Missing Samantha Murphy: Criminal psychologist Tim Watson-Munro shares theories on Ballarat mum’s disappearance

A respected criminal psychologist has raised the possibility that missing mother Samantha Murphy may have had a stalker if her disappearance is found to be the result of foul play.

The 51-year-old has not been seen or heard from since Sunday morning, when she disappeared while out for a run at Woowookarung Regional Park, in Ballarat, northwest of Melbourne, just after 7am.

Although police have said they are not currently treating her disappearance as suspicious, detectives from the missing persons unit were called in on Friday to take over the search.

Concerned residents who hoped to join rescue efforts to find Ms Murphy have been shocked after learning the search has all but ceased.

On Saturday, local residents who showed up waiting to help rescue crews hunt for Ms Murphy were told there would be no coordinated effort and that they could conduct their own searches on their own.

Tim Watson-Munro described Ms Murphy’s disappearance as a ‘very strange case’ and said nothing could be ruled out.

‘I don’t think we can say who is responsible for it. As I understand it was a happy family life,” he told Daily Mail Australia.

“It could be that she was being stalked, if you have a regular pattern, stalkers love that and she had a regular pattern of running around that area.”

Mr Watson-Munro also said a setback could be a possibility, noting that locals in the area had raised concerns about unnoticeable mine shafts in the national forest.

He also said that if a crime did occur, it is also possible that it was opportunistic, in the sense that someone sent Ms. Murphy away and decided to act on it.

The theory comes as camper Rebecca Agheli told Daily Mail Australia about a chilling encounter she had with a “sloppy man” in bushland near Ms Murphy’s home just days before she disappeared.

“It appears that (Ms Murphy} is not someone who ran away from home,” Mr Watson-Munro said.

“Calling in the homicide unit isn’t that unusual, but mentioning homicide always pushes buttons.”

Attention has also focused on Ms Murphy’s husband, Michael, as online trolls post negative comments about the father.

Ms Watson-Munro said any criticism of Murphy was “totally unfair”.

“I think it’s a big mistake to read too much into people’s body language,” he said.

“You don’t know how you’re going to react to something.”

The expert said it was a good thing that so many people were interested in what happened to Ms Murphy as a lot of information comes from the public.

“It’s good that people are talking about this case, it keeps the case alive,” he said.

CCTV footage showing Ms Murphy outside her home on Sunday was the last confirmed sighting of her alive.

Family recalls she was reported missing after failing to attend brunch that morning.

On Friday, Detective Acting Chief Inspector Mark Hatt told reporters that detectives would now investigate Ms Murphy’s movements and interactions with others in the days before she disappeared, including her friends and family.

Part of the investigation – now called Operation Primus – will see detectives scour Ms Murphy’s computers and devices in the hope of finding clues.

Chief Inspector Hatt said police were still working to establish who may have been in the area where Ms Murphy’s phone lost communication with mobile phone masts.

Her cell phone had pinged in the nearby suburb of Buninyong before dark.

Detectives are still working with phone companies to obtain data that could be crucial in shedding some light on the investigation.

‘We cannot share any information about this at this stage. We are still working with our telecommunications technicians to determine phone movements and who was in the area at the time,” Chief Inspector Hatt said.

‘I can also confirm that we have not identified any suspicious or sinister circumstances, however we are very concerned for Samantha’s welfare at this stage and this is increasing as the days go by.’

The investigation continues as a camper told Daily Mail Australia she saw Ms Murphy running past her for 24 hours before disappearing following a terrifying encounter she had in the bush with a ‘sloppy man’ days earlier.

Rebecca Agheli and her partner, Michael, rented a caravan for a long weekend trip to Ballarat during a gold panning trip near Woowookarung Regional Park, arriving on February 1.

Ms Agheli said she only found out Ms Murphy had disappeared last Thursday, noting she had seen her running past their campsite on Saturday morning before she disappeared.

When they arrived on February 1, about 15 minutes from the national forest, Ms Agheli prepared for their gold hunt while her partner explored the area.

He quickly returned to their car after seeing a strange man.

“He’s a big guy, he’s not normally afraid of anything, but he told me he saw a strange, disheveled man coming out of the bush talking to himself with the crotch of his pants torn,” she told Daily MailAustralia.

The couple decided to pack up and head to another area, which Ms Agheli said was about a seven-minute drive away.

She said her partner had warned her about mine shafts in the area and suggested she go elsewhere, but Ms Agheli wanted to take a look and walked some distance away from the car.

“Then I saw the same man again, even after we had only been driving for seven minutes,” she said.

‘His whole face lit up when he saw a woman alone.

‘I thought: ‘how did this man get here so quickly, he must know a shortcut’. He had both hands behind his back and was walking towards me very quickly.’

Before the couple left the national forest, they saw Mrs Murphy running past as the mother-of-three wished them a good morning.

Ms Agheli has spoken to detectives investigating Ms Murphy’s case about what she saw.

Michael also lost his Apple Watch and Ms Agheli said police told her the Apple Watch had last pinged in a similar area to where Ms Murphy’s phone had also pinged in the nearby suburb of Buninyong.

Ms Agheli hopes what she saw can help in the investigation into Ms Murphy’s whereabouts.

“I’m afraid something similar could happen to someone else,” she said.

“That was my first camping trip and I’ll never go there again.”

On Saturday, local residents who showed up waiting to help rescue crews hunt for Ms Murphy were told there would be no coordinated effort and that they could conduct their own searches on their own.

One resident told Daily Mail Australia he had hoped to participate after a full week of work.

“It’s the first opportunity I’ve had and I just wanted to help,” he said.

Police advise locals not to enter the bush alone and to explore the rugged terrain with a friend.

“It’s a bit disappointing that it’s already being phased out,” one man said. “I mean, she could still be alive out there. It wasn’t that long ago.’

Mrs Murphy’s husband was also seen returning to the police station on Saturday morning, where he spent about half an hour inside before leaving.

He declined to comment on leaving the building.