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

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Agreed - looks like she’s finished her run / walk already and is coming home.

I just know with myself, I wouldn’t pick up dog poo before I left home, I’d deal with it when I got back so I can wash my hands. Once I’m geared up for a run or walk that’s what I do. I’m not stopping to pick up dog poop from my own front lawn. But everyone’s different.
 
I just know with myself, I wouldn’t pick up dog poo before I left home, I’d deal with it when I got back so I can wash my hands. Once I’m geared up for a run or walk that’s what I do. I’m not stopping to pick up dog poop from my own front lawn. But everyone’s different.
Doesn’t make sense to me either..
 
The wildest theory of all is that middle-aged mum of three Samantha Murphy (pictured as she left home on Sunday) has abandoned her family to embark on a new life in secret

The wildest theory of all is that middle-aged mum of three Samantha Murphy (pictured as she left home on Sunday) has abandoned her family to embark on a new life in secret

There is nothing to suggest that may be true.
 
There are a couple of things that bother me. Well, three, actually.
* The day was unusually hot. Not setting historic records, but one of the hottest this summer, at least where I am.
* Samantha wasn't an experienced runner, or had only recently got back into running.
* She reportedly had low blood pressure.

Those three things together have the potential to be a recipe for disaster. Hot weather causes your blood vessels to dilate. If you have low blood pressure and can't get away from the heat, it can cause fainting. My partner has had low blood pressure her whole life, but it really started to impact her in her late teens. She drinks a large amount of fluids to keep her blood volume up, drinks electrolytes, salt-loads, and on hot summer days (indoors, with aircon and/or fans), she still gets dizzy spells. And she isn't going out running in a bushland area away from people.

I fear that if this is a case that doesn't involve actions by another, that Samantha has become dehydrated, POTS-y, and disoriented. In an urban area, it's dangerous enough, in a bushland area, it can be lethal, very quickly. There are the inherent risks of exposure, but also the dangers of things such as falls from height and venomous creatures such as snakes. Our fauna in Australia have a well earned reputation for being incredibly dangerous. A snake bite from a brown or king brown can be lethal without swift treatment.

MOO
Blood pressure could go down but usually people with low blood pressure are used to it. Their body accommodates. Even if it doesn’t, she must not have had it that bad, as she was able to run before and we’ve had hot weather since October. Even if she did indeed fall somewhere or got very dizzy and low, she likely would recover and get up. And walk to ask for help. Where would she be now? She is known to stick to the normal trails, not going into the bush.
 
I recall reading a comment from one of Samantha's friends that Samantha suffered from very low blood pressure. Shall re-post when I find it - still looking. MOO
 
I recall reading a comment from one of Samantha's friends that Samantha suffered from very low blood pressure. Shall re-post when I find it - still looking. MOO

Loved ones grow weary of a good outcome as Ms Murphy suffered from extremely low blood pressure, and temperatures on the day she went missing were in the high 30s’.
 
There are a couple of things that bother me. Well, three, actually.
* The day was unusually hot. Not setting historic records, but one of the hottest this summer, at least where I am.
* Samantha wasn't an experienced runner, or had only recently got back into running.
* She reportedly had low blood pressure.

Those three things together have the potential to be a recipe for disaster. Hot weather causes your blood vessels to dilate. If you have low blood pressure and can't get away from the heat, it can cause fainting. My partner has had low blood pressure her whole life, but it really started to impact her in her late teens. She drinks a large amount of fluids to keep her blood volume up, drinks electrolytes, salt-loads, and on hot summer days (indoors, with aircon and/or fans), she still gets dizzy spells. And she isn't going out running in a bushland area away from people.

I fear that if this is a case that doesn't involve actions by another, that Samantha has become dehydrated, POTS-y, and disoriented. In an urban area, it's dangerous enough, in a bushland area, it can be lethal, very quickly. There are the inherent risks of exposure, but also the dangers of things such as falls from height and venomous creatures such as snakes. Our fauna in Australia have a well earned reputation for being incredibly dangerous. A snake bite from a brown or king brown can be lethal without swift treatment.

MOO
Yes, snakebite is a definite possibility IMO. If Samantha had been running, and was bitten, venom would circulate throughout her body very quickly, incapacitating her almost immediately. MOO
 
That ping on her phone from Buninyong Golf Club is about 8-10 miles from her starting point (not exactly but accurate enough to judge reasonableness). That means her run would be about 16-20 miles if she turned around there or even did a loop on those connecting roads and trails. That is a very long run and I personally, as a long distance runner, doubt that was her plan. It would be interesting to see the time of that Ping relative to the CCTV image of her at her house.
 
BBM

Better late than never, TBH, I would have assumed they were already working the case, behind the scenes… from Monday onwards …

The timing of this announcement, of homicide detectives now joining the investigation is interesting …


Today the Victorian Police admitted they had mishandled the investigation when they released CCTV footage on Wednesday and identified a jogger in it as Ms Murphy, only to retract that on Thursday afternoon.

Paraphrased from :

Paywalled for some.

IMO
 
That's not great news. I expect the detectives have been looking at Samantha's disappearance for many days. I would also expect that some people's movements have been monitored very closely.
I think its interesting that some CCTV footage was released to the media without a confirmation that it was actually her. CCTV is a precious tool for detectives that wouldn't ordinarily be thrown out to the media without a reason. The CCTV footage, in a literal sense, served no purpose but to vilify to the public that she did actually set out for a run. But it wasn't actually her...
I am assuming here that the footage wasn't sent to the media and they've just run with it.

*edit. ..i think i posted the same time as SLouTh
 
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