The husband of missing mother-of-three Samantha Murphy has spoken through tears of his grief after his wife went missing more than two months ago, as search teams abandon their latest search for her remains.
Mick Murphy said his wife was an “incredibly intelligent and wonderful woman” who he still searches for every day since she disappeared on February 4 while out for a run in Ballarat East, northwest of Melbourne.
“You know for someone that good to leave the community it’s pretty hard, she was always good to us and a good mother,” Murphy said. he told Nine News while trying to hold back tears.
‘You won’t hear a bad word about her, she was a good mother, she cared and always looked after everyone.
Mick Murphy broke down talking about his missing wife Samantha, who disappeared from Ballarat on February 4.
Samantha Murphy (left) and Michael Murphy (right) appear in Indonesia in 2017.
‘She was always smiling and happy and we want people to remember Sam for who she was. Anyone who knows her knows what she is like.
Murphy said his wife worked like a “clockwork mechanism,” so when she didn’t return from her run as expected, alarm bells started ringing.
The couple have been married for 27 years and together ran a large repair business in Ballarat.
Murphy now spends his days searching for his wife, determined not to give up hope of finding her body.
‘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.”
A march will be held in Ballarat on Friday night where locals will show their support for those affected by the recent deaths of Ms Murphy, 51, and other women, Hannah McGuire, 23, and Rebecca Young , 42.
“The march for her today, the respect that the community has not only for Sam but for the other women who have lost their lives in recent weeks, the support will be great and I think it will be a very emotional moment.” – said Mr. Murphy.
“I wouldn’t wish this on anyone.”
Police returned to forest trails on Thursday near where Ms Murphy went missing, but on Friday afternoon Victoria Police said the search had been called off.
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.
The latest search effort for Ms Murphy ended at 1.30pm, with the last member of the Victoria Police dirt bike team seen loading their bikes onto a trailer.
“If we had found something, everyone would have heard about it,” an officer told WhatsNew2Day Australia.
The police will not return to the bush on Saturday.
Detectives from the missing persons team and other specialized teams participated 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.”
Police 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.
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 search the 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 the alleged murder of Ms Murphy.
Samantha Murphy in the latest haunting image of her captured before going for a run on February 4.
Patrick Orren Stephenson has been charged with murder
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.
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.
It comes after the death of 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.”
In another tragedy in Ballarat, Ms Young was found dead inside the property on the outskirts of the city in February, along with her partner Ian Butler, who has links to the Bandidos motorcycle gang, in a suspected murder-suicide.
His Ballarat partner Hannah McGuire was allegedly murdered