Police reveal ‘items of interest’ found in renewed search for missing Ballarat mum Samantha Murphy

A huge breakthrough has emerged in police’s renewed search for missing mum Samantha Murphy after she vanished on her morning jog.

Police have revealed “items of interest” have been recovered in their renewed targeted search for missing Ballarat mum Samantha Murphy.

In a statement, Victoria Police said the area being searched Buninyong had been cordoned off after specialist police and detectives moved in earlier in the day.

It is understood one of the items concerns a phone.

“At this stage we are not providing further information about the items until that testing has been completed,” a spokeswoman said.

“The items were located during today’s targeted search, which involved investigators and other specialist units from across Victoria Police and assistance from the AFP.

"Items of interest" have been recovered in the renewed search for missing mum Samantha Murphy, Victoria Police have announced. Picture: Supplied / ABC

Part of the search included divers combing a dam in the Buninyong area. Picture: NewsWire / Ian Wilson

“The investigation remains ongoing. Further information will be provided once we are in a position to do so.”

Detectives from Victoria’s Missing Persons Squad and a range of specialist police were involved in the current search in the Ballarat area.

Aerial photos captured by Channel 9 show the excavator in action.

Ms Murphy, 51, disappeared while on a morning jog in Ballarat East on February 4.

Her remains have not been found.

Police have revealed a new “targeted search” has commenced for missing mum Samantha Murphy some four months after her disappearance. Picture: Supplied

Aerial photos captured by 9 News show the excavator at work in the Ballarat area. Picture: Channel 9

In a statement, a Victoria Police spokeswoman said they were not in any position to specify details of the current search.

They asked members of the public not to attend the search.

“Samantha’s family has been advised of the search,” the spokeswoman said.

“Since February, police have regularly undertaken a range of enquiries and small-scale searches as part of the current investigation.”

Ms Murphy was last seen leaving her home on Eureka St in Ballarat East about 7am on February 4 but has not been seen since. Picture: Supplied

Dogs were seen combing the cordoned-off area in the Buninyong area. Picture: NewsWire / Ian Wilson

Ms Murphy was last seen leaving her Eureka St home in Ballarat about 7am of February 4 to go for a 14km run through the nearby Woowookarung Regional Park.

Police believed she had reached the Mount Clear area, adjacent to the park, about an hour after leaving home, but had not been seen or heard from since departing.

Subsequent searches by police and volunteers have failed to locate any trace of the missing mum.

The area has been cordoned off and those items will now be forensically tested, a Victoria Police spokeswoman said. Picture: NewsWire / Ian Wilson

Multiple searches by police and volunteers have failed to find Ms Murphy. Picture: NewsWire / Ian Wilson

In February, a huge group of volunteers combed through bushland after gathering at Ballarat’s Eureka Stockade Memorial Park – some bringing metal detectors and even a sniffer dog.

Patrick Orren Stephenson, the son of former AFL player Orren Stephenson, has been charged with Ms Murphy’s murder.

Police allege he acted alone.

Victoria Police said detectives from the Missing Persons Squad as well as a range of specialist resources from across Victoria Police are involved in the search. Picture: NewsWire / Ian Wilson

Patrick Orren Stephenson, 22, is charged with murdering Ms Murphy. Picture: Supplied / Facebook

“He has been charged with murder so, by definition, we are saying this was a deliberate attack on Samantha,” Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said in March.

Later that month, police launched a targeted search of Buninyong Bushland Reserve involving a range of specialist units including mounted officers, dog squad and motorcyclists.

The search area was highlighted in “intelligence derived from a number of sources,” a police spokesperson said at the time.