Samantha Murphy: Ex-homicide detective’s theory on why the search was scaled back

An ex-homicide detective has explained why scaling back the search for missing mother-of-three Samantha Murphy could actually mean good news for the investigation.

The 51-year-old disappeared on the morning of February 4 while out for a run in Woowookarung Regional Park, northwest of Melbourne, around 7am.

A major search involving several police units was launched but was scaled back on Saturday as locals now took it upon themselves to continue the search for Ms Murphy.

Charlie Bezzina, who worked with the Victorian Police on a number of high-profile criminal cases, said he did not think the public should be discouraged by the update.

‘It indicates that the detectives are following a certain line of investigation. The fact that they have scaled it back should give people confidence that they are following that,” Mr Bezzina told Daily Mail Australia.

“They seem comfortable enough to scale back this search.” That indicates that they are, to some extent, certain that she is not in that area.”

He added that police would not jeopardize any potential line of inquiry by publicizing it in the media.

“The only people they have to be honest with are the family,” he said.

Some residents have banded together to continue coordinating their own searches.

The former detective said it was still worth doing for locals, even for their own peace of mind.

Mr Bezzina added that it was important that Ms Murphy’s case remained in the public eye to assist the investigation, as police rely heavily on residents coming forward with information.

“It is clear that the case has declined in the CBD area of ​​Greater Melbourne, with most interest coming from rural areas,” he said.

‘It is important to keep the investigation alive in the media.’

Charlie Bezzina, who worked with the Victorian Police on a number of high-profile criminal cases, said it is possible detectives are further along in the investigation than it appears.

Volunteers from police, the Country Fire Association and the State Emergency Service and hundreds of local residents scoured bushland for six days looking for Ms Murphy, but the official search was called off on Saturday.

Small teams of locals scoured the bushland for the missing mother on Sunday, while another group organized a rally at Buninyong police station the next morning, but with temperatures soaring to 36 degrees, no one showed up on Monday.

On Monday, the administrator of the Facebook group ‘Find Samantha Murphy’ – which has amassed thousands of members since she disappeared – suddenly announced that she would be deleting the group.

Cin Hobbs, who led the group, said: “This group has served its purpose and we have been given permission to remove.

“This in itself is a huge mission as I have to remove every member… the best thing you can do for her is help speed up the process by removing yourself.”

There were other Facebook groups devoted to the search, but none were as large as Ms. Hobbs’ group.

Local volunteers continue their search for Samantha Murphy

Before it was removed, locals posted maps of the areas they covered during their independent searches and reported their findings.

One person found a black bra cut in half hanging from a fence on Saturday and reported it to police.

The members were shocked and confused to discover that all their search cards and information about clues found would be deleted, but no further explanation was given beyond Ms. Hobbs’ original message.

The official police search for Ms Murphy has now been transferred to the Missing Persons Unit a full search will not resume until new information emerges.