A treasured family photograph has revealed how Samantha Murphy had long carried her phone in the distinctive case it was still in when it was found in a mud dam last month.
Sitting next to her husband Mick, the mother-of-three is seen clinging to him during what is believed to be their last family holiday abroad.
The image showed Ms. Murphy’s wallet filled with so many ID cards, credit cards, store cards and reward cards that she couldn’t even close it.
On May 29, police found what appeared to be an almost identical match for the same phone Ms Murphy was photographed using during her holiday in Bali.
The phone was recovered on the muddy banks of a dam located along Buninyong-Mount Mercer Road in the same region where the phone was last connected to a cell tower before dark.
An image of the device taken from the scene showed what appeared to be an Apple iPhone contained in a wallet full of ID cards.
The dam is about 15 kilometers from Ballarat East, where Murphy ran his last race on February 4.
Samantha Murphy clutches her phone in its distinctive case during a trip to Bali in 2017
Samantha Murphy had a phone and wallet (left) that look identical to the ones taken from a dam last month.
Aerial images of the site showed police officers hugging, patting each other on the back and shaking hands while examining the phone.
On Friday, Victoria Police refused to provide Daily Mail Australia with any further information about the discovery, including whether or not it was Ms Murphy’s phone.
Mick Murphy claimed he instantly recognized his wife’s phone when watching the dramatic TV footage.
His wife had long used such a wallet to protect her phone and store her various credit and ID cards.
Murphy had enjoyed a holiday in Bali in 2017 with her husband and three children.
The search for clues in the Samantha Murphy case continues
A police officer grabs a phone that appears to be almost identical to the one used by Samantha Murphy.
The dam where the police found the muddy phone
In March, Daily Mail Australia revealed touching photos of what is believed to be her last overseas adventure.
Dozens of images show what appeared to be an enjoyable trip, in which Murphy and his family traveled to many of the island’s iconic sites.
His guide at Ubud’s famous monkey forest, Pete Mahendra, told Daily Mail Australia he remembered Murphy and his family fondly.
Mahendra said the Murphys seemed happy and calm during their time with him.
“Let’s hope that the authorities receive clues to find her. I hope the news is not true. I hope she is still alive and well. God bless her,” he said.
What the guide didn’t know then was that a picture he took of Ms Murphy would capture the distinctive phone wallet that police would discover years later.
Detectives are understood to believe the discovery of the phone could be the key breakthrough they needed in the long search for Ms Murphy’s body.
The phone is believed to have been submerged in the dam since February 4, the same day police allege Patrick Orren Stephenson, 22, murdered Ms Murphy while she was out for a run on Sunday.
Daily Mail Australia was told Missing Persons Unit detectives had suspected the inmate shortly after taking over the investigation, and questioned her owner just weeks later.
The police would not return until early May, when they again asked the owner if he would mind if the police entered his property.
Patrick Orren Stephenson, 22, has been charged with murder over the disappearance of Ballarat mother Samantha Murphy.
The Murphy clan enjoyed a trip to Bali in late 2017
Samantha Murphy during her last visit to Bali. Her body has not yet been located.
Forensic tests are being carried out over the phone as police work to obtain data in a bid to receive more leads.
Reports indicate that the phone was found to be in near perfect working condition.
Cybersecurity expert Nigel Phair told 9News last week that the phone was a “game changer” for the investigation.
“The physical properties of the phone will obviously be damaged, but what’s behind it, those ones and zeros of data, can be recovered,” he said.
It is understood Stephenson, who was arrested five weeks after Ms Murphy’s alleged murder, has not told police where her body is located.
He is due to appear at a preliminary hearing in the Ballarat Magistrates Court in August.
Stephenson is the son of former Richmond and Geelong AFL player Orren Stephenson and is not known to the Murphy family.
Stephenson has reportedly hired Melbourne-based lawyer Paul Galbally of Galbally & O’Bryan, one of Australia’s top criminal lawyers, to lead his defense case.
Anyone with information about the Murphy case is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
