Samantha Murphy: new intelligence sparks police search for missing woman’s body south of Ballarat
Victoria police have launched a new bid to find the body of the missing Ballarat woman Samantha Murphy, with officers searching the Enfield state park, about 25km south of the regional city, on Thursday.
Murphy, 51, was last seen more than two months ago, when she left her Ballarat East home to go for a run.
Last month police charged 22-year-old Patrick Stephenson with Murphy’s murder, after arresting him in the nearby farming town of Scotsburn.
Victoria police on Thursday said “intelligence derived from a number of sources” had led them to the new search area.
“Police will today conduct a significant search of bushland in the Enfield State Park area as part of the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of Ballarat East woman Samantha Murphy,” police said in a statement on Thursday.
“Today’s search will be undertaken in an area within the Enfield State Park and will focus on trying to locate Samantha’s body.”
Police urged members of the public to refrain from joining the search. After Murphy’s disappearance Ballarat locals organised volunteer-led searches in an effort to assist the investigation.
Police said Murphy’s family had been informed about the fresh search.
Acting Det Supt Mark Hatt said the search would involve a number of detectives from the missing persons squad and specialist police.
Related: ‘Devastated’: the Samantha Murphy case weighs heavy on a small Australian community
“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.
Hatt said since Murphy’s disappearance, police had conducted a range of searches and other inquiries as part of their investigation.
“This includes extensive large-scale searches such as we have planned this week, but also smaller targeted searches focused in very specific areas,” he said.
Investigators from the search and rescue squad, the mounted branch, dog squad, the public order response team and motorcyclists will be involved in the search.
Last month a police-led search for Murphy that zeroed in on bushland in the Buninyong area, south of Ballarat, concluded without finding the alleged murder victim. Previous searches also focused in on the Woowookarung regional park, known by locals as the Canadian forest, on the south-eastern fringe of Ballarat.
Police charged Stephenson on 6 March and he was remanded into custody. He is due to appear at Ballarat magistrates court on 8 August.
Murphy’s husband, Michael, issued an emotional plea after police charged Stephenson, saying he hoped the 22-year-old had information that would help police find the body.
Police have not disclosed how Murphy was allegedly murdered but the commissioner, Shane Patton, alleged it was an “intentional act”.
He said Stephenson was not known to Murphy’s family and alleged that he had acted alone.
Murphy’s family reported the mother of three missing when she did not return home from a 7am run on Sunday 4 February. She had told family and friends she planned to go for a 14km run.
