Australia Samantha Murphy, 51, last seen leaving her property to go for a run in the Canadian State Forest, Ballarat 100km NW of Melbourne, 4 Feb 2024

[imstilla.grandma]

My understanding is that the second sighting was not Samantha. The first sighting at home doesn’t say she was leaving the property. It looks to me that she was picking up and bagging doggy doo doo.

Exactly, which is why I now wonder where exactly did this photo come from? How was it supplied? By whom? *I need to review for sure

 

[Nikynoo]

This article (linked below) has Samantha’s friend taking about the “brunch”….

I am guessing that her husband knew about the brunch, (or at least found out about it if her friends called him, looking for her) as he reported her missing …

It is understood Mr Murphy was home when his wife was captured on CCTV leaving their property and later raised the alarm to police when she didn't return.

Date missing mum Samantha Murphy would NOT have missed

Missing mum Samantha Murphy was notably absent from her family's traditional summer holiday along Victoria's surf coast in the weeks before she vanished.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Thank you. Lots of information in this article. One point. Her friend interviewed was not going to be at the brunch. Have we heard from anyone who she was meeting for brunch?

 

[Nikynoo]

My understanding is that the second sighting was not Samantha. The first sighting at home doesn’t say she was leaving the property. It looks to me that she was picking up and bagging doggy doo doo.

Thanks @LeahBee for confirming that police have confirmed that Samantha left the property.

 

[Nikynoo]

People did a nice thing for him and his family.
He's thanking them.
I don't see how being nice and polite and giving thanks to people is such a strange thing to do.

No, I agree with you.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

* seems like this part has to be a critical detail:
Acting Inspector MacDougall said data received from Ms Murphy’s phone, which she had been carrying at the time, pinged near the golf course.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/samantha-murphy-headed-out-for-a-run-on-sunday-morning/news-story/232e37fbd23c4b2f116938d49e1e9785

 

[Curiousobserver]

BBM
This suggests to me, that that the focus of the investifgation has changed .. the initial police request for footage was from 7:00am till 11:00am

And now Police are requesting all footage for a 12 hour period … even if Samantha is not in it ….

Police are obviously looking for something in particular, but don’t want to say that publicly… (I hope so anyway)

All MOO

police are looking for a particular vehicle, or the same car driving around and around in the same area. MOO

 

[bmacmillan1]

People did a nice thing for him and his family.
He's thanking them.
I don't see how being nice and polite and giving thanks to people is such a strange thing to do.

I really don't find anything suspicious about the husband in how he comes across. He's sounds genuinely appreciative to all the caring people who are assisting his family during this crisis

 

[imstilla.grandma]

police are looking for a particular vehicle, or the same car driving around and around in the same area. MOO

Yes, maybe a particular kind of vehicle. I wouldn’t even begin to describe a make/model for those over there, but maybe something like our vans over here in the US. *eta: maybe a van with sliding doors.

 

[justtrish]

If the photo is from the home security system, then I'd say the video caught a good view of her and her clothing on that morning when she was picking up dog waste (looks like that is what is going on in that still photo). If LE says they have her leaving the property, then perhaps after this was captured, the video captures her leaving on her run, but its from the back or didn't get a good view of the clothing she had on, but the previous capture had a good angle and view of her to put out to the public. I'd say if LE says she left to run, then she did at some point after this photo was taken from the home camera system.

 

[Annamarie777]

I’m following Sam’s case from the very opposite side of the world.

I hope and trust that the Australian police knows much more than has been published by the media (many of those articles being published by tabloids as well).

Crimes do happen, unfortunately, and there are some suspicious things in my opinion, too, but all those scandalous ”news” articles don’t do any favors at all, I think.

If Sam suffered from heat exhaustion, for example, it’s not unusual at all that the search groups didn’t find her. I have been following many cases where the missing person has been found in the area of the last sighting weeks, months or even years after despite of the extensive search efforts.

I’m hoping for the best for Sam and her family but unfortunately things don’t look very promising at this point any longer

It seems like it’s a small area, could be just 50 square km max. I doubt they wouldn’t have found her if she was in that area, since they had been looking for days. If it was a much larger forest, I can imagine they missed her. But how would so many thousands people searching miss her in a small forested area with lots of traffic?

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Acting Inspector MacDougall said data received from Ms Murphy’s phone, which she had been carrying at the time, pinged near the golf course.
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/b...g/news-story/232e37fbd23c4b2f116938d49e1e9785

Ms O'Loughlan said she did not believe her friend would have ventured into the rugged area where her phone was last 'pinged'.

'There's no way she would have run that far. Absolutely no way. I'm confident of that,' she said.

