Who else was in bushland when Samantha Murphy disappeared?

Phone “pings” identifying the movements of people in the area where Samantha Murphy was last seen are set to be key to the missing persons probe.

Mobile phone tower data identifying the movements of people in the area Samantha Murphy disappeared is expected to be key to the probe.

Investigators are set to trawl mobile data from the Ballarat area where the mother-of-three was last seen on the morning of February 4.

People whose phones “pinged” from mobile towers covering the zone Ms Murphy was in the hours after she set off for her run at 7am, would be looked at.

Finding who else was in the sprawling bushland of Woowookarung Regional Park and beyond has the potential to offer new leads for investigators and identify people whose backgrounds might make them of particular interest.

Samantha Murphy vanished a month ago after setting out for a morning run. Picture: Supplied

Detectives, some brought in from specialist Melbourne crime squads, are already dealing with more than 700 information reports.

The Herald Sun understands the case remains a riddle for those officers after its first 29 days.

Phone metadata has already played a significant role in the Murphy inquiry, which is being headed by members of the missing persons squad and is currently the state’s highest priority criminal investigation.

It led to a fresh recent search of an area at Mount Clear, 6km from her Eureka St home, after it pinpointed a more precise location where Ms Murphy’s phone had been that morning.

Her phone or Apple watch, even if abandoned, could hold vital answers such as messages which are unable to be retrieved via other means.

There were initial reports Ms Murphy’s pinged off the Buninyong tower at 5pm on the day she was doing a 14km jogging course.

Those reports remain unconfirmed but, if true, would add another strange layer to the case because it came 10 hours after she left for her run.

Police believe it is almost certain that Ms Murphy is no longer alive.

Detective Superintendent Mark Hatt said recently that one or more people could have been involved in her removal from the area and detectives were looking at “absolutely everything and every possible scenario.”

Phone data has been a key component of other high-profile missing persons cases in recent years.

Detectives investigating the 2020 disappearance of High Country campers Russell Hill and Carol Clay searched for those whose phones had bounced off towers in the region where they vanished.

Husband Mick Murphy and daughter Jess Murphy last month made an impassioned public plea for information. Picture: Nicki Connolly

Analysis of “pinging” in the Murphy case shapes as much more challenging because of the greater number of people living in the area.

People travelling along local roads in cars would also be picked up, along with users cycling and walking on tracks.

Phone data was a major factor in the case of Ballarat woman Kobie Parfitt, who disappeared in April, 2020.

Analysis of a suspect’s phone data in that case led investigators to the mine shaft where her body was dumped after her murder.

The Murphy investigation shapes as a marathon with no standout leads after its first four weeks.

No witnesses saw her making her way along Ballarat’s eastern fringes.

Police are working their way through 12,000 hours of CCTV in a hunt for footage of Ms Murphy or anyone else present in the area who may be of interest.

The total number of information reports to be examined this week topped 770, some generated by the deluge of rumour and speculation in the city.

Some has been quickly dismissed but other material has required painstaking checking as to whether it could take the investigation further.

Ballarat has been abuzz with a vast range of different versions of what has happened to Ms Murphy.

Vast areas of bushland have been searched during the investigation into Ms Murphy’s disappearance. Picture: Brendan Beckett

The Herald Sun has been told unfounded and salacious finger-pointing has caused a degree of community friction.

A Victoria Police spokeswoman last week declined to comment on details of its examination of phone activity.

“During the course of the investigation, police have worked closely with telecommunications companies to obtain any data that may benefit the investigation,” the spokeswoman said.

“However, this is only one avenue of inquiry for investigators and we are still keen to speak to anyone who has seen Samantha, has any knowledge of her disappearance, or has CCTV or dashcam from the area that they have not yet provided to police.”

Anyone with information can call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or visit the website www.crimestoppersvic.com.au.