Samantha Murphy: Huge army of volunteers turn out to continue search for missing mum three weeks after she disappeared near Ballarat

A large group of volunteers have joined the search for missing mother Samantha Murphy in bushland as more disturbing details about her sudden disappearance emerge.

The volunteers, highlighted in hi-vis jackets and wearing long trousers, backpacks and hats, gathered at Ballarat’s Eureka Stockade Memorial Park in the morning in preparation for the day’s search.

Police have concentrated the search in the areas around Mount Clear, south of the regional Victorian city, based on intelligence obtained from telephone records.

In one photo, a man carries a metal detector.

In another, a black sniffer dog mixes with the searchers.

Official police investigations have been scaled back, but community-led searches continue

Sniffer dogs were seen in the group as participants prepared for a long day of searching

The 51-year-old mother of three went missing three weeks ago after going for a run at Woowookarung Regional Park in East Ballarat at 7am on February 4. Police are now very concerned for her welfare and suspect she is the victim of foul play.

“We are very concerned and doubt very much whether she is still alive,” police said on Friday.

“We do believe there is another party involved in her disappearance, whether it is one person or a number of people.”

It has also been revealed that police have spoken to a convicted sex offender with a ‘lengthy criminal record’ as part of their investigation.

The man is said to have provided an alibi for the day Ms Murphy went missing and there is no indication he had anything to do with her disappearance.

Police said they would only scale up their search based on specific information

Ms Murphy has not been found by police, who say they have serious concerns for her welfare

Major searches of the Ballarat area, including the Canadian State Forest, have yielded no clues as to what happened to Ms Murphy.

A Victoria Police spokesperson told news.com.au they were not providing details of their investigation.

Detective Acting Chief Inspector Mark Hatt told reporters on Friday that Ms Murphy’s husband, Mick Murphy, and “everyone” in her personal life was now a “person of interest” – although he stressed Mr Murphy was not a suspect in her disappearance.

No arrests or charges have been filed.

‘Everyone related to Samantha is a person of interest in our investigation. We’re speaking to everyone who was in her life… So that includes family, friends and colleagues,” said Chief Inspector Hatt.

“We have a number of people we are talking to and I can say that the family has been absolutely fantastic in cooperating with the police.

‘At this stage (Mr Murphy is not a suspect). Everyone in relation to Samantha is a person of interest. In our research we speak to everyone who was in her life.’

The police search of the Mount Clear area is not new and has already been extensively searched, but this time the search will be for smaller items that could reveal what happened to Mrs Murphy.

Police have ruled out a medical episode and say they have received no information indicating she “left the area of ​​her own accord.”