Search teams have abandoned their latest search for the body of Ballarat mother Samantha Murphy without finding any trace of the missing mother-of-three.
On Friday, police returned to the woods near where the mother of three disappeared on February 4 in western Victoria.
But by 1.30pm the mission had been cancelled, and the last member of the Victoria Police dirt bike team was seen loading their bikes onto a trailer.
Samantha Murphy was allegedly murdered while out for a run Sunday morning.
Police put away their dirt bikes after another fruitless search on Friday
An agent prepares to leave the area after another fruitless search on Friday.
“If we had found something, everyone would have heard about it,” an officer told WhatsNew2Day Australia.
The police will not return to the bush tomorrow.
The fruitless search will be another blow to Murphy’s long-suffering family, who are expected to take part in an anti-male violence rally in Ballarat on Friday night.
Among them will be the family of Hannah McGuire, who was allegedly murdered by her ex-partner Lachlan Young a week ago.
The McGuire family is expected to be at the rally handing out T-shirts with Hannah’s face on them.
“Tomorrow we will march and stand in solidarity with Hannah McGuire and all the other women who have lost their lives to violence,” read a post on the family pub’s Facebook page.
“We’ve made t-shirts for Hannah and it would be an honor for you to wear one.”
Previously, a The police spokesperson told WhatsNew2Day Australia that teams were conducting “a targeted search” in the Ballarat area on Friday morning.
“The search involves detectives from the Missing Persons Team, as well as a range of specialist resources from across Victoria Police,” he said.
The alleged murder of Hannah McGuire has added to the misery of the Ballarat community
Police have once again entered thick undergrowth in an area about 25 kilometers from where Samantha Murphy disappeared on February 4.
Search teams have been peering into mine shafts and navigating dangerous conditions in search of clues.
Specialized dogs capable of finding corpses have been brought in to assist in the search.
Unlike a large-scale search carried out by police on Thursday, the media did not report where the teams were searching on Friday.
“Over the past two months, police have also periodically carried out a number of small-scale investigations and searches as part of the current investigation,” the spokesperson said.
“We are not able to provide further specific details regarding today’s operational activity at this time.”
The search had renewed hope that search teams were close to locating the 51-year-old man’s body.
On Thursday, Victoria Police brought in specialized cadaver dogs from New South Wales to scour the Victorian bush in multiple locations in dense bushland spanning a vast expanse of countryside.
Teams of officers focused their search on Enfield State Park, 30 kilometers south of Ballarat, but another search team was also working 25 kilometers away, in thick bushland in the Durham Lead Nature Conservation Reserve.
The nature reserve is just south of Buninyong, where Ms Murphy’s phone was last detected by mobile phone towers at 5pm on the day she disappeared.
Ms Murphy, 51, was last seen leaving her home in Eureka Street, Ballarat East, to go for a run in the Canadian State Forest on the morning of February 4.
Police were believed to be searching bushes about 20 kilometers south of the Murphy family home.
Ms Murphy’s husband, Mick Murphy, was informed about the search this week. He had not previously been informed of similar search efforts.
A helicopter was seen hovering over the dense forest just before 2pm on Thursday, as search teams delved into the thick undergrowth.
At four in the afternoon the search was suspended for that day.
Thursday was the first time search teams used highly trained cadaver dogs, brought in by New South Wales Police, since the investigation began.
They are specially trained to be able to sniff out human remains and corpses, even in extreme conditions.
Police on bikes have also been used to help cover the wide area of the increasingly desperate search for Ms Murphy’s remains, more than eight weeks after she disappeared.
Officers had previously carried out unsuccessful search efforts in Buninyong Bushland Reserve in March.
It is still unclear what new information prompted police to conduct new searches Thursday.
In March, detectives charged shopkeeper Patrick Orren Stephenson, 22, with Ms Murphy’s murder.
Samantha Murphy in the latest haunting image of her captured before going for a run on February 4.
Patrick Orren Stephenson is allegedly refusing to tell police where they claim he hid Ms Murphy’s body.
They claim he killed her in Mount Clear the day she disappeared.
Stephenson is the son of Orren Stephenson, who played 15 AFL games for Geelong and Richmond between 2012 and 2014.
Stephenson is understood to have refused to co-operate with police and reveal what they claim to know about the location of Ms Murphy’s body.
Acting Detective Superintendent Mark Hatt described Thursday’s effort as an “extensive” large-scale search that was based on targeted searches in other areas.
“I want to reassure members of the Ballarat community that police remain focused on doing everything possible to return Samantha to her family,” he said.
Anyone with information about Ms Murphy’s disappearance is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Mick Murphy and his daughter Jess desperately asked for Samantha Murphy to come home. Little did they know then that she was already dead.