Police have launched a new search for the remains of missing woman Samantha Murphy and have deployed an excavator as part of their efforts.
Detectives from the Missing Persons Squad, along with a range of specialist resources, will today undertake a new targeted search in the Ballarat area.
“Police are today conducting a targeted search in the Ballarat area as part of the investigation into the disappearance of Samantha Murphy,” police said.
It’s been more than three months since beloved mother-of-three Samantha Murphy went missing and her family still doesn’t know the whereabouts of her body. Mrs Murphy is pictured with her husband Mick.
In early March, Patrick Orren Stephenson, 22, was charged with her alleged murder
“Police request that the public not attend the search at this time.”
Her family has been informed of the search.
The 51-year-old left her home in Ballarat East, northwest of Melbourne, on February 4 for her usual morning run but never returned.
In early March, Patrick Orren Stephenson, 22, was charged with her alleged murder.
Police allege Ms Murphy was murdered the day she went missing in the Canadian State Forest, but no trace of her has been found since her disappearance.
Stephenson has not entered a plea and it is understood he has not cooperated with police and questions still remain about where her body might be.
Detectives from the Missing Persons Unit are in a race against time to find Mrs. Murphy’s body.
In the three months since her disappearance, the Ballarat area has experienced heatwaves, bushfires and heavy rain as search teams tried to retrace her steps.
Wildlife, including foxes, are also known to have large populations in the dense bushland in the forests surrounding Ballarat.
Police used a cadaver dog during the search for the body of Samantha Murphy at Enfield State Park in Ballarat on April 11
If the body is left uncovered in the rugged wilderness, experts believe a body can decompose quickly, destroying important DNA evidence.
“The time it takes for a body to decompose depends on climatic conditions, such as temperature and moisture, and on its accessibility to insects,” the Australian Museum said.
“In summer, a human body can be reduced to bones alone in just nine days in an exposed area.”
Experts believe if Ms Murphy’s body is buried or dumped down one of Ballarat’s many mine shafts, detectives could still collect important evidence.
“A body buried 4 feet (1.2 meters) underground retains most of its tissue for a year,” the museum said.
Last month, police brought in specialized cadaver dogs from New South Wales to search multiple locations in dense Victorian bush.
Teams of officers concentrated their search at Enfield State Park, 30 kilometers south of Ballarat, but another search team was also working 25 kilometers away in dense bush in the Durham Lead Nature Conservation Reserve.
The nature reserve is just south of Buninyong, where Ms Murphy’s phone was last detected by mobile phone masts at 5pm on the day she disappeared.
Just weeks ago, Mrs Murphy’s long-suffering husband Mick Murphy told Channel 9 that he had not stopped looking for her.
“That particular day I was outside and thought she was going to come out into the street soon,” he said.
“Then she didn’t.”
The hunt for Samantha Murphy’s body
Mr Murphy said he searched daily, either by driving around town or walking for two hours through a pine plantation.
‘Sometimes I go for a drive and it might not be that special of a place, or I go for a two-hour walk. It varies every day,” he said.
‘It’s very good for my mind and if I were sitting at home I wouldn’t be doing myself any favors with it.’
Missing Persons Unit Detective Mark Hatt has previously stated that police would never give up searching for Ms Murphy.
“I want to reassure people in the Ballarat community that police remain focused on doing everything we can to return Samantha to her family,” he said last month.
It comes as Ms Murphy’s accused killer was hit with new charges last year in connection with an alleged drug and alcohol-fuelled bender.
Stephenson has been hit with a drink-driving charge after allegedly crashing a motorbike into a tree on the night of October 1 after the AFL grand final.
He is also charged with reckless driving.
Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting Stephenson has been involved in any wrongdoing, only that charges have been laid.
He has not yet entered a plea to the new charges.
Stephenson is due back in court on August 8 on driving and murder charges.
Anyone with any information about Mrs. Murphy’s disappearance is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.