Samantha Murphy’s daughter begs for public’s help to find missing mum
Five days into the search for missing Ballarat woman Samantha Murphy, her husband says “someone must know something” while her distraught daughter begged her “strong, determined” mum to come home.
Police & Courts
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The search for missing Ballarat mother of three Samantha Murphy is in its fifth day, with emergency services scouring the southwest of Woowookarung Regional Park.
The SES confirmed volunteers were searching between the Canadian Plantation and Yankee Flat Rd where the search is following a transmission line that cuts through the rugged terrain.
Ballarat police acting inspector Lisa McDougall on Thursday afternoon said investigators were “keeping an open mind”.
“We’re keeping an open mind and considering all possibilities and we’re being extremely thorough and methodical with that investigation,” she said.
“We’re keeping an open mind and we’re hopeful ... the search is ongoing and we’re throwing all those resources at it in the hope that we find Samantha and get some answers for her family who are obviously concerned.
“There are no suspicious circumstances that we’ve identified at this stage.”
Inspector McDougall said Ms Murphy’s family was concerned and worried.
“As any family would be, they are very concerned, and they’re very worried,” she said.
“They are also really appreciative of the community assisting with this.”
Inspector McDougall said drones were being used in the extensive search on Thursday.
“We have 40 resources on the ground at the moment and they are both Victoria Police resources and CFA and SES,” she said.
“We have used various assets internally so that includes things like mountain branch over the last few days and search and rescue.
“We’ve also had police air up assisting us with the search today. We also have some drones up assisting us.”
Ms Murphy’s husband, Michael Murphy, urged the public to come forward if they knew details of his wife’s disappearance.
“We are overwhelmed by the help of the public and the community,” he said.
“The way they’ve all formed together as a unit to help us look for Sam and her disappearance.
“People just don’t vanish into thin air.
“Someone has got to know something ... whether it be any little thing that you might think is relevant, just call the police, let them know.
“It’ll give us a bit of peace of mind if we get some hope.”
Mr Murphy thanked the local community for their support.
“The generosity throughout the community has been unbelievable,” he said.
“If we went in to accept all the food that would want to be cooked for us or anything like that, we wouldn’t have to buy it or go to the supermarket for 12 months.
“Thank you very much to everybody. We really, really do appreciate everything that everyone’s doing.”
Ms Murphy’s eldest daughter, Jess Murphy, broke down in tears as she described her mother as strong and determined.
“Mum’s a really strong woman and she’s far too determined to give up this fight,” she said.
“I know she’s out there somewhere, so if you could please continue to search for her to give us something to work with.”
“Mummy ... we miss you and we need you at home with us.
“Please come home soon. I can’t wait to see you, and to give you the biggest hug when I do, and to tell you off for giving us so much stress. I love you.”
Police said on Thursday afternoon the Ballarat and Buninyong Police Stations were being overwhelmed with calls which may delay relaying information.
Public asked to submit CCTV footage
On Wednesday, police issued a desperate plea for community members to submit any CCTV footage of Ms Murphy as her family hit back at “malicious” speculation around her disappearance.
“Investigators would like residents in the above areas to review their CCTV footage between 7am and 11am in the event Samantha is captured,” Victoria Police said.
A Victoria Police spokeswoman confirmed that footage released to the public on Wednesday was not Samantha Murphy but another member of the community.
“In relation to the most recent CCTV footage which was released yesterday, Wednesday 7 February from Eureka Street at 7.15am, a member of the community has come forward and identified themselves as the person depicted running,” she said.
“For that reason, the footage will no longer be relevant to the search for Samantha.”
The lack of success in the major search for Ms Murphy has meant police have had to broaden their inquiries and rule out other scenarios around what may have happened to her.
It’s still possible Ms Murphy left one of the routes, some of which are surrounded by hundreds of deep mine shafts and fringed by dense bush, which would heavily impede visibility.
The focus of the operation on Wednesday shifted to a fresh section of Ballarat.
That zone was centred on Mount Helen, a southern suburb of the city which is fringed by bushland.
The area is popular with runners and cyclists.
The search had previously focused on the Woowookarung regional park, formerly known as Canadian Forest.
Police say fresh information on the direction in which Ms Murphy had been running on her Sunday morning jog had led them to Mount Helen.
As the search continued on Wednesday, police collected several items found near Ms Murphy’s home.
But hours later they said they no longer believed they were connected to the missing woman.
Mr Murphy was seen returning home on Thursday morning.
When asked how he was coping, Mr Murphy told the Herald Sun he was “not well”.
He said he hoped stakeholders invested in the search and the wider community would appreciate his and his family’s privacy.
Meanwhile, the family and friends of the missing mum hit out at “malicious” remarks on social media surrounding her disappearance.
“You have no idea what you are talking about,” Ms Murphy’s daughter wrote on Facebook.