Date missing mum Samantha Murphy would NOT have missed

Missing mum Samantha Murphy was notably absent from her family's traditional summer holiday along Victoria's surf coast in the weeks before she vanished.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[imstilla.grandma]

*Authorities indicate more detectives would be out and about investigating in this video from yesterday. I believe them. They’re not gonna tell us anything until they’re ready to release facts. I think there will be movement on this case soon. I hope so, for her family’s sake. Think positive

Update From Police On The Search For Missing Ballarat Woman | 10 News First

Police are providing an update on the search for missing Ballarat mum-of-three Samantha Murphy, which has now entered its sixth day.

www.youtube.com

 

[they'll get you]

Her husband Mick Murphy, 53, raised the alarm when she never returned in time for a pre-planned 11am family brunch date.


Updated article here:

Sinister twist as police bring in specialists in hunt for missing mum

Police have revealed specialist rescue teams and divers have been brought in to look for missing Samantha Murphy in the abandoned mineshafts that litter the Goldfields area.

www.dailymail.co.uk

A family brunch.
Why didn’t he go?
Was he invited or did he decline.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

*replacing my deletion:

Police on Saturday said there were no sinister factors about Ms Murphy’s disappearance but there were significant concerns for her wellbeing.

She left her Eureka St, Ballarat East, home at 7am the day she disappeared.

CCTV footage from the family home shows her about to depart.

Police have been working with telecommunications workers to try and identify her route, given she carried a smart watch and phone.

She and her husband Michael run a car repair business called Inland Motor Body Works at Delacombe, a few suburbs from their home

Ballarat community rallies to family of missing mother

The prime minister has thanked those searching for missing mum Samantha Murphy as investigators turn to security footage to solve her mysterious disappearance.

theqldr.com.au

 

[Eli9]

A family brunch.
Why didn’t he go?
Was he invited or did he decline.

Perhaps they were planning on going together?

 

[carbuff]

Just for reference, according to the BOM site the low temp for that day was 12.5 degrees. At 9am it was 25.3 degrees with 38% humidity.

I am from south eastern QLD so 25.3 degrees with 38% humidity is considered a moderate temp lol. I have lived in Melbourne and I know heat hits differently down there And how it can effect the locals being generally a colder climate.

I personally don’t think it was a factor however it’s just my opinion and I could be way off. You would think a person who regularly walks/jogs longer distances would be acutely aware of the temperature they were going out in. And it depends on how long she was actually out and whether she was in the extreme stuff. I did read she had low blood pressure and covid recently, I’m not sure of the validity of that so JMO.

It struck me that the recent illness could well have made her more vulnerable to conditions that she would ordinarily have been fine in.

Also, apparently she didn't have any water with her, and had only recently resumed running. Those factors could add to heat stress.

 

[iamshadow21]

A family brunch.
Why didn’t he go?
Was he invited or did he decline.

Family can mean a lot of things. Siblings. Kids. Parents. Just because it was family, doesn't mean it was a him-and-her occasion.

 

[green leaves]

That car accident wasn't today.

My apologies. It’s still saying it was posted 6 hours ago. Very strange. Very sorry for any confusion.

 

[BGirl88]

BBM
Hmmm … People come forward to report they have seen Samantha the day before ….(AFAIK the only sighting so far reported in the media)

An Apple watch is lost, (how???) and pings in Buninyong, same area as Samantha’s phone…..(Co-incidence???)


Some 10 kms away …. (Thanks for the map Granny)

Just interesting …. To think about ….
Especially as there is so little specific information on the case in general…

Definitely NOT suggesting there is a direct link…. But just suggesting it’s something Police may be thinking about .???


IMO

Are you referring to the Daily Mail article and the campers who saw her and his watch that went missing. I’d like to know how the police were able to tell him where his Apple Watch was pinging… did he go to the police to ask about his watch or could he have been using a “find my watch” app on his phone…? JMO
It’s all very odd.

 

[Eisenberg]

Finally have read through the whole thread I didn’t see it mentioned that if she ran/ walked with any headphones/ earbuds in? In the still on her left side. Is that a black/ dark over-the-ear ear piece, or just her hairline? I just say this as while they can be great for motivation and passing time while running. They are so dangerous, you’re unable to hear anything car/ person coming up from behind. I come from a smallish town about an hr away from Ballarat (actually real close to where Karen R was eventually found) and used the EarPods only once. I could only hear music, my breathing and the vibrations of my steps. Actually it made me feel real unsafe to remove one of my senses and awareness when I was running on roads at times.
Anyway getting to the point of my post. The theory of SM getting accidentally hit by a car/ or taken intentionally while running increases if she was wearing a “listening device(s.)” Compared to if she wasn’t wearing any at all.
As I know when I run especially early like SM did, you can hear a car from a few hundred metres away, and on a dirt/ rural rd , double or triple it with no wind.
Just my 2 cents.