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

[Toowong(s)]

You may be right, but I have my doubts. SM was one very busy lady - she had a career, a family, a large home and property, theatre responsibilities, a fitness regime, family and friends to keep up with, a dog to walk, and who knows what else. I just don't see her having the time to be sleuthing dog fighting.

Hi Kemug, not sure where the daily mail got this quote from but it was a media quote saying SM was a fierce advocate for missing persons, pets and cars. Per the link above. So she sure was busy. Don’t forget the theatre and the running. Maybe there is more than one SM, a secret twin?!

 

[SouthAussie]

If there were suspicions of a serial killer, surely a warning could be issued along the lines of “police have reason to suspect that a repeat violent offender may be at large. To whatever extent is practically possible police are recommending that members of the public be alert of their surroundings, particularly when in isolated areas”…?

I don't think the HS article was trying to show there may be a serial killer ... the cases they wrote about span decades.

But I do think it shows that Ballarat is not immune to predatory and violent behaviour by still-unknown people, just like most other places.

imo

 

[BoysTown]

Has there been any warnings not to venture around that area alone?

None

 

[Dotta]

Ballarat is not immune to predatory and violent behaviour by still-unknown people, just like most other places.

imo

Let's not forget tourists.

Somebody wrote
(was it you??)
that the town is visited by over 2 million people every year.

Some are still tempted by gold mines.

JMO

 

[ThePrince]

I don't think the HS article was trying to show there may be a serial killer ... the cases they wrote about span decades.

But I do think it shows that Ballarat is not immune to predatory and violent behaviour by still-unknown people, just like most other places.

imo

Absolutely far from immune, in fact, it's stats are worse and this article is a decade old

Crime wave crawls dark streets of Ballarat

On a Friday night in March, a wine and cheese night was in full swing at the popular Ballarat nightclub Haida. It was a few hours past midnight, but acting students Raymond Martini and Paul Morris had no desire to leave the club's party atmosphere for the dark and cold that waited outside. They...

www.theage.com.au

I myself have been a victim of attempted rape, drink spiking, approached in cars whilst walking as a school kid etc

Edit to add initially I could read whole article, now I went to read again but can't. It refers to a tunnel known as a "rape tunnel" in Peel Street, attacks near the university and higher crime stats than other cities

 

[ZombieKittie]

<modsnip>

Samantha Murphy was a fierce advocate for missing people, pets and cars in her local community before she vanished without a trace.

Link below.

So SM may have been onto an illegal dog fighting ring, been trying to get it shut down and was targeted due to that? Or maybe she just stumbled across a sale of a fighting dog in the forest, some shady characters?

Haunting twist in Samantha Murphy's disappearance

A haunting twist emerges in Samantha Murphy's disappearance as police acknowledge 'suspicious circumstances'.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Interestingly I just noticed the “…and cars” in this snippet. A fierce advocate for missing cars, really? Again maybe was crusading against a powerful car theft ring?

The plot thickens finally.

This was later shown to be an incredibly misleading statement the basis for this statement was that she reposted lost people/dogs/cars posts on facebook frequently

 

[bearbear]

The Right to the Night project was conducted by the City of Ballarat and project partners to help improve community safety. It used an interactive website to gather ideas from local women and girls about locations in the Ballarat city centre

Right to the Night Results

The Right to the Night project was conducted by the City of Ballarat and project partners to help improve community safety. It used an interactive website to gather ideas from local women and girls about locations in the Ballarat city centreBetween March and May 2018, 153 people added at least...

data.ballarat.vic.gov.au

im not sure if any of these streets are near where samantha ran

 

[bearbear]

more tunnel crime in the area, 2015, googling ballarat area tunnels brings up a lot of crime, this tunnel looks so deep...

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/law-order/man-who-raped-teenage-girl-in-mine-shaft-faces-more-charges/news-story/e5cdc36f19d1ea8ad6bdd4b051f2c507

AN EVIL rapist who imprisoned a teenage sex slave in a mine shaft has been charged over two more rapes on young girls in the 1980s.

 

[DK007]

Damaged car is so very specific. Did they give any indication of what they think happened to the car?

Nothing to that effect was mentioned other than a particular interest in a damaged car. They didn’t go into detail about where the damage on the car, just looking for a damaged car

 

[Antipode]

more tunnel crime in the area, 2015, googling ballarat area tunnels brings up a lot of crime, this tunnel looks so deep...

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/law-order/man-who-raped-teenage-girl-in-mine-shaft-faces-more-charges/news-story/e5cdc36f19d1ea8ad6bdd4b051f2c507

AN EVIL rapist who imprisoned a teenage sex slave in a mine shaft has been charged over two more rapes on young girls in the 1980s.View attachment 486993

lol "the man, who cannot be named", and then his name is under the photo.

 

[DK007]

I haven’t heard anything about tire marks specifically but I do believe a comment may have been made on the snow tonight about possible vehicle damage like broken lights/broken glass? Can anyone else verify or refute this recollection?

I recall reference to damaged car and nothing else, though I could be wrong, maybe broken lights/glass was mentioned?

 

[ZombieKittie]

more tunnel crime in the area, 2015, googling ballarat area tunnels brings up a lot of crime, this tunnel looks so deep...

