Phone error during search for missing mother Samantha Murphy: Police are trying a new tactic during the search

Investigators will look at mobile phone tower data to identify the movements of people in the area where Victorian woman Samantha Murphy disappeared.

The 51-year-old mother of three disappeared on February 4 after leaving her Eureka Street home at 7am to go for a run at Woowookarung Regional Park.

Despite a massive search involving police, SES and numerous volunteers, no trace of the 51-year-old has been found.

Detectives are now ready to trace mobile data from the Ballarat area, with particular interest in phones ‘pinging’ from towers covering the area they believe Ms Murphy was in hours after her flight.

The phone records may help investigators identify people of interest and provide new leads as the search for Ms. Murphy continues for 30 days.

However, analyzing cell phone tower data could be challenging in the Murphy case due to the number of people living in the area.

The ‘pinging’ of the phone picks up people traveling in cars on the road and even people cycling or walking on the railway.

Metadata from the phone has been crucial to the investigation after it pinpointed a precise location in the Mount Clear area, about 7km from her home, about an hour into her 14km jog.

Initial reports said Ms Murphy’s phone pinged from Buninyong Tower at 5pm on the day she went missing.

However, that information, which has yet to be confirmed, came within 10 hours of her leaving for her run.

Despite a massive search involving police, SES and countless volunteers, no trace of the 51-year-old has been found

Police said last month that Ms Murphy was unlikely to be found alive while detectives investigate whether her body had been moved.

Detective Acting Chief Inspector Mark Hatt said police were keeping an open mind about Ms Murphy’s disappearance, but said the most likely scenario was that one or more parties were involved.

Police have ruled out any medical episode and there is no indication she left the area on her own.

“Unfortunately, given the time and the fact that we have found no trace of her, we are extremely concerned and highly doubt that she is alive,” Detective Det Supt Hatt said.

Police were also investigating the possibility that Ms Murphy’s body was moved from the spot where she disappeared, he said.

A number of people have been questioned about her disappearance, including family, friends and colleagues, but Detective Hatt is not said to be interested in the number of suspects in the case.

He did clarify that Mrs Murphy’s husband, Mick, is not a suspect ‘at this stage’.

‘Everyone related to Samantha is a person of interest in our investigation. We talk to everyone who was in her life,” he said.

The detective also would not comment on whether police have discovered links to criminal motorcycle gangs or the financial position of the Murphys’ car repair business.

Researchers are reviewing approximately 12,000 hours of CCTV footage and tracking more than 500 separate pieces of information.

Det Supt Hatt sought to reassure Ballarat residents and Victorians more broadly that detectives were doing everything they could to provide answers to Ms Murphy’s family.

‘I would encourage anyone who has information that may be relevant to this investigation, whether it is a person or vehicle seen in the area that day, anything unusual such as a damaged vehicle or property, to come forward and talk to the police or offer assistance. the information through Crime Stoppers,” he said.

Police continue to ask anyone in the Ballarat East and Mount Helen areas to check their CCTV footage for possible sightings over the past three weeks.

Detectives are also urging anyone traveling through the area, especially between 7am and 7pm on Sunday, February 4, who may have dashcam footage, to also check this for possible sightings.

Mrs Murphy is described as mentally and physically fit and was training for an upcoming race by running 15km.