A former homicide detective believes missing mother Samantha Murphy could still be alive – and there is a chance Victoria Police could still find her despite suspending the foot search.
Ms Murphy, 51, a mother of three, left her home on February 4 to go jogging at Woowookarung Regional Park, near Ballarat, Victoria, and has not been seen since.
Former Victoria Police detective Charlie Bezzina said cops could be investigating the same suspects who attacked Sissy Austin, who was beaten unconscious by an unknown man a year ago while running through the nearby Lal State Forest. Lal on February 11 last year.
Austin was running along the motorcycle trail through the woods, just 20 kilometers from where he was jogging, when he suddenly encountered a stranger.
A former homicide detective believes missing mother Samantha Murphy could still be alive and there is a chance she will be found.
Austin posted photos of herself before and after the attack by a man with a rock tied to a stick, almost a year before Samantha Murphy disappeared nearby on Sunday.
She barely caught a glimpse of him before he lashed out and hit her on the head with a rock tied to the end of a stick.
The blow knocked her unconscious and left her face bruised and bloody, before she woke up minutes later, dazed but alone.
Mrs Austin, who stood in the Senate election for the Greens, ran 4km to raise the alarm and called for help from the emergency services.
“That would be an avenue of investigation,” Mr. Bezzina told ABC’s 7:30 program.
‘I would be analyzing the entire investigation very closely, if they had suspects, if it is necessary to go back and talk to her.
—I would be looking at the investigation file. Let’s start interrogating those suspects again and get alibis.
“Until the moment you physically see her alive or dead… you work on the hope that she is alive somewhere and then you continue the investigation at full steam.”
Writing on social media on Tuesday, Ms Austin said: “Just heard detectives on the morning news say they are reviewing my case regarding missing person Samantha Murphy but I haven’t heard a single word from detectives or the police in 12 months. .
‘And you know what makes me angry is one of the last things the police said to me after my attack?
“The only way to find the person who attacked you is if they turn themselves in or if they attack again.”
‘And here we are…’
Dozens of volunteers continue to search for Ms Murphy despite police suspending the foot search.
Lal Lal State Forest is just 20km from where missing mother Samantha Murphy went for a run on Sunday in nearby Woowookarung Regional Park.
Ballarat Mayor Des Hudson said it had been reassuring to know people had made the trip from Melbourne, but also worrying because the new arrivals did not know the area.
“What we don’t want, and what the emergency services don’t want, is to have to mount another search for other people,” Cr Hudson told Sky News.
He said the police had an information board at the local police station where newcomers could receive some safety tips before beginning their own search.
“Ideally, people would travel at least two by two so they can work as a team, but you have to be careful,” he said.
“Ballarat is a city built on gold, there are many gold mines there, and people should keep this in mind when searching.”
Police have turned to CCTV footage to try to piece together Ms Murphy’s last documented movements, saying a full-scale search will only resume if new information emerges.
Investigators are interested in reviewing the images from the three suburbs, even if they do not show Ms Murphy.
Police said Saturday there were no sinister factors in Murphy’s disappearance, but there were significant concerns for his well-being.
Police said they remain in regular contact with the Murphy family about the investigation.
Dozens of volunteers continue searching for Ms Murphy despite police suspending foot search
Ms Murphy regularly jogged about 15 kilometers through nearby remote areas.
He left his home on Eureka Street in Ballarat East at 7am on the day of his disappearance.
CCTV footage from the family home shows her about to leave.
Police have been working with telecommunications experts to try to identify his route, as he was carrying a smartwatch and a phone.
Ms. Murphy has been described as physically and mentally strong.
She and her husband Michael run an auto repair business called Inland Motor Body Works in Delacombe, a few suburbs from their home.
Anyone with information regarding Ms Murphy’s disappearance is asked to contact Crime Stoppers.