Police have launched a new search for the remains of missing woman Samantha Murphy and have deployed an excavator as part of their efforts.
Detectives from the Missing Persons Team, along with a range of specialist resources, will today undertake a new targeted search in the Ballarat area.
“Police are carrying out a targeted search in the Ballarat area today as part of the investigation into the disappearance of Samantha Murphy,” police said.
It’s been more than three months since beloved mother of three Samantha Murphy disappeared and her family is no closer to knowing where her body may be. Mrs. Murphy appears in the photo of her with her husband Mick.
In early March, Patrick Orren Stephenson, 22, was charged with her alleged murder.
“Police ask that the public not attend the search at this time.”
His family has been notified of the search.
The 51-year-old left her home in Ballarat East, northwest of Melbourne, on February 4, for her usual morning run, but never returned.
In early March, Patrick Orren Stephenson, 22, was charged with her alleged murder.
Police allege that Ms. Murphy was murdered the day she disappeared in the Canadian State Forest, but no trace of her has been found since she disappeared.
Stephenson has not pleaded guilty and is understood to have not co-operated with police and questions remain over where his body could be.
Missing Persons Unit detectives have been in a race against time to find Ms Murphy’s body.
In the three months since her disappearance, the area around Ballarat has suffered heatwaves, bushfires and heavy rain as search teams tried to retrace her steps.
Wild animals, including foxes, are also known to have large populations in the dense thickets of forests surrounding Ballarat.
Police used a cadaver dog during the search for Samantha Murphy’s body at Enfield State Park in Ballarat on April 11.
If left uncovered in the harsh jungle, experts believe a body can quickly decompose, destroying important DNA evidence.
“The time it takes for a body to decompose depends on climatic conditions, such as temperature and humidity, as well as accessibility to insects,” the Australian Museum said.
“In summer, a human body in an exposed place can be reduced to bones in just nine days.”
Experts believe that if Ms Murphy’s body has been buried or dumped in one of Ballarat’s many mine shafts, detectives could still extract important evidence.
“A body buried 1.2 meters underground retains most of its tissue for a year,” the museum stated.
Last month, police brought in specialized cadaver dogs from New South Wales to search the Victorian bush in multiple locations among the dense undergrowth.
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.
Just a few weeks ago, Ms Murphy’s long-suffering husband, Mick Murphy, told Channel 9 that he had not stopped looking for her.
“On that particular day, I was outside and I thought she was coming down the road pretty soon,” he said.
—Then he didn’t do it.
The search for Samantha Murphy’s body
Murphy said he searched daily, whether driving around town or spending two hours walking through a pine plantation.
‘Sometimes I go for a drive and it may not be anywhere specific, or I go for a two-hour walk. It varies every day,’ she said.
“It’s very good for my mind and if I stayed home I wouldn’t be doing myself any favors.”
Missing Persons Unit Acting Superintendent Mark Hatt has previously stated that police would never stop searching for Ms Murphy.
“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 last month.
It comes as Ms Murphy’s accused killer was hit with new charges in relation to an alleged drug and alcohol-fueled binge last year.
Stephenson was charged with drink and drug driving after he allegedly crashed a motorcycle into a tree on the night of October 1 after the AFL grand final.
He has also been charged with reckless driving.
Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting Stephenson has been involved in any crime, only that charges have been laid.
He has not yet pleaded guilty to the new charges.
Stephenson is due back in court on August 8 on charges of driving and murder.
Anyone with any information regarding Ms. Murphy’s disappearance is You are urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
