Missing woman Samantha Murphy: Major shift as investigation focuses on family and friends with specialist Missing Persons Unit taking over desperate effort to find her alive

Friends and family of missing mother-of-three Samantha Murphy will be investigated as the investigation into her disappearance is handed over to Victoria Police’s elite Missing Persons Unit.

Ms Murphy, 51, left her home on Eureka Street in East Ballarat, northwest of Melbourne, to go for a run in Woowookarung Regional Park just after 7am on Sunday and has not been seen since.

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.

‘Absolutely, that will be a big part of our investigation. “We are digging into the background, investigating Samantha’s movements in the days leading up to her disappearance as well as the people who knew her,” he said.

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.

Chief Inspector Hatt said detectives are still working with phone companies to obtain data that could be vital in shedding some light on the investigation.

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

Detectives are still wondering where Mrs. Murphy went when she left her home.

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

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

“I can also confirm that we have not identified any suspicious or sinister circumstances, however we do have major concerns for Samantha’s welfare at this stage and this is increasing as the days go by,” Chief Inspector Hatt said.

Detective Acting Chief Inspector Mark Hatt (left) addressing a media pack outside the Ballarat West Police Station on Friday

He spent just an hour at the station before leaving with an officer, who escorted him to his car

Samantha Murphy, 51, left her home on Eureka Street in East Ballarat, northwest of Melbourne, to go for a run at Woowookarung Regional Park just after 7am on Sunday.

Chief Inspector Hatt said specialist police would flood the area in a desperate search for clues.

“You will see more detectives working in the area in the coming days,” he said.

Hours earlier, Mr Murphy smiled after meeting with detectives at Buninyong police station.

He spent just an hour at the station before leaving with an officer, who escorted him to his car.

Mr Murphy appeared nonchalant as a waiting media pack photographed him.

The station is being used by emergency services as a headquarters for the ongoing search for Ms Murphy.

Victoria Police Inspector Bob Heaney said detectives were relying on information from the public to help determine Ms Murphy’s whereabouts.

“You know, one of the challenges we face is the area where she normally walks, it’s a fairly remote area,” he told Sunrise on Friday morning.

“It’s in a forest and a lot of bushland, and there’s no camera coverage. That’s one of the challenges we’ve had.”

Despair grows as the search enters its sixth day

One line of inquiry was officially ruled out on Thursday after police confirmed a woman in the CCTV footage was not Ms Murphy, as previously reported.

Victoria Police released CCTV footage on Wednesday showing a person driving north-east towards Yankee Flat Road, near the intersection with Warrenheip Road.

The woman is believed to have been Mrs Murphy, who was heading out for a 20km run through the national forest.

Police and SES comb through the Woowookarang National Park

However, another runner came forward to reveal that she was the person pictured.

Inspector Heaney said the discovery had ‘eliminated’ a possible route taken by Mrs Murphy after leaving home.

He added that police still consider her disappearance not suspicious, despite missing persons unit detectives reportedly joining the search on Friday.

“Other than covering a lot of ground, a large area that we physically searched looking for Samantha, we don’t know much more,” he said.

“There’s been a lot of information coming in (from the public) that we need to filter so we can review it and focus on where to look next.”

The search for Ms Murphy has now entered its sixth day

CCTV footage of a woman believed to be Mrs Murphy later showed another resident in the area

Inspector Heaney confirmed Ms Murphy was wearing an Apple Watch and had her phone with her at the time she disappeared, but said police in the area’s ability to track her devices was ‘limited’.

In a new setback on Wednesday, officers were warned about ‘items’ possibly related to Mrs. Murphy’s disappearance, but it was later determined that they did not belong to the missing mother.

Locals in the area have also raised concerns that the mother may have fallen into an abandoned mine shaft, which can be difficult to see on the forest floor.

Distraught daughter calls for help to bring her mother home

Earlier on Thursday, Murphy’s eldest daughter Jessica and husband Michael made a desperate plea for their loved one to return home.

Through tears, Jessica urged the crowd to continue searching for her mother.

“Mom, we love you so much and we miss you and we need you home with us, please come home soon, I can’t wait to see you,” Jessica told reporters.

“Mom is a very strong woman, and she is far too determined to give up this fight.”

Jessica’s father thanked the community for their support in recent days as he called for answers.

“People don’t just disappear into thin air,” Murphy said.

‘Someone needs to know something… whether it’s something small that you think is relevant, just call the police and let them know.

“It will give us a little peace of mind if we get some hope.”

Earlier on Thursday, Murphy’s eldest daughter Jessica and husband Michael made a desperate plea for their loved one to return home