Cadaver dogs, cops on motorbikes and dozens of officers on foot have swarmed bushland in a ‘significant’ new search for the body of Ballarat mum Samantha Murphy.
Fresh intelligence from confidential Victoria Police sources led detectives to launch an extensive hunt for Ms Murphy’s remains at Buninyong Bushland Reserve on Wednesday.
The site is about 10km away from where the 51-year-old was last seen leaving her home at Eureka Street, Ballarat East at about 7am on February 4.
She went for a jog but no trace of the mother-of-three has ever been found, despite Patrick Orren Stephenson, 22, being charged with her murder on March 7.
The new search site was just steps from where Stephenson and his girlfriend were house-sitting about the time of his arrest.
At 3pm, Ms Murphy’s husband, Mick, was spotted briefly inspecting the search site.
Police launched a new search for the body of Samantha Murphy in Buninyong
Officers from the Dog Squad scoured Buninyong Bushland Reserve on Wednesday in a renewed search for Samantha Murphy’s remains
Cops on motorbikes embark on a search of the bushland
The new search launched by police is about 10km from original search efforts
READ MORE: Dozens of locals take part in commemorative jog for Samantha Murphy
A group of almost 100 Victorians finished the final 7km Ms Murphy had planned to run
‘The search will focus on an area highlighted by intelligence derived from a number of sources,’ a police statement read.
Members of the public who have spent the last six weeks looking for Ms Murphy have been advised to not join the latest search.
Police teams involved included members of the Missing Persons squad, specialist officers from the search and rescue unit, mounted branch, dog squad, public order response team and motorcyclists from Road Policing Command.
Detective Acting Superintendent Mark Hatt said police are committed to ‘doing everything we can to locate her and return her to her family’.
‘Since Samantha’s disappearance, extensive searches have been conducted in the Ballarat area and today we will focus on an area of bushland in Buninyong,’ he said on Wednesday.
‘We will have a range of specialist resources involved, however as we are searching for Samantha’s body, we ask that members of the public do not try and join today’s search.
‘Hopefully today’s search will benefit the investigation or provide further avenues of enquiry for police.
‘We will also look at further searches in the Ballarat area as the investigation progresses.’
Police have vowed to do everything they can to find Samantha Murphy’s body and give her grieving family some closure
A cop suits up to jump on his motorbike
Police officers discuss strategy for the search
Dozens of specialist officers (pictured on Wednesday) have returned to Ballarat to search a new area of bushland in Buninyong
Missing Persons investigators along with specialist officers from various units, including public order response are involved in the latest search for Samantha Murphy’s remains
Locals (pictured at previous search) have been advised by police to not join the latest search
Wednesday marks 45 days since Ms Murphy disappeared. The search concluded without finding Ms Murphy’s body.
The bushland being searched on Wednesday is about 3km from where Stephenson was house-sitting at the time of his arrest on the outskirts of Ballarat a fortnight ago.
The Buninyong area was previously pinpointed by police as a location of interest after Ms Murphy’s phone pinged near the Buninyong Golf Club.
Stephenson remains in custody and will reappear in court for a committal mention on August 8.
Stephenson is the son of former AFL player Orren Stephenson, who played 15 games for Geelong and Richmond between 2012 and 2014.
Police will allege that he killed Murphy in a ‘deliberate’ act.
It’s hoped that Wednesday’s new search will finally provide answers for Ms Murphy’s grieving family.
‘The adrenaline with everything that’s been going on, it’s just, it’s trying to be brave for everybody,’ her husband Mick told reporters a fortnight ago following Stpehenson’s arrest.
‘It’s something you wouldn’t want anybody to experience.’
Police remain hopeful of finding Samantha’s Murphy’s remains after a new search began on Wednesday
Police (pictured during Wednesday’s new search) are acting on new information received ‘from a number of sources’
It comes after Patrick Stephenson, 22, was charged with one count of murder following her suspicious disappearance.
Extensive police resources, including motorcycle officers have been deployed into the latest search announced on Wednesday