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 #4

[PolyDot]

The police believe it's a targeted attack

Very true , I think it’s much more likely to be someone she knows ..I was just pointing out that random attacks can be well planned

 

[Deleted member 293720]

They've said no such thing.

The police would prefer not to give any member of the public preconceived notions of what happened, because they need as much information as possible, in case it could be helpful for the investigation. imo

In a comment that appeared to suggest Ms Murphy may have been targeted, Superintendent Hatt said: 'We have no intelligence or evidence to suggest that there's any risk to anyone else.'

Which means this attack was solely for Samantha

 

[otto]

They've said no such thing.

The police would prefer not to give any member of the public preconceived notions of what happened, because they need as much information as possible, in case it could be helpful for the investigation. imo

Thank you for clarifying.

 

[Kemug]

The attack on a senior bandido last October - I wonder if Samantha may have seen something, or know something, about that, seeing it was quite close to the garage? And if she did, that could be a motive for someone to silence her?

 

[BGirl88]

I’ve taken a “stroll” down Boak Road via Google Street View. It looks to be a very desolate road. I’d be interested to know if she stuck to paved roads and footpaths or if she didn’t mind running on some dirt tracks. As a runner myself, I’d stick to sealed roads for fear of rolling an ankle or hurting my knee on an unsealed track.

I can see that if she was running along a sealed or unsealed part of the road with headphones in, music on, you wouldn’t hear an approaching or oncoming vehicle (car / 4wd / dirt bike) and they could perhaps not see her either.

A sudden collision… she’s hit and thrown into bushland. Either she’s left there or they collect her then (or come back for her) and cover their tracks.

 

[Naobh]

In a comment that appeared to suggest Ms Murphy may have been targeted, Superintendent Hatt said: 'We have no intelligence or evidence to suggest that there's any risk to anyone else.'

Which means this attack was solely for Samantha

The question was really hard to hear over the birds. So yeah it could mean that, but it was a question from a journalist about whether to be more cautious because of this disappearance. So it could mean a lot of things really.

 

[Dotta]

The question was really hard to hear over the birds. So yeah it could mean that, but it was a question from a journalist about whether to be more cautious because of this disappearance. So it could mean a lot of things really.

Yep.
Quite ambiguous.

 

[Dr Samoht]

Y

I’ve taken a “stroll” down Boak Road via Google Street View. It looks to be a very desolate road. I’d be interested to know if she stuck to paved roads and footpaths or if she didn’t mind running on some dirt tracks. As a runner myself, I’d stick to sealed roads for fear of rolling an ankle or hurting my knee on an unsealed track.

I can see that if she was running along a sealed or unsealed part of the road with headphones in, music on, you wouldn’t hear an approaching or oncoming vehicle (car / 4wd / dirt bike) and they could perhaps not see her either.

A sudden collision… she’s hit and thrown into bushland. Either she’s left there or they collect her then (or come back for her) and cover their tracks.

You are correct , it’s a very desolate rough track , far more ‘technical ‘from a runners perspective than the 7 Km running from her home to this point in Mt Clear . I walked this Boak Rd a few times , it’s not unusual to come across a burnt out stolen vehicle or evidence there of .
Given her timeframe for her expected 14 Km run in two hours to me it’s unlikely Sam would have chosen Boak Rd , rather the much smoother , wider and open Recreation Rd would be obvious path but from my experience one needs to be well aware of possible quickly moving vehicular traffic in both directions ( read no EarPods) .
A short distance westwards along Rec Rd and you have the opportunity to return homewards with two tracks taking you back towards Boundary Rd .

 

[Kemug]

I don't wish to malign Samantha at all, but we have heard that she had a strong personality, and I do wonder if some people thought that she was "bossy" and resented her?

 

[SLouTh]

Perhaps the forensic search was from Boak Road thru the scrub and back to Recreational Road ??? the area of scrub between the two roads…???

Some intelligence made the Police go back to that area for a forensic search ….most likely information from Samantha’s devices….

IMO

 

[JLZ]

I don't wish to malign Samantha at all, but we have heard that she had a strong personality, and I do wonder if some people thought that she was "bossy" and resented her?

I have wondered whether there was a territorial issue: somebody asserted ownership of his campsite and she said that on the contrary not only was it public land but camping there was illegal; or she took shortcuts, more than once, through land that really did belong to somebody else.

