Police have launched a fresh search for missing mum Samantha Murphy’s remains and have deployed an excavator as part of their efforts.
Detectives from the Missing Persons Squad, together with a range of specialist resources, will today continue the search almost four months after she vanished during her morning run.
‘Police are undertaking a targeted search in the Ballarat area today as part of the investigation into the disappearance of Samantha Murphy,’ Victoria Police said.
‘Police ask that members of the public do not attend the search at this time.’
Her family have been notified of the search.
Daily Mail understands the search is near Buninyong, where Ms Murphy’s phone was last detected by mobile phone towers at 5pm on the day she vanished.
The 51-year-old left her home in Ballarat East, northwest of Melbourne, on February 4, for her usual morning run but never returned.
In early March, Patrick Orren Stephenson, 22, was charged with her alleged murder.
Police allege Ms Murphy was killed on the day she went missing in the Canadian State Forest but no trace of her has been found since she vanished.
Stephenson has not entered a plea and it’s understood he has not cooperated with police and questions still remain as to where her body could be.
Detectives from the Missing Persons Unit have been in a race against time to find Ms Murphy’s body.
In the three months since she vanished, the area around Ballarat has seen heatwaves, bushfires and heavy rain as search teams tried to retrace her steps.
Wild animals including foxes are also known to have large populations in the dense bushland in the forests surrounding Ballarat.
If left uncovered in the harsh bush, experts believe a body can quickly decompose, destroying important DNA evidence.
‘The time taken for a body to decompose depends on climatic conditions, like temperature and moisture, as well as the accessibility to insects,’ the n Museum stated.
‘In summer, a human body in an exposed location can be reduced to bones alone in just nine days.’
Experts believe if Ms Murphy’s body has been buried, or dumped down one of Ballarat’s many mine shafts, detectives could still be able to extract important evidence.
‘A body that is buried 1.2m under the ground retains most of its tissue for a year,’ the museum stated.
Last month, police brought in specialist cadaver dogs from New South Wales to scour the Victorian bush at multiple locations in dense scrub.
Teams of officers focused their search within Enfield State Park, 30km south of Ballarat – but another search team was also working 25km away in thick scrub in the Durham Lead Nature Conservation Reserve.
Just weeks ago, Ms Murphy’s long suffering husband Mick Murphy told Channel 9 he had not stopped searching for her.
‘On that particular day, I was outside and thought she’ll be coming up the road pretty soon,’ he said.
‘Then she didn’t.’
Mr Murphy said he searched daily, either by driving through town or spending two hours walking through a pine plantation.
‘Sometimes I go for a drive and it might not be anywhere particular, or I go for a walk for two hours. It varies every day,’ he said.
‘It’s very good for my mind and if I sat at home I wouldn’t do myself any favours.’
Missing Persons Unit Detective Acting Superintendent Mark Hatt has previously stated police would never give up looking for Ms Murphy.
‘I want to assure those in the Ballarat community that police remain focused on doing everything we can to return Samantha to her family,’ he said last month.
It comes as Ms Murphy’s accused killer was hit with new charges in relation to an alleged drug and alcohol-fuelled bender last year.
Stephenson has received drink and drug driving charges after he allegedly crashed a motorbike into a tree on the night of October 1 following the AFL grand final.
He has also been also charged with careless driving.
Daily Mail doesn’t suggest that Stephenson has been involved in any wrongdoing, only that charges have been laid.
He has not yet entered a plea to the new charges.
Stephenson is due to face court again on August 8 over the driving and murder charges.
Anyone with any information about Ms Murphy’s disappearance is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.