Police urge residents to check CCTV footage in search for missing Ballarat mum

Investigators are asking residents of streets surrounding the home of a Ballarat mother who has been missing since Sunday morning to review their CCTV footage, as police release new images they hope might assist the search.

Samantha Murphy, 51, was last seen leaving her house on Eureka Street for a run in a nearby forest on Sunday morning.

Victoria Police said she travelled to an area locals call Canadian Forest – a slice of bushland within the Woowookarung Regional Park.

Murphy was captured on CCTV on Eureka Street near the intersection of Warrenheip Road, running in a north-easterly direction toward Yankee Flat Road. Investigators have released the CCTV footage in the hope someone can provide information on her whereabouts.

Residents in that area have been asked to review their cameras for footage between 7am and 11am in the event Murphy was spotted.

Emergency services and other locals began searching a stretch of bushland on Monday, including scrubland behind the Buninyong Golf Club.

Police said emergency services had extended their search to the Mount Helen area to the east of Geelong Road on Wednesday, following further investigation into the area Murphy was running.

Emergency services cornered off an area in Ballarat East about midday after the discovery of items they thought could be related to Murphy’s disappearance. Police later ruled out any connection after assessing the items.

Police issued an appeal for help to find Murphy after she failed to return home on the weekend. They said Murphy’s family was concerned for her welfare due to the hot weather and her disappearance being out of character.

The temperature topped 38 degrees in parts of Ballarat on Sunday, which police say had increased the urgency of their search.

Samantha Murphy was last seen in Ballarat East on Sunday morning.

Ballarat resident Danielle Cooper said Murphy was well known in the tight-knit community and many people had been out searching for her.

“She is a devoted wife and mother and a beautiful person inside and out. Hopefully, she is found safe very soon,” Cooper said.

The search, which is being conducted by members of Victoria Police’s search and rescue team, the mounted branch, canine unit, SES and CFA, continued on Wednesday.

Acting Inspector Lisa MacDougall said Murphy had been carrying her phone when she went out for the morning run. On Monday, MacDougall said police were hoping the phone would help them locate her.

MacDougall said the search zone had been set up close to where Murphy’s phone last pinged.

Murphy – who regularly jogs in the Canadian Forest – works with husband, Michael, at Inland Motor Body Works, a smash repairs business in Delacombe.

“Sam is the head of administration and the backbone of the office,” the company website says.

MacDougall said Murphy visited the state forest every morning and was often seen out running by friends and other locals.

She said it was not known whether Murphy had water or food with her when she left the house on Sunday.

“She was familiar with the area that she intended going out to. It was a regular habit of hers to go out and walk the area or run the area,” MacDougall said.

“But obviously, our inquiries are such that we’re going to look into all of the possibilities of where she might have gone.”

Police have described Murphy as Caucasian, about 173 centimetres tall, with a slim build and shoulder-length blonde hair.

She was last seen wearing black half-length leggings and a maroon or brown singlet.

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