Fresh search for body of missing Ballarat woman Samantha Murphy

NSW police sent two cadaver dogs to Victoria to assist with the search through undulating bush and farmland on Thursday. They have joined close to 50 officers from units including the mounted branch, public order response team, and search and rescue squad.

Police were tight-lipped about why the new area was being probed, indicating only that investigations were continually developing. The search is due to end later on Thursday afternoon and resume on Friday with a smaller team.

Murphy, 51, left her home about 7am on February 4 to go for a run in Woowookarung Regional Park – known locally as Canadian Forest – an expanse of dense scrub bordering her Eureka Street property in Ballarat’s east.

In late February, police revealed they doubted she was still alive and alleged someone else was involved in her disappearance.

In March, Patrick Stephenson, a 22-year-old local with no apparent connection to Murphy, was charged with her murder. Investigators allege Stephenson, the son of an ex-AFL player, attacked Murphy at Mount Clear on February 4.

Detective Acting Superintendent Mark Hatt said police had not stopped searching for Murphy over the past two months.

“This includes extensive large-scale searches such as we have planned this week, but also smaller targeted searches focused in very specific areas,” he said.

The community of Ballarat, with a population of about 120,000, is reeling from the deaths of three women this year, all allegedly killed by men.

On Monday, the ex-boyfriend of Hannah McGuire, a 23-year-old woman from Clunes, was charged with her murder. The body of McGuire, a popular netballer and emerging teacher, was found in a burnt-out car on Friday in Scarsdale, about 25 kilometres south-west of Ballarat.

On February 16, the body of 42-year-old Rebecca Young was found in Sebastopol, Nine News reported. The body of 55-year-old Ballarat man Ian Butler, who was known to the mother of five, was also found.

Hundreds of people are expected to attend a march against gender-based violence in Ballarat on Friday evening. Indigenous rights campaigner Sissy Austin, who was randomly attacked while running in Lal Lal State Forest near Ballarat in February last year, has organised the rally, which will start at the local train station.

Earlier this week, Premier Jacinta Allan condemned the spate of women dying in violent circumstances.

“It’s April 9 and already 18 Australian women have been killed in 2024. This is unacceptable, and it has to stop,” Allan said.

Hundreds of Ballarat residents have spent hours over the past two months scouring bushland for Murphy as her immediate family still grapples with her disappearance.

Husband Mick and eldest daughter Jess issued an emotional plea outside the Ballarat West police station in early February.

“Mum, we love you so much, and we miss you, and we need you at home with us,” Jess said through tears.

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