Samantha Murphy: police confirm they fear missing jogger is dead
Police now believe ‘one or more’ people were involved in the disappearance of Ballarat mum Sam Murphy as detectives admit they fear she’s dead.
The mystery of missing jogger Samantha Murphy has turned into a body hunt, with police conceding it’s unlikely the mother is alive as they launched a new search in rugged bush.
The grim twist in the three-week case came as about 30 detectives scoured thick scrub and dirt tracks in Mount Clear for hours after mobile phone data led police to the site just 6km from the family’s Ballarat East home.
As Friday’s search unfolded, police conceded for the first time since the 51-year-old mother of three went missing on February 4 that she may be dead and that “one or more parties” were likely involved in her disappearance.
Detective Acting Superintendent Mark Hatt said police had ruled out that the fit jogger, who would regularly run for 15km, suffered a medical incident.
“Unfortunately, given the time and the fact that we’ve found no trace of her, we do have severe concerns and are very doubtful that she is still alive,” he said.
“We’re absolutely looking for her phone, we haven’t yet found that. We’re looking for a body.”
Asked if he believed Ms Murphy had been removed from the area, Acting Superintendent Hatt said: “That is certainly the scenario that we’re looking into. We do think that another party has been involved, whether it be one person or a number of people.”
Asked if anyone in Ms Murphy’s family was considered a suspect, he said: “Everyone in relation to Samantha is a person of interest. Our investigation involves speaking to everyone in Samantha’s life.”
Asked directly if Ms Murphy’s husband Mick was regarded as a suspect, he said: “We have a number of people that we are speaking to and I can say that the family have been absolutely fantastic in co-operating with police. At this stage he is not (a suspect).”
Ms Murphy had her mobile phone and was wearing a smart watch when she left the family home about 7am in the morning and has not been seen since.
Mr Hatt said searchers were on Friday looking for smaller items that may have been missed.
“This area was covered initially in the first week of our search and it was covered extensively. What we’re looking for today is particular smaller items which may indicate what happened to Samantha,” he said.
“We were looking for Samantha and her mobile phone and her watch at the time. What we’re looking for today is more intricate details of what may have happened on the day.”
In addition to the official search, the “Ground Crew” of volunteers have organised a “mega ground search” on Saturday.
Ground Crew member Tori Baxter confirmed on Friday afternoon that the search was still going ahead “at this stage”.
She said police had indicated they were happy for the community search effort to continue.
Police said Mount Clear had been highlighted as an area of interest by phone data, suggesting Ms Murphy’s mobile phone and potentially her smart watch have provided important clues.
“Since Samantha’s disappearance almost three weeks ago, a significant search and investigation has been undertaken in an effort to find her,” Mr Hatt said.
“We are keeping an open mind but believe the most likely scenario is that her disappearance involves one or more parties.
“Given the extensive and detailed search that has already been undertaken, and the fact no sign of Samantha or her personal belongings has been located, we have ruled out any type of medical incident. There is also nothing to indicate that Samantha left the area of her own accord.”
Ms Murphy was captured by the family’s CCTV as she set off on her run, wearing black half-length leggings and a maroon/brown coloured singlet.
Police are reviewing about 12,000 hours of CCTV footage and following up more than 500 leads.
Police said there was no evidence to suggest Ms Murphy’s disappearance was linked to any other incident in the region.
Mr Hatt said her movements had been tracked via phone data: “We believe she then travelled on foot into the Canadian State Forest, which she embarked on a run for a period of time and made her way to the Mount Clear area.
“We will be looking for anything that might give us evidence as to what may have happened in that area on the day.”
Mr Hatt avoided questions about whether police had been able to track her movements by using data from tech giants such as Google, Apple and Facebook.
Police acknowledged there was concern in Ballarat. “I know that a lot of people … are extremely concerned about the fact we haven’t yet located Samantha or who may be responsible for her disappearance,” Mr Hatt said.
“I want to reassure those members of the public that Victoria Police is doing everything we can to find out what has happened and provide some answers to Samantha’s family and the broader community.
“We have also had immense public support for both the search and investigation, and I want to thank those people who have given up their time or provided information to police.
“Police remain open to any and all possibilities. If you know something or have seen something, then we want to hear from you.”
If you have any information, call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. All calls are confidential
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