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/law-order/man-who-raped-teenage-girl-in-mine-shaft-faces-more-charges/news-story/e5cdc36f19d1ea8ad6bdd4b051f2c507

AN EVIL rapist who imprisoned a teenage sex slave in a mine shaft has been charged over two more rapes on young girls in the 1980s.View attachment 486993

Made the stupid mistake of typing Ballarat sex dungeon tunnel into google while trying to find more info on this lol time to go to bed I think.

EDIT: Definitely time for bed I didn't even see the name under the pic

 

[ThePrince]

more tunnel crime in the area, 2015, googling ballarat area tunnels brings up a lot of crime, this tunnel looks so deep...

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/law-order/man-who-raped-teenage-girl-in-mine-shaft-faces-more-charges/news-story/e5cdc36f19d1ea8ad6bdd4b051f2c507

AN EVIL rapist who imprisoned a teenage sex slave in a mine shaft has been charged over two more rapes on young girls in the 1980s.View attachment 486993

Made the stupid mistake of typing Ballarat sex dungeon tunnel into google while trying to find more info on this lol time to go to bed I think.

EDIT: Definitely time for bed I didn't even see the name under the pic

You're not the only one. I had actually forgotten about this case but as soon as I saw the photo I remembered it was in Black Hill.

"2022-A convicted serial rapist is back in court fighting for his right to call 1800 sex lines from his jail cell. (!!!)

Anthony James Pitt was found guilty of kidnapping and brutally raping a number of teenage girls between 1987 and 1998 and has served the past 24 years behind bars."

 

[DK007]

Yes this is the impression, same as from the police conference.

She seemingly disappeared without a trace, and that might point to good planning, but I don't know if the same result could not be possible for a random/opportunistic attack, for a perpetrator who knows what they are doing and may have done it before.

I still favour the targeted attack myself though, especially if more that one perpetrator involved. Also maybe the police investigators have info that they have withheld from the general public that further substantiates a targeted attack.

It’s interesting SM vanished just before reaching the 7km mark where she would’ve turned around to jog back home. I think at this point in the show it was mentioned there were tracks where cars have access to the bush. Correct me if I’m wrong. This being said makes it more likely it was a targeted attack, knowing SM would’ve been turning back to head home. Who would’ve known she was doing 14 km jog on that Sunday aside from family and friends ? Unless her mb ph, watch ear pods were hacked. I can help but think it’s closer to her circle or extended circle?

 

[Toowong(s)]

This was later shown to be an incredibly misleading statement the basis for this statement was that she reposted lost people/dogs/cars posts on facebook frequently

Thanks ZombieK do you have a link for that?

Perhaps the term “fierce advocate” used by the DM is a stretch but is it “wildly misleading” if SM was frequently reposting these topics on FB? If SM was reposting these topics frequently then it still seems plausible to me that it’s an area SM had an active interest in. I’m not on FB at all myself so not aware of all the action over there.

This idea started with other WSers postulating the idea of chloroform maybe being used, which is sometimes (but not usually) lethal, often used to subdue angry dogs in dog fighting, which is an underground industry known to be prevelant in Ballarat, an industry fueled by abused stolen dogs. After which I recalled I had read SM was an advocate for missing pets and dug up the DM article, to link the theory back to SM. Having laid it all out like that it’s probably the nearest theory on this that I’ve read on SM so far.

I’m sure SM was busy - kids, business, fitness, theatre, partner to “keep in line”, dinners, brunches, dealing with COVID. Too busy to sleuth dog fighting rings? Well i’m dealing with most of those busy life things myself (except theatre, and my partner tends to keep themselves in line) yet here I am sleuthing all day and night.

IMO this angle is worth putting on the whiteboard alongside the other theories.

 

[bearbear]

You're not the only one. I had actually forgotten about this case but as soon as I saw the photo I remembered it was in Black Hill.

"2022-A convicted serial rapist is back in court fighting for his right to call 1800 sex lines from his jail cell. (!!!)

Anthony James Pitt was found guilty of kidnapping and brutally raping a number of teenage girls between 1987 and 1998 and has served the past 24 years behind bars."

theres a black hill in ballarat so i think its in that area, the mines seems to harbour a lot of dark activity

 

[ThePrince]

theres a black hill in ballarat so i think its in that area, the mines seems to harbour a lot of dark activity

Yes it's a suburb of Ballarat, a friend lived at the bottom of Black Hill lookout and I was in nearby suburb, so I know it well.

 

[bearbear]

have police actually said there was definately a damaged car theyre looking for or just that might be another possible scenario of what might have happened?

 

[DK007]

Samantha Murphy updates: 'Anomaly' in digital data could be crucial clue

Quoting from the attached article

Samantha Murphy's digital footprint goes dark 7km into her run on that Sunday morning. (Under Investigation)
Police announced that they suspect "one or more parties" were involved in Murphy's disappearance, saying it was "very doubtful" she was still alive.

Former Victorian detective Damian Marrett told Hayes he believes Murphy's disappearance is the result of foul play, stating that a change in her digital data suggests this was a "targeted attack".

Murphy would have had a range of apps on her iPhone, including Find My iPhone, and Marrett questioned who else could have obtained access to her apps.

"Somebody who intimately knew the tracks that she takes or had access to be able to track her runs," he said.

"So she could have been tracked without those people having to physically surveil her."

 

[DK007]

have police actually said there was definately a damaged car theyre looking for or just that might be another possible scenario of what might have happened?

It was mentioned in the show under investigation