 

[Dotta]

You are correct , it’s a very desolate rough track , far more ‘technical ‘from a runners perspective than the 7 Km running from her home to this point in Mt Clear . I walked this Boak Rd a few times , it’s not unusual to come across a burnt out stolen vehicle or evidence there of .
Given her timeframe for her expected 14 Km run in two hours to me it’s unlikely Sam would have chosen Boak Rd , rather the much smoother , wider and open Recreation Rd would be obvious path but from my experience one needs to be well aware of possible quickly moving vehicular traffic in both directions ( read no EarPods) .
A short distance westwards along Rec Rd and you have the opportunity to return homewards with two tracks taking you back towards Boundary Rd .

To be honest,
I would be scared to go jogging there alone

But then, I'm a city girl and not accustomed to such wilderness.

 

[JustMyself]

I don't wish to malign Samantha at all, but we have heard that she had a strong personality, and I do wonder if some people thought that she was "bossy" and resented her?

Would you ever say that about a male victim? If you don't know Samantha then that's just speculation and frankly unfair.

 

[SLouTh]

I don't wish to malign Samantha at all, but we have heard that she had a strong personality, and I do wonder if some people thought that she was "bossy" and resented her?

And in a business, some one has to be the tough one with hiring and firing employees….

IMO

 

[JLZ]

Would you ever say that about a male victim? If you don't know Samantha then that's just speculation and frankly unfair.

Yes; that sort of thing was said about Russell Hill. Not the word "bossy", but the idea that if someone picked a fight with him, he wouldn't back down.

 

[Deleted member 339914]

I don't wish to malign Samantha at all, but we have heard that she had a strong personality, and I do wonder if some people thought that she was "bossy" and resented her?

The thought crossed my mind that being such a driven, hard working person herself that she would let a lazy worker know pretty quickly to pull up their socks otherwise they won't have a job much longer but kidnapping your boss seems pretty extreme! I just feel that we are talking about a deeply troubled person who she showed kindness to and is now paying the price but of course, anything is possible which is why this is so stressful.

 

[SouthAussie]

Y

You are correct , it’s a very desolate rough track , far more ‘technical ‘from a runners perspective than the 7 Km running from her home to this point in Mt Clear . I walked this Boak Rd a few times , it’s not unusual to come across a burnt out stolen vehicle or evidence there of .
Given her timeframe for her expected 14 Km run in two hours to me it’s unlikely Sam would have chosen Boak Rd , rather the much smoother , wider and open Recreation Rd would be obvious path but from my experience one needs to be well aware of possible quickly moving vehicular traffic in both directions ( read no EarPods) .
A short distance westwards along Rec Rd and you have the opportunity to return homewards with two tracks taking you back towards Boundary Rd .

It seems that if Sam did end up on Boak Road it may not have been of her own doing.
But it may be where her GPS trail led the police.

I wonder if it is possible that Sam was taken that relatively short distance from Recreation Road - because it seems more private - then assaulted, and moved/hidden.

 

[SLouTh]

The thought crossed my mind that being such a driven, hard working person herself that she would let a lazy worker know pretty quickly to pull up their socks otherwise they won't have a job much longer but kidnapping your boss seems pretty extreme! I just feel that we are talking about a deeply troubled person who she showed kindness to and is now paying the price but of course, anything is possible which is why this is so stressful.

I know it’s extreme, but sadly these days, it is not unheard of for a disgruntled employee to go back and kill their employer with a firearm...

IMO

 

[otto]

Perhaps the forensic search was from Boak Road thru the scrub and back to Recreational Road ??? the area of scrub between the two roads…???

Some intelligence made the Police go back to that area for a forensic search ….most likely information from Samantha’s devices….

IMO

It seems likely that evidence on her devices indicated that something happened at Boak Road. I added red line as possible running route, purple represents 4 roads that she crossed during her run.

The overview map is from abcnews linked upthread.

 

[SESmck]

Yes I just wondered if he was Inferring lots of comings and goings before Samantha was reported missing,and where they were all going.

My thoughts are that she was removed from My Clear by someone she knows, hence very little evidence and a lot of focus on the family. Perhaps she got into a car of her own accord because it was someone she knew.