The husband of missing mother-of-three Samantha Murphy faced a desperately lonely drive through the bush as he tried to find the site where police were searching for her body.
Mick Murphy was seen driving his distinctive blue SUV through bushland near the Buninyong Bushland Reserve on Wednesday afternoon, unaware that police had already called off their search.
Mr Murphy shook his head when asked by Daily Mail Australia if he knew anything about the search for his wife now presumed dead, while he and his family had been isolated by police.
Samantha Murphy’s daughter Jess breaks down in tears during a press conference with her father Mick on February 8.
Cadaver dogs, cops on motorbikes and dozens of officers on foot had swarmed the same bush hours earlier in what was described as a “major” new search for Ms Murphy’s body.
The site was approximately 10km from where the 51-year-old was last seen leaving his home on Eureka Street, Ballarat East, at around 7am on February 4.
Patrick Orren Stephenson was charged with murder
Mr Murphy appeared distraught as he rolled down his window to answer Daily Mail Australia’s single question.
He gave a thumbs up gesture as he walked away.
Ms Murphy’s father, John “Pud” Robson, later told Daily Mail Australia he was also unaware of the search.
“I know anything,” he says.
Mr Robson said police had not shared any information with his family since detectives charged Patrick Orren Stephenson, 22, with Ms Murphy’s murder on March 6.
This included any working theories detectives might have about how or why Ms. Murphy might have been killed.
“We’re in the dark, buddy. We have no idea what’s going on. Mick is in the same boat as us,” he said.
Mr Robson said he and his wife were no closer to achieving the closure they desperately needed.
“They didn’t tell us anything,” he said.
Samantha Murphy’s body remains missing
Police on dirt bikes helped cover ground in rough terrain Wednesday
Police search Buninyong for body of missing woman Samantha Murphy on Wednesday
Mr Robson, aged around 80 and still working as a truck driver, said he remained hopeful for the day the police picked up the phone and told him they had finally found the body of her daughter.
This is not the first time police have excluded Ms Murphy’s family from significant developments in the case.
Stephenson’s arrest was took the family by surprise.
“My wife just texted me to say it had been played on the radio,” Mr Robson said at the time. “We weren’t told and obviously Michael wasn’t told either.”
At the time, Mr Robson said if his daughter were alive, he would have heard about it.
“I can only hope that we can reach a moment of closure,” he said.
Mick Murphy appears shocked after arriving at another search site on February 7
The search for Samantha Murphy continues
Wednesday pPolice teams involved in the new searches included members of the missing persons squad, specialist officers from the search and rescue unit, a mounted branch, a dog squad, a law enforcement response team public and motorcyclists from the traffic police command.
Acting Detective Superintendent Mark Hatt said police remained determined to “do everything in our power to locate her and return (Ms Murphy) to her family”.
“Since Samantha went missing, extensive searches have been carried out in the Ballarat area and today we will focus on an area of bushland in Buninyong,” he said.
“We will use a range of specialist resources, but as we search for Samantha’s body, we ask members of the public not to try to join in today’s search.”
The Buninyong area had previously been identified by police as a location of interest after Ms Murphy’s phone rang near Buninyong Golf Club.
Stephenson – the son of former AFL player Orren Stephenson – remains in custody and will appear in court again for committal on August 8.