Samantha Murphy disappearance: Husband explains why he has been so quiet since the East Ballarat mum vanished on her Sunday morning run

The husband of a missing mother-of-three has explained why he remained tight-lipped about her mysterious disappearance and stayed out of the spotlight as the search enters its fifth day.

Samantha Murphy, 51, disappeared without a trace on Sunday after leaving her home on Eureka Street, East Ballarat, at 7.16am to go for a run in a national park.

Her husband, Michael, has now revealed why he has remained largely hidden from the public eye in the days following his wife’s disappearance.

“I have spoken to the police and I have been advised not to say anything,” Murphy told police Herald Sun on Wednesday.

The panel beater said he was doing ‘fine’ and was not concerned about the commentary surrounding the search as he ‘doesn’t even look online’.

Earlier, he visited the bush area in Woowookarung Regional Park around 1.45pm and spoke briefly with police officers through a car window.

Mr Murphy appeared visibly stunned and was turned away.

There is no suggestion that Mr. Murphy played a role in his wife’s disappearance, only that he came to see what authorities had found.

Victoria Police confirmed to Daily Mail Australia late on Wednesday that extensive search efforts had been halted at nightfall.

“The search will be scaled back after dark, but will resume at dawn tomorrow,” a police spokesman said.

Michael Murphy, the husband of missing mother Samantha Murphy, drove to the scene in Ballarat East about 1.45pm on Wednesday. He appeared visibly shaken as he spoke to officers

Victoria Police confirmed on Wednesday evening that the search would end at nightfall, but would resume at first light on Thursday morning (pictured, SES staff searching a property)

It comes as CCTV footage of Ms Murphy, captured on her own security system, revealed she was wearing what appeared to be an Apple Watch as she left on Sunday.

While it remains unclear whether she was wearing the watch while running, the device can send an SOS signal if the user’s heart rate drops.

Apple Watch SE or Apple Watch Series 4 or later can detect a “hard fall” and contact emergency services if the user has enabled the feature.

Earlier on Wednesday, a heartbreaking update revealed that items discovered during a search were not relevant to Ms Murphy’s disappearance.

The search for the mother of three children failed after a search found possible evidence near a hiking trail around 12:30 p.m – giving her family hope that police were closing in on her whereabouts.

Officers were seen watching close to a plastic tree guard before some bushland was cordoned off after items were found in bushes.

However, detectives now believe the evidence is not relevant to the search.

“Items found during the search for Samantha today have been assessed and are not believed to be linked to her whereabouts at this time,” a police spokesperson said.

New CCTV shows Ms Murphy leaving her Ballarat property at 7am on Sunday

A volunteer signboard showing the search areas for Ms Murphy was displayed at Buningyong police station on Wednesday.

SES personnel are searching farmland in Ballarat as the search entered its fourth day

Police have not ruled out the possibility that Ms Murphy may have left one of the routes, some of which are surrounded by hundreds of deep mine shafts and lined by dense bush.

It comes as the massive search expanded to a new part of Ballarat on Mount Helen, a southern suburb of the city surrounded by bushland popular with runners and cyclists.

Meanwhile, Ms Murphy’s teenage daughter has hit back at “malicious” comments about her mother’s disappearance on Facebook.

“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” she wrote.

“Be quiet and think before you post.”

A friend also jumped to the Murphy family’s defense, saying she was defending them from “trolls” who posted “malicious” comments.

He then left the crime scene, ostensibly to return home to the couple’s home in East Ballarat

Exclusive photos show Mr Murphy speaking to a police officer at the border of the search area, where he was turned away

Police investigating the disappearance of missing mother Samantha Murphy have found an object of interest in bushland and designated it as a crime scene

Samantha Murphy left her Ballarat home at 7am on Sunday to go for a run in the nearby state forest and did not return home, and has not been seen since.

Mr Murphy runs a large repair company together with his wife, who works in administration.

Daily Mail Australia has been told media outlets who approached the Ballarat East company on Tuesday received a frosty reception.

Ms Murphy disappeared without a trace after a 20km run through Canada’s national forest just after 7am on Sunday.

New CCTV footage shows her leaving her property and believed to have headed north-east towards Yankee Flat Road near the intersection with Warrenheip Road.

Some locals have expressed fears that her running path has taken her past several hard-to-see mine shafts.

Volunteers were seen Wednesday looking under bushes and inspecting undergrowth immediately outside Murphy’s home.

A person in the home outside gave the media ‘the bird’ before closing the blinds. Police were also seen inside.

Across the road, officers were seen questioning a neighbor before then searching the rear of his property.

Mrs Murphy disappeared without a trace after walking 12 miles through the national park

SES crews outside Samantha Murphy’s family home on Wednesday. A major effort was focused on searching the area outside her Ballarat East property – before attention shifted

Police on horseback walk past the Murphy complex on Wednesday

Search crews were also observed conducting similar line searches along nearby Eureka Road.

On Wednesday, a concerned neighbor told Daily Mail Australia that Ms Murphy’s disappearance had shocked the community.

“It’s just such a concern because you just don’t know what happened. Is there anyone out there? We just don’t know,” she said.

Some locals are already starting to come up with a series of theories about what happened, while some are concerned about ‘suspicious’ people in the region.

This was preceded by a large-scale search operation the Search and Rescue Squad, local police, over 100 specialist officers from the dog squad, mounted branch and air wing.

SES crews and teams from Forest Fire Management Australia and Parks Victoria have also joined the search efforts.

A police car was in the driveway of Mrs. Murphy’s home Wednesday morning

Police are questioning one of Ms Murphy’s neighbors on Wednesday

An SES employee searches for clues outside the Murphy complex

Police and SES teams will gather down the road from Ms Murphy’s home on Wednesday

The Ballarat community has come together, with a growing number of residents and Ms Murphy’s friends joining the search.

On Tuesday, Acting Inspector Lisa MacDougall said her mobile phone had pinged in Buninyong, but “investigations are ongoing to see if (the phone) is still on.”

Mrs Murphy was known to be fit and walked through the national forest almost every day.

“The search area is not completely remote, we are on the outskirts of Ballarat, and it’s not that far from urban areas either,” Insp MacDougall said.

Temperatures rose to a scorching 36C on Sunday and it is not known whether Ms Murphy had food or water with her.

Ms Murphy is described as white, approximately 173cm tall, with a slim build and shoulder-length blond hair.

On the morning she disappeared, she was captured on her own CCTV system wearing a brown/maroon singlet and black mid-length leggings.

Anyone who sees her is asked to contact police immediately.