Missing Samantha Murphy: Criminal psychologist Tim Watson-Munro shares theories about Ballarat mother's disappearance

A respected criminal psychologist has raised the possibility that missing mother Samantha Murphy may have had a stalker if her disappearance is found to be the result of foul play.

The 51-year-old has not been seen or heard from since Sunday morning, when she disappeared while out for a run at Woowookarung Regional Park, in Ballarat, northwest of Melbourne, just after 7am.

Although police have said they are not currently treating her disappearance as suspicious, detectives from the missing persons unit were called in on Friday to take over the search.

Concerned residents who hoped to join rescue efforts to find Ms Murphy have been shocked after learning the search has all but ceased.

On Saturday, local residents who showed up waiting to help rescue crews hunt for Ms Murphy were told there would be no coordinated effort and that they could conduct their own searches on their own.

Tim Watson-Munro described Ms Murphy's disappearance as a 'very strange case' and said nothing could be ruled out.

'I don't think we can say who is responsible for it. As I understand it was a happy family life,” he told Daily Mail Australia.

“It could be that she was being stalked, if you have a regular pattern, stalkers love that and she had a regular pattern of running around that area.”

Mr Watson-Munro also said a setback could be a possibility, noting that locals in the area had raised concerns about unnoticeable mine shafts in the national forest.

He also said that if a crime did occur, it is also possible that it was opportunistic, in the sense that someone sent Ms. Murphy away and decided to act on it.

The theory comes as camper Rebecca Agheli told Daily Mail Australia about a chilling encounter she had with a “sloppy man” in bushland near Ms Murphy's home just days before she disappeared.

'It seems so [Ms Murphy} is not someone who has ran away from home,’ Mr Watson-Munro said.

‘Bringing in the homicide squad is not that unusual but always the mention of homicide presses people’s buttons.’ 

Attention has also turned to Ms Murphy’s husband, Michael, with online trolls posting negative comments about the father.

Ms Watson-Munro said any criticism of Mr Murphy was ‘totally unfair’.

‘I think it’s a big mistake with respect to those out there who want to be armchair detectives to read too much into people’s body language,’ he said.

‘You don’t know how you’re going to react to something.’

The expert said it was a good thing that so many people were interested in what has happened to Ms Murphy, given a lot of information is coming from the public.

‘It’s a good thing people are talking about this case, it keeps it alive,’ he said.

CCTV footage showing Ms Murphy outside her home on Sunday was the last confirmed sighting of her alive.

Family remembers reported her missing after she failed to arrive for a brunch scheduled for that morning.

On Friday, Detective Acting Superintendent Mark Hatt told reporters detectives would now look into Ms Murphy’s movements and interactions with others in the days before she vanished, including her friends and family.

Part of the investigation – now dubbed Operation Primus – will see detectives trawl through Ms Murphy’s computers and devices in the hope of finding clues.

Superintendent Hatt said police were still working to ascertain who may have been in the area where Ms Murphy’s phone lost communication with mobile phone towers.

Her mobile phone had pinged in the nearby suburb of Buninyong before going dark.

Detectives are still working with phone companies to obtain data that might prove vital to shedding some light on the investigation.

‘At this stage we can’t share any information to that regard. We are still working with our telecommunication technicians to establish phone movements and who was in the area at the time,’ Superintendent Hatt said.

‘I can also confirm that we have not identified any suspicious or sinister circumstances, however we do hold significant concerns for Samantha’s welfare at this stage and that is growing as the days progress.’

The investigation continues as a camper told Daily Mail Australia she saw Ms Murphy run past her 24 hours before she disappeared after a frightening encounter she had with a ‘dishevelled man’ in the bush just days earlier.

Rebecca Agheli and her partner, Michael, rented a caravan for a long weekend trip to Ballarat on a goldhunting excursion near Woowookarung Regional Park, arriving on February 1.

Ms Agheli said she only found out last Thursday that Ms Murphy had disappeared, and pieced together that she had seen her run past their campsite on the Saturday morning before she vanished. 

When they arrived on February 1, about 15 minutes from the state forest, Ms Agheli got ready for their gold hunt while her partner scoped out the area.

He quickly returned to their car after seeing a strange man.

‘He’s a big guy, he’s not usually scared of anything, but he told me he’d seen a strange, dishevelled man pop out of the bush talking to himself with the crotch on his pants ripped,’ she told Daily Mail Australia.

The couple decided to pack up and go to another area, which Ms Agheli guesses was about a seven-minute drive away.

She said her partner had warned her of mine shafts in the area and suggested they go elsewhere, but Ms Agheli wanted to have a quick look and wandered a short distance away from the car.

‘Then I saw the same guy again even after we’d just driven about seven minutes,’ she said.

‘His whole face lit up when he saw a woman on his own.

‘I was thinking, “how did this guy get here so fast, he must know a shortcut”. He had both of his hands behind his back and started walking towards me really fast.’

Before the couple left the state forest they saw Ms Murphy run past, with the mother-of-three wishing them a good morning.

Ms Agheli has spoken to detectives looking into Ms Murphy’s case about what she saw.

Michael also lost his Apple Watch and Ms Agheli said she had been told by police it last pinged in a similar area to where Ms Murphy’s phone had also pinged in the nearby suburb of Buninyong.

Ms Agheli is hoping what she saw may help in the investigation into Ms Murphy’s whereabouts.

‘I’m worried that something similar might happen to somebody else,’ she said.

‘That was my first camping trip and I’ll never go there again.’

On Saturday, locals who turned-up in anticipation of helping rescue crews in the hunt for Ms Murphy were told there would be no co-ordinated effort and that they could carry out their own searches alone.

One resident told Daily Mail Australia he had hoped to join the effort after working all week.

‘It’s the first chance I’ve had and just wanted to help out,’ he said.

Police are advising locals not to enter the bush alone and to team up with a friend in the rugged terrain.

‘It’s a bit disappointing that it’s being wound down already,’ one man said. ‘I mean, she could still be alive out there. It hasn’t been that long.’

Ms Murphy’s husband was also seen returning to the police station on Saturday morning, spending about half-an-hour inside before leaving.

He declined to make a comment on exiting the building.