Samantha Murphy: Ballarat residents left shocked by grisly vandalism at sign 19 kilometers from where missing mother was last seen – as pastor reveals his worst fears

Local residents searching for missing mum Samantha Murphy have been left horrified after a sign 12 miles from where she was last seen was vandalized with a sick joke suggesting she had met a gruesome fate.

The mother-of-three, 51, was last seen leaving her home on Eureka Street in Ballarat East, Victoria, about 7am on February 4 to go jogging at Woowookarung Regional Park.

Her husband Mick Murphy, 53, raised the alarm when she did not return home for their 11am family brunch.

A massive search was launched by volunteers from police, the Country Fire Association and the State Emergency Service and hundreds of local residents, but investigators scaled back efforts this weekend.

Some were shocked by the decision to end the official hunt and decided to take matters into their own hands and scour the area in small groups for the missing mother.

During an independent search, local residents came across a defaced municipal sign about a water quality problem at Dean Reservoir, northeast of where she went missing.

The sign read: “Please be aware that the water quality issue is currently affecting the clarity of the water in Dean Reservoir.”

Below the paragraph, the vandal wrote: “Thanks Sam.”

The resident reported the vandalism to police and posted a photo of the shocking act to a social media group dedicated to the search.

One group member wrote, “The implication is that the reservoir is closed because of Sam.”

“I'll leave it to you to find out why. If it's a sick joke, it's not funny.'

Others suggested it could be a hoax, but agreed it should still be reported to police.

Another team of volunteers found a black bra cut in half and hanging from a pole in nearby bushland, which was also reported to police.

Prayers were said for Ms Murphy and her family at Buninyong Anglican Church on Sunday morning as the scaled-down search entered its eighth day.

The Rev. Mark Schnerring did not include Mrs. Murphy in his sermon, but he did tell churchgoers that the family was in his prayers.

After the service, he told Daily Mail Australia he does not believe the missing mother will be found alive.

“Well, it seems like nothing good can happen now,” said Reverend Schnerring.

'It appears that she herself had an accident and died, or that she was killed. I think they are looking at the possibilities.'

Rev. Schnerring said he did not know her circumstances well enough to speculate whether she had run away or been kidnapped.

“I think people want to have hope and that she's still doing well, but the realism is that it doesn't look like there's going to be a good outcome,” he added.

Investigators deployed an army of telecom technology experts to try to map Ms. Murphy's movements based on the phone records they had.

Crime Command Detective Acting Chief Inspector Mark Hatt confirmed last week that Ms Murphy was wearing an Apple Watch and had her mobile phone with her when she disappeared.

It is believed a local mobile phone tower recorded a ping from Ms Murphy's phone on Sunday after she disappeared, but police declined to say more about the timing or location of the phone.

“We can't answer that at this stage,” Supt Hatt said. 'That will of course be passed on to our telecommunications technicians.

The official police search for Ms. Murphy will be turned over to the Missing Persons Unit.

Investigators have now used CCTV and dashcam footage to piece together Ms Murphy's last movements. They say a full search will only resume if new information emerges.

According to Seven News, hundreds of hours of CCTV footage have already been submitted to the police.

Police have appealed for anyone with footage in the Ballarat East, Mount Helen and Buninyong areas taken around the time of Ms Murphy's disappearance to come forward.

Police believe images of vehicles, other runners and walkers could be crucial in finding witnesses or people who may have more information about her whereabouts.

“Even though Samantha is not visible in the images, investigators still want to review all images in the areas on Sunday, February 4, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.,” police said in a statement.

'Despite extensive searches of the area over the past six days, no trace of Samantha has been found.'

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who was in Ballarat on Sunday, passed on his thoughts to Ms Murphy's family and friends.

“It's been, I'm sure it's been such a difficult time,” he said.

'I thank all the people involved in the search and hope it has a good outcome.'