Detectives have sworn to keep hunting on Samantha Murphy's body, as the birthday of her disappearance approaches.
The 51-year-old mother of three left her ballarat at home in Victoria in the morning of 4 February last year, to start running and was never seen again.
Despite extensive searches in the surrounding Bushland, in which hundreds of police officers, SES employees and volunteers are involved, her body was never found.
But detectives from the Victoria Police Missing Persons team have promised not to give their tireless search, convinced that they can still find her.
“I want to confirm again to the community that the team of missing persons is committed to doing everything we can to find Samantha,” Detective inspector Dave Daunstan told The Herald Sun.
“While a year has passed, we still believe that we can find her.”
Inspector Dunstan, who is in charge of the team of missing persons, said they would continue to look for the Ballarat area, “including searches in areas emphasized by intelligence derived from a number of sources.”
Just over a month after Mrs. Murphy had disappeared, Patrick Orren Stephenson, 24, was accused of killing her on Mount Clear on the day she was missing.
Samantha Murphy (photo) was missing during a morning jog near her ballarat house
Despite extensive searches in the surrounding Bushland with hundreds of police officers, SES workers and volunteers have never found her body.
Detective inspector Dave Dunstan (photo), who comes from the team of missing persons, said they would continue to look for the Ballarat area, “including searches in areas emphasized by information derived from a number of sources”
In November, he did not owe the murder with his trial that would take place later this year.
Although Inspector Dunstan acknowledged that nothing could alleviate the unimaginable sorrow of Mrs. Murphy's family, he said it was 'incredibly important' to bring her back.
“There is nothing that we want more than to return Samantha to her family and we continue to commit ourselves to,” he added.
Criminal psychologist Dr. Tim Watson-Munro previously told Daily Mail Australia that there could be 'a multiple of reasons' why Mrs. Murphy's body was not found.
“The police have (have) imposed many resources in terms of analyzing metadata, speaking with people in the community and a fairly consistent and rigorous press campaign,” he told Daily Mail Australia.
'But if you look at the geography of Ballarat (with his no longer used) mine shafts, it is essentially a rural city … The surrounding countryside is quite ominous and hostile.
“I think it's about geography, instead of a lack of effort.
“People could disappear there, they can fall or be excreted in a mine shaft, and there are so many.”
Mrs. Murphy (photo )'s phone and wallet were found on the banks of a dam in May 2024
The police released this image of Mrs. Murphy from the morning that she disappeared
Dr. Watson Munro said that the pain for the family of a victim can be particularly intense around anniversaries.
“Birthday is always difficult times for families of people who have disappeared or killed, or even killed by an act of God,” he said.
“It brings the size of the loss to the front. It is inevitable that they think about this time 10 years ago last year or this time, the last conversations, the last physical interactions with the person.
'And so it can be an extremely difficult time for those people, because the birthday of every death can be for families.
“But I think in a case like this is still a mystery in terms of where it is, what happened to her, who is responsible, all those feelings would be accentuated and crystallized at a significant level.”
For those who are frustrated about the apparent lack of progress, Dr. Watson-Munro that it is understandable that the police would not telegraphen that they solve this crime.
“They don't want to infect evidence or infect the possibility of contaminating better and further details around her disappearance and in all likelihood.”
He said that a problem is forgotten has been forgotten The impact of the continuous search for Mrs. Murphy O bodyn local people.
'The Ballarat community gathered around the family. There were line search assignments, there were many volunteers who tried to help the police in the early days, “he said.
'And I would imagine that the birthday of her disappearance would activate considerably for the people in Ballarat in terms of We have this person, a member of our community who has disappeared and the crime is unracped.
At the beginning of March last year, almost five weeks after the disappearance of Mrs. Murphy, the police accused Patrick Orren Stephenson (photo) of her alleged murder
On 29 May last year, Mrs. Murphy's wallet with ID cards and her mobile phone on the couch of a dam was found during a targeted search.
The phone was probably thrown in Dam Square, but a dry period in the area meant that the water deteriorated and what could be a vital indication arose on the couch.
The police have not revealed what information they are able to extract from the phone if present, or if the find has brought them closer to finding Mrs. Murphy's body.
But given the site, Dr. said Watson-Munro that the continuous search is 'finding a needle in a haystack'.
Dr. Xanthé Mallett, a forensic criminologist at the University of Newcastle, said that the case has resonated for one simple reason with so many Australians.
“My first thought when I saw that Samantha had disappeared was that it could be that someone of ours does very normal things, keeps their lives busy and yet she is said to be the victim of a violent crime,” she said.
“So many women could imagine that they are her, they could feel.”
Dr. Mallett said it was a very detailed investigation and the police were clearly looking for Mrs. Murphy's body.
'Not only for the benefit of the family, although they need to know where they are, they have to return to them, but that Samantha's body will also be a primary source of information for them, and so they will really need it for The research. '
She said that things can continue based on 'no body', so the police would go to all movements of the accused and people with whom they might have spoken.
The investigation into the disappearance of Mrs. Murphy continues.
Anyone with information was encouraged to contact Crime Stoppers at 1800 333,000.