“Be quiet and think before you post.”
A friend of Ms Murphy also defended the family, calling people “trolls”.
“I’m just trying to defend people who are being hurt by malicious comments,” she wrote.
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton also urged the Ballarat community not to speculate on Ms Murphy’s disappearance.
“Sadly we don’t have any further information ... we have nothing at this stage,” he told 3AW on Thursday.
“The community up there has been fantastic.
“Importantly, the public should not speculate, (they) shouldn’t be going on social media and shouldn’t be speculating what they think has or hasn’t occurred.
“This is very early days, this is traumatic for the family and friends of Samantha.
“I would just urge everyone just to leave it to police to work through.
“Anything is possible.”
Mr Murphy told the Herald Sun on Wednesday that he was not concerned about the negative commentary.
“I don’t even look online so I’m not worried about it,” he said.
“I’m doing OK, it’s just a whole time thing.”
A friend of Ms Murphy, Virginia O’Loughlin, said she had recently started running in preparation for the Run The Gap fun run in Halls Gap, and was due to be at a brunch at 11am on the day she went missing.
She said Ms Murphy would’ve stuck to running tracks rather than ventured into bushland.
“Sam’s a very sensible person, so I don’t believe that she would be on any of the ‘goat tracks’, as we call them, in Canadian State Forest.
“I believe she would’ve run somewhere under the shade.”
In a Facebook group titled “Find Samantha Murphy”, which has now gained over 7,000 members, a family member of Ms Murphy hit out at those who have painted Mr Murphy in a bad light.
“For those questioning Samantha’s husband, you need to not worry,” they wrote.
“He is in more pain than anyone and would be the last person to suspect in any of this.”
Following the discovery of a ping from Ms Murphy’s phone near Buninyong Golf Course, the family member said it was “unusual” for her to be that far from home.
“Samantha’s phone pinging that far away from home is not usual,” they said.
“Yes she walked in different directions, but she kept to the paths, never went for more than 10k total roughly and would let family know if she was walking further.”
They added Ms Murphy was an “experienced” walker who was in “amazing condition” at the time.
Members of the search and rescue squad, uniformed officers, the mounted branch, canine teams and personnel from the State Emergency Service and Country Fire Authority have been working long hours at the Woowookarung and Mount Helen areas.
When asked if he wanted to clarify any details about his wife’s disappearance, Mr Murphy declined.
“I’ve been speaking with the police and I’ve been advised not to say anything,” he said.
The panel beater was spotted speaking to police at the scene where the items were found.
A previously issued image of Ms Murphy showed she was wearing what appeared to be an Apple fitness watch.
It is not known whether she was wearing the device on her run but its features include fall detection technology and is capable of sending an SOS if the wearer’s heart rate drops.
Hidden dangers on the trail
Samantha Murphy had run the Canadian Forest trails many times before.
In fact, she ran around that area most days, according to those who knew her.
20km on a Sunday morning wasn’t out of the ordinary for the super-fit Ballarat East mother of three. But that Sunday, February 4, was hot.
In fact, it was the hottest day of summer so far, with the mercury spiking at 36C.
While it would have been much cooler when Samantha left her home shortly after 7am, that morning she set off without any water.
This fact in particular raised serious alarm bells when, hours later, she hadn’t made it home.
In what is believed to be one of the last sightings of the 51-year-old, CCTV captured Samantha jogging along Eureka St near her home.
It was believed she was headed towards the Canadian Forest, also known as Woowookarung Regional Park, meaning “place of plenty”.
The dirt track that snakes through the national park is popular with joggers and bushwalkers. The area was also a mountain biking hotspot, frequented often by joy-riders and dirt bike enthusiasts. But even for the most seasoned of adventurers it is not without its dangers. Or without places for people to hide from those using the trails, or to cover their tracks afterwards.
The forest is dotted with hundreds of deep mineshafts, which locals say are a big concern. Dogs often go missing down the hidden traps.
The narrow trails are hedged by towering gum trees, stringybark and low-lying shrubbery.
Land just a few paces from the dirt track is swallowed up by dense bushland.
Locals said they often spot snakes and other creatures on the tracks in summer.
The undulating trails through Woowookarung Park are beaten and dusty, with the bush canopy providing the only shade in what would be otherwise dry and hot bushland.
Rubbish, debris and burnt goods litter parts of the trail only kilometres away from where Ms Murphy is believed to have started her run.
The park is also home to a sanctuary of Australian wildlife.
Kangaroos are known to dart across the track, while there is also a population of koalas in the area.
Now, bright orange figures burst through the green and brown landscape.
SES officers, police, the K-9 squad and anxious volunteers combed more than 600ha of rugged terrain, looking for any clues that might lead them to Samantha.
With each passing hour, hope fades that she will be found alive.
Anyone with information can contact crimestoppersvic.com.au or call 1800 333 000.
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