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

[Trooper]

Yes, she either didn't go for a run or she may have been saying she has been going for a run to give herself time to do other things, perhaps meet up with someone (I read somewhere that she has only taken up running again recently). I also think it was odd she missed the family holiday in Summer due to COVID. Yes she may have had COVID, but she may have also stayed at home to do other things.

IMOO MOO

She is a long term resident, probably born around there, and she would know, instinctively, the Golden Rules of bush travel, especially being a runner along bush tracks.....

1. stand still, dont move around, stay where you are lost, and don't flail around trying to find another path and get deeper lost.

2. Always have a small torch on you, to signal. A small mirror, even can do the trick. Be Prepared.

3. Soon as the sun comes up, try and move to open ground, to be seen from above.

Lots more rules, but she would know these basics, she lives it....... she would have taught her own kids this.....

 

[Doesitmakesense]

By “cuts out” do they mean the camera itself remained on but that area is not visible to the camera, or the camera physically cut out/malfucntioned and that’s why they don’t know which way she went?

I took it as the end of the drive is not visible, so they can't determine which direction she ran

 

[Trooper]

In an interview with a friend of hers, a well spoken yet distraught lady , again, she underlined, many times how 'strong' Samantha is.

And this repetition is starting to puzzle me , what do they mean by this? what strength has she had to produce , and under what circumstances?.. do they mean physical strength? personality strength ? mental health ??

I don't think my friends would automatically say that about me, yet this is the theme running thru her friends comments, and they all look like sensible , salt of the earth , reliable women of a certain strength themselves...

What is goin on out there among Australian women of a certain age????

 

[Notascreenname]

It's not adding up is it. Reminds me of Tyler Goodrich, who 'went for a run' in November and never came back.

 

[Notascreenname]

In an interview with a friend of hers, a well spoken yet distraught lady , again, she underlined, many times how 'strong' Samantha is.

And this repetition is starting to puzzle me , what do they mean by this? what strength has she had to produce , and under what circumstances?.. do they mean physical strength? personality strength ? mental health ??

I don't think my friends would automatically say that about me, yet this is the theme running thru her friends comments, and they all look like sensible , salt of the earth , reliable women of a certain strength themselves...

What is goin on out there among Australian women of a certain age????

Maybe she meant resilient or resourceful and just chose the wrong words.

 

[CoffeeHug]

In an interview with a friend of hers, a well spoken yet distraught lady , again, she underlined, many times how 'strong' Samantha is.

And this repetition is starting to puzzle me , what do they mean by this? what strength has she had to produce , and under what circumstances?.. do they mean physical strength? personality strength ? mental health ??

I don't think my friends would automatically say that about me, yet this is the theme running thru her friends comments, and they all look like sensible , salt of the earth , reliable women of a certain strength themselves...

What is goin on out there among Australian women of a certain age????

I can see my family saying this about me, not because I've been through a lot which I have, but because I'm very pragmatic and would be likely to make sensible decisions that give me the best chance of survival.

I think by the time we reach midlife we've almost all experienced something that has given us the opportunity to show our strength. We're also past all the insecurities of youth, for the most part.

 

[Dalziel]

In an interview with a friend of hers, a well spoken yet distraught lady , again, she underlined, many times how 'strong' Samantha is.

And this repetition is starting to puzzle me , what do they mean by this? what strength has she had to produce , and under what circumstances?.. do they mean physical strength? personality strength ? mental health ??

I don't think my friends would automatically say that about me, yet this is the theme running thru her friends comments, and they all look like sensible , salt of the earth , reliable women of a certain strength themselves...

What is goin on out there among Australian women of a certain age????

I think what they are trying to convey is that
1) she’s strong willed
2) would put up a fight if needed
3) she’s a mother that would never willingly leave her kids
4) has tenacity and determination

 

[Trooper]

Everyone knows about the Duff kids, 3 siblings who went missing near Horsham, in Vic ( a bit further west than Ballaarat, ) , ... back in 1864, the heroism of Jane , the heartbreaking moment they were found alive, wrapped up in Jane's dress to keep them warm... lost for 9 days, they'd walked over 60 miles, ( 120 klms) by the time they were found.. .. the two young girls carrying baby Frank...

Not far back in 2023, Lillian Ip went for a drive from Bright, over the mountain range to Dartmouth, to Mitta Mitta, , in VIctoria, and got bogged and stuck and god knows what else, she had some lollies, and a bottle of wine, a gift for her mother, she lasted 5 days lost in the bush, but she stuck by her car, and it was April, quite cold at night, not searing heat,... Lillian survived.

 

[MrJ]

It makes me feel sad it has been a week since Samantha Murphy disappeared. Her family must be distraught.

 

[Voluspa]

I took it as the end of the drive is not visible, so they can't determine which direction she ran

I have several theories... IMO the possibility of her seeing someone else/cheating? Could she have been picked up by this person? (I have read elsewhere husband and wife were separated and not wearing wedding rings, this could of course be gossip and rumours)

If there's limited camera footage and they weren't able to see the end of the driveway, then, husband could leave the property unseen?

Lastly, my gut feeling is this is an opportunistic abduction/or stalker situation. I believe those tracker dogs would've located her by now if she were in the area.

