote areas near her home, including the nearby Canadian State Forest.

Police confirmed her mobile phone pinged at a telecommunications tower 11km from her home.

Samantha Murphy has now been missing for 10 days. Picture: Nicki Connolly

Last week Ms Murphy’s husband Mick and eldest daughter Jess broke their silence, appealing to the public for any information that might help find their wife and mother.

Detectives have reportedly been inundated with tip-offs about possible sightings of Ms Murphy and information about her and her family’s personal life.

Victoria Police’s Missing Persons squad are overseeing the investigation into her sudden disappearance and had initially ruled out foul play.

Investigators will now focus on piecing together Ms Murphy’s final movements using CCTV capturing the mother on the morning she left home.

“We have literally hundreds of information reports, of obviously very different quality, and we need to wade through all of those and prioritise those, and we’re doing that as quickly as we can,” Mr Patton said.

“We’ve committed significant additional resources from Crime Command to assist Missing Persons, because of the CCTV capture, and all of the exploration of where that may be available.”

Michael Murphy has pleaded for any information that may help find his missing wife. Picture: Ian Wilson

Mr Patton lashed those spreading unfounded speculation about the circumstances of Ms Murphy’s disappearance.

“I would urge people not to speculate on what has or hasn’t happened. We are working with the family, working with the friends,” he said.

Police at the weekend made a public appeal for any additional images or CCTV of Ms Murphy.

“Even if the footage does not depict Samantha, detectives are keen to review all footage in the areas between 7am and 7pm on Sunday, 4 February,” police said in a statement.

“Police previously urged everyone in the Ballarat East and Mount Helen areas, particularly around the Canadian Forest, to check their CCTV for any possible sightings over the past six days, however, would now like to collect all footage.”

Missing Persons continue to lead the investigation into Ms Murphy’s disappearance and the Homicide Squad are not involved at this stage.