Sunday February 4, 7 am: Mother-of-three Samantha Murphy was last seen leaving her home on Eureka Street in Ballarat East and going for a run.
7.16am: She is caught on a neighbor’s CCTV wearing a brown t-shirt and black leggings halfway up.
11am: Mrs. Murphy doesn’t show up to a planned brunch with her family. She is reported missing to the police.
Monday February 5: Victoria Police launches public appeal to find Ms Murphy. A search area has been established outside the suburb of Buninyong, about 14 kilometers from where Ms Murphy was last seen, as well as near her home. Police revealed that Ms Murphy’s mobile phone had rung in Buninyong.
Tuesday February 6: Murphy’s husband, Mick, tells the media that it’s “not that bad under the circumstances.” He was pictured speaking to police as the desperate search continued. The search extended to more than 100 specialist police officers, SES teams and teams from Forest Fire Management Australia and Parks Victoria.
Wednesday, February 8, 12:30 p.m.: TO The search party found possible evidence near a walking trail. in Woowookarung Regional Park.
13:45: Mick Murphy appears at the cordoned off location in Woowookarung Regional Park and He appeared visibly dazed as the officers turned him away. Police said the items found in the bushes were not related to his whereabouts.
Police later released what they initially thought was CCTV of Ms Murphy leaving her property and heading northeast towards Yankee Flat Road, near the Warrenheip Road intersection.
Thursday afternoon, February 8: A jogger has come forward to reveal he is the person seen in the CCTV footage, ruling out a key line of inquiry.
Friday February 9: Victoria Police is stepping up its efforts with the arrival of officers from the missing persons unit.
Saturday February 10: Investigators are narrowing the search and say a full-scale search will only resume if new information emerges.
Sunday February 11: As the police reduce the intensity of the search, locals continue their own search by scouring the area in small groups.
Monday February 12: Cin Hobbs, administrator of the ‘Find Samantha Murphy’ Facebook group, which gained thousands of members in a matter of days, announced that she was deleting the group because it “has served its purpose.”
Tuesday February 13: WhatsNew2Day Australia reveals Ms Murphy’s beloved dog Ruby had gone missing.
Wednesday February 14: Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton confirms detectives are treating Ms Murphy’s disappearance as suspicious.
Detectives from Victoria Police’s Missing Persons Unit spend an hour at the Murphy family property.
It is revealed that Ruby has died.
Monday February 19: Mick Murphy makes a public plea, saying, “We want Sam home, please.”
He says his family is “doing the best we can under the circumstances.”
Thursday February 21: Dozens of detectives from specialized units are assigned to the case.
Friday, February 22: Police admit it is most likely that “one or more parties” are behind her disappearance as the search moves to a new location in Mount Clear according to new analysis of phone data.
Wednesday March 6: A 22-year-old man is arrested.
Thursday March 7: The man is accused of murder and faces a court where no bail application is made.
Friday March 8: Patrick Orren Stephenson, son of former AFL footballer Orren Stephenson, is named as the man charged with murder after a suppression order was lifted.