 

[JLZ]

In an interview with a friend of hers, a well spoken yet distraught lady , again, she underlined, many times how 'strong' Samantha is.

And this repetition is starting to puzzle me , what do they mean by this? what strength has she had to produce , and under what circumstances?.. do they mean physical strength? personality strength ? mental health ??

I don't think my friends would automatically say that about me, yet this is the theme running thru her friends comments, and they all look like sensible , salt of the earth , reliable women of a certain strength themselves...

What is goin on out there among Australian women of a certain age????

In case she can hear them and take encouragement and come back and face whatever it is.

 

[vls12345]

Re: "strong".... Samantha is part of the sandwich generation. Perhaps she was working (her business with her husband), raising her own family, as well as perhaps having to care for her own parents (& maybe her in-laws too). Throw in covid (& potential longer-term health impacts) plus economic upheavals (general/worldwide) during the covid years, plus anything extra we don't know about that could cause issues (health including possible menopause, family issues or worries, mental health, finance issues, etc.) & it can add up to a lot of stress physically, mentally, &/or emotionally. We don't know what she has gone through but her friends probably have a clue.

To me the talk of "strong" indicates an underlying worry about self harm (not seeing indications but then reconsidering in hindsight -- and I do wonder about this because the alarm seems to have been sounded quite early for Samantha) or in regard to her health (like she wouldn't succumb to some type of medical event because she is extremely fit & healthy).

Just musing aloud & all MOO.

 

[Trooper]

In case she can hear them and take encouragement and come back and face whatever it is.

oooooooJLZ!... that I never thought of, and yet, why not?? why not>???? yes, for when she comes back, they will be there for her, whatever comes. ....

 

[Trooper]

Re: "strong".... Samantha is part of the sandwich generation. Perhaps she was working (her business with her husband), raising her own family, as well as perhaps having to care for her own parents (& maybe her in-laws too). Throw in covid (& potential longer-term health impacts) plus economic upheavals (general/worldwide) during the covid years, plus anything extra we don't know about that could cause issues (health including possible menopause, family issues or worries, mental health, finance issues, etc.) & it can add up to a lot of stress physically, mentally, &/or emotionally. We don't know what she has gone through but her friends probably have a clue.

To me the talk of "strong" indicates an underlying worry about self harm (not seeing indications but then reconsidering in hindsight -- and I do wonder about this because the alarm seems to have been sounded quite early for Samantha) or in regard to her health (like she wouldn't succumb to some type of medical event because she is extremely fit & healthy).

Just musing aloud & all MOO.

I appreciate that insight, Vis... concise and to the point, and now I see what they mean, what they are trying to convey... Makes all the sense in the world.

 

[JLZ]

I have several theories... IMO the possibility of her seeing someone else/cheating? Could she have been picked up by this person? (I have read elsewhere husband and wife were separated and not wearing wedding rings, this could of course be gossip and rumours)

If there's limited camera footage and they weren't able to see the end of the driveway, then, husband could leave the property unseen?

Lastly, my gut feeling is this is an opportunistic abduction/or stalker situation. I believe those tracker dogs would've located her by now if she were in the area.

If the camera footage doesn't show to the end of the driveway, then it doesn't show her leaving the property. She might have gone in that direction only to do something in one of the sheds. She might have circled around and re-entered the house from the other side, where there may or may not be cameras, I don't know.

 

[mondayschild]

I feel when people are described as strong this is often where they have been through some sort of adversity and they were the person that kept others together i.e. the linchpin. The fact that she is consistently referred to being strong means she has this kind of role for her family and friends. It's how she is seen by others. Sometimes those people suffer silently.

I suppose police might be focusing more on Buningyong / phone ping radius as they admit to not even knowing the possible initial direction she took (!?!). The police state 'yes' to the question from a journalist that she did have her phone on her at the time of the ping (5pm Sun). Not sure if they meant that they had some other form of info to confirm she and her phone were together at that time point but that is what they implied. (It may have just been easier for them to say 'yes' than admit they aren't sure if she was co-located with her phone at that point).

The family moved from a property further out of Ballarat into town more recently, so perhaps she might - if in need of reflection or for some other purpose - head back out to their former residence/suburb?

Instead of things getting clearer, they do seem to be feeling more foggy and cloudy (I agree with whomever mentioned this above!).

MOO

 

[JLZ]

The family moved from a property further out of Ballarat into town more recently, so perhaps she might - if in need of reflection or for some other purpose - head back out to their former residence/suburb?

What was their former suburb?

 

[mondayschild]

@JLZ no details - again, brief mention in an article here

"they recently moved closer to Ballarat from a rural property outside town"

 

[Karin1974]

Something is off about the whole story. The running, the timing of the run, the brunch story is the only solid fact that is standing up all the way thru. The watch, the phone, the no water, the dog poo, the running location.... all a bit dreamy and fuzzy..

IMO - Surely if there are cameras on her property, they know exactly which direction she left in?

 

[Karin1974]

I think someone had said it was her routine thing to do.

On ABC News yesterday, the reporter said police can confirm she left but the CCTV cuts out before the end of the driveway so they don’t know which way she went.

Thank you for this, it answers my question about surely they know which way she went because of her own cctv footage. Why would the cctv cut out as you say? I have cctv too & it continuously records, I’m not really understanding the ‘cuts out’ part? Anyone know?