Sad twist in disappearance of Ballarat’s Samantha Murphy
In a sad twist, it can be revealed Samantha Murphy was devoted to helping find missing people and pets in the Ballarat region she disappeared from without a trace earlier this month.
Victoria
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In a sad twist, it can be revealed Samantha Murphy was a champion for lost pets and missing people in the Ballarat region that she herself mysteriously disappeared from earlier this month.
It is clear from Ms Murphy’s social media she was committed to helping families find their missing loved ones and to reuniting owners with lost pets.
Ms Murphy’s Facebook also reveals her own 10-week-old Hungarian vizsla puppy Ruby went missing in May 18, 2021, but was later found.
“Ruby has just returned. Filthy and frozen and in need of lots of cuddles!! Thank you so much everyone for all of your shares and support … Very happy family. One tired little dog with her belly now full having a big sleep,” Ms Murphy posted on Facebook, after being inundated with comments from followers, concerned about the missing pup.
Ms Murphy, who has been missing 10 days from her Eureka St, Ballarat East, home — in what police are now calling “suspicious” or “unusual” circumstances — shared scores of posts from other people in the region who were desperately trying to locate their missing pets.
The posts she shared in 2021, 2022 and last year were from Lost and Found Pets Ballarat and also individual owners trying to find their missing dogs or cats.
Posts about missing people, particularly teens, were also shared on Ms Murphy’s social media.
It comes as Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton on Wednesday said while there were no new developments in the search for Ms Murphy, 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.”
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.
Samantha Murphy, 51, has not been seen since February 4.
She was last seen leaving her 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.
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