Mobile phone data will be vital to finding missing Ballarat mum Samantha Murphy
Mobile phone data and smart watch ‘pings’ will be crucial to finding missing Ballarat mum Samantha Murphy.
Victoria
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Data from Samantha Murphy’s mobile phone and smart watch will be crucial to finding the missing Ballarat mum.
Police and telecommunications experts are now trying to access more detailed metadata from the phone and smart watch she had on her when she disappeared on Sunday.
Crime command detective acting Superintendent Mark Hatt confirmed on Friday that Ms Murphy was carrying a phone and watch with a GPS capabilities when she disappeared on Sunday.
He declined to answer whether any data had been retrieved and whether it revealed any information about her whereabouts.
“It’s an ongoing inquiry with our telecommunication technicians,” Supt Hatt said.
The Herald Sun understands Ms Murphy’s watch had an SOS function and a “fall detection” feature and was likely linked to her phone.
Her phone last “pinged” on Sunday from a tower at Buninyong in the period after she set off from her Eureka St property about 7am to go jogging at Woowookarung Regional Park, ahead of a day of searing heat.
On Friday, search efforts shifted back to the area with no further details showing to take the search zone further.
If a phone is turned off, it is difficult to track as it stops sending signals to cell towers.
But if it is switched back on, the service or internet provider can see its last location.
If the phone has no cell service or connection, mapping apps can track its location through GPS.
The Herald Sun understands fresh information from metadata led to a change in the search’s focus on Thursday.
At that point, it shifted to Mount Helen, a suburb on the southern fringes of Ballarat.
Investigators have from the outset been working with Telstra to get precise location data.
A source said such searching could be frustrating and time-consuming when confronted with cases of great urgency such as Ms Murphy’s.
“It doesn’t happen as quickly as it does in CSI,” that source said.
Police said investigators will look into the missing mum’s background, search history and movements in the days leading up to her disappearance.
Supt Hatt said there was no information that indicated any foul play was involved.
“I can confirm that the homicide squad is not involved with this investigation at present,” he said on Friday.
“I want to be clear that at this time, we have nothing immediate to indicate there is anything sinister behind Samantha’s disappearance.
“We still have a number of avenues of inquiry to pursue and the search to try and locate her is ongoing.”
Divisional investigations and response manager Inspector Bob Heaney said search crews hoped to find the missing mum alive.
“We’ll continue to search until we find her,” he said.
“We are on the sixth day of the search ... our concerns heighten the longer the time goes.”
He said Ms Murphy had a “family commitment” she was meant to attend on Sunday but did not show up.
Meanwhile, City of Ballarat mayor Des Hudson shared a touching message to Ms Murphy’s family, six days on from her disappearance.
“We all in Ballarat are standing with you,” he said.
“It’s a very emotional time but our hearts, our thoughts, our prayers are with you all and we will all do what we can to hopefully see Samantha return safely back into your care.”
Mr Hudson said out of respect for the family’s privacy he had not reached out personally.
“They will be, no doubt, distraught, worried, stressed and there will be people around them that are able to give comfort in this time of not knowing,” he said.
“There is great concern across our community, there is a really strong sense of empathy.
“There is a really high desire of community members to see Samantha safely returned to her husband and children.”
Mr Hudson urged community members involved in the search to plan accordingly and stay safe.
“My message to those people that are looking to volunteer and go out into the area, check with the maps but also follow the advice in terms of being able to keep safe,” he said.
“The last thing emergency services need at the moment while they are concentrating on trying to find Samantha is to have to organise a second or third search for someone else.”
It comes as a woman claimed she saw Ms Murphy jogging near the lookout area in Woowookarang Regional Park on Saturday, the day before she disappeared.
Rebecca Agheli was camping in the bush with her partner, Michael, when they woke at about 6:30am.
Ms Agheli said a woman with blonde hair, wearing exercise gear jogged past them at 7am.
“She said ‘good morning’ to Michael as she was jogging,” she said.
Having spent a few days in the area, engaging in gold prospecting and camping near Ballarat Mine, Ms Agheli said felt “uncomfortable” when a man approached her on February 1.
She claims the man walked towards her without saying a word forcing her to call out to her partner for his help.
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