Английская Википедия:Disappearance of Samantha Murphy

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Samantha Murphy is a 51-year-old Australian woman who has been missing since Sunday 4 February 2024 after she left her Eureka Street home at 7am to go for a run, believed to have headed to Woowookarung Regional Park to the southeast of Ballarat. After Murphy failed to return home for a family event at 11am, her family reported her as missing to police. Murphy's disappearance is considered out of character, with the police not identifying any sinister factors relating to it. Searches for Murphy carried out over several days by police and other emergency services failed to find Murphy or any evidence of what happened to her. Police have ruled out Murphy becoming injured or ill while running and stated that they believe she is no longer in the area. Her disappearance is suspicious as there is no evidence or explanation as to why she went missing. One or more unidentified people are suspected of being responsible for her disappearance. Police believe Murphy is likely deceased and her body possibly removed by the person/s responsible.

Background

Samantha Murphy is a 51-year-old Australian woman. She resides with her husband, Michael Murphy, in Ballarat, a large rural city in the Central Highlands of the state of Victoria. Murphy is the mother of three children. She and her husband run a small business located near the family home. Murphy is described as Caucasian, approximately 173 centimetres tall, slim in build, and having shoulder-length blonde hair.

Disappearance

On Saturday, 3 February 2024, Murphy had dinner with her husband and some mutual friends at their home. During this dinner, Murphy said she had been regularly walking and running in local bushland and planned to run 14 kilometres the next day. Murphy was captured by CCTV camera the following morning, on Sunday 4 February 2024 at approximately 7am in the driveway of her home, dressed in a brown singlet, black leggings. Murphy was due to attend a family event at 11am that morning. After she failed to attend, her husband contacted Police to report her missing.

Investigation and search

For several days, police (including the dog squad, mounted branch, and air wing), the State Emergency Service, and Parks Victoria conducted an extensive search of both the park Murphy is believed to have attended for a run and the surrounding areas. The search initially commenced at Woowookarung Regional Park and nearby bushland. The search then expanded to the wider Ballarat area, including Black Hill and Brown Hill. After five days, the search crews scaled back their efforts, and the Missing Persons Squad took over the investigation. Members of the public, both local to Ballarat and from across Victoria, continued searching for Murphy. Police are treating Murphy's disappearance as suspicious due to the length of time she has been missing.

Technology tracking

Murphy's mobile phone signalled a cellular tower in Buninyong, approximately 14 kilometres from her home. While a potential tool in the search for Murphy, the signal is not able to pinpoint the precise location of the mobile phone, as doing so would require a number of cell towers, whereas the regional area where Murphy disappeared has cellular towers that provide significant coverage over a large area. A police-issued image of Murphy depicts her wearing an Apple Watch; however, no data from the watch's SOS technology or GPS mapping app features was found.

Forest attacks

On 11 February 2023, a woman was attacked by an unknown male while running on a motorcycle track in the Lal Lal state forest. The victim was knocked unconscious with a rock tied to a stick and suffered serious injuries requiring her to be hospitalised. The attack occurred less than 20 kilometres away from the location where Murphy had headed for a run on the day she disappeared. A former member of the Victoria Police homicide squad believes the attack could be linked to Murphy's disappearance.

Third-party involvement

Police have confirmed an extensive search of nearby bushland revealed no sign of Murphy or her belongings, and ruled out the possibility of Murphy having suffered a medical episode or leaving the area of her own accord. Police believe one or more people probably caused Murphy's disappearance. Police also believe Murphy is unlikely to be alive and state her husband is not a suspect.

Response

Forensic psychologist Tim Watson-Munro described the disappearance as "very unusual" and stated he had never before heard of a case involving a person going missing in the same way as Murphy. A local community member set up a group on Facebook named "Find Samantha Murphy" for the purpose of coordinating local volunteers. The group quickly amassed more than 20,000 members. As the membership grew, so too did posts speculating about Murphy's disappearance alongside conspiracy theories and claims by psychic mediums. The group's creator eventually archived the group. Members of the public speculated on Reddit. The Commissioner of Victoria Police, Shane Patton, called on the public to cease speculating.