Top cop's extraordinary claim into Samantha Murphy's disappearance as desperate search for Ballarat's missing mother reaches grim milestone

A former detective claims police likely have 'nothing to work with' in the search for missing mother Samantha Murphy, claiming their call for CCTV is essentially an admission that they have no leads.

Mother-of-three Samantha Murphy, 51, was last seen leaving her home on Eureka Street in Ballarat East to go jogging in Woowookarung Regional Park, Victoria, about 7am on Sunday.

Her husband Mick Murphy, 53, raised the alarm when she never returned in time for a pre-planned 11am family brunch.

A massive search for the mother was launched by police, SES and community volunteers before authorities announced numbers would be reduced this weekend.

The hunt for Ms Murphy was handed over to the Missing Persons Squad and has reached a grim seventh day without a single trace of her being found.

On Saturday, police urged the public to ask for help getting CCTV or dashcam footage – even if Ms Murphy is not seen in the video.

A former senior police investigator said the renewed plea 'probably means they did that' [authorities] have nothing to work with'.

“It continues to read like a real mystery… it's a lot of trawling, but they have to do it,” the ex-cop told police. Herald Sun.

The Missing Persons Squad is urging anyone with CCTV or dashcam 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.

'Police have previously urged everyone in the Ballarat East and Mount Helen areas, particularly around the Canadian Forest, to check their CCTV footage for possible sightings over the past six days, but are now keen to collect all footage.

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

The hunt for Ms Murphy reached a grim milestone after authorities decided to scale back the search this weekend.

Victoria Police said investigators would liaise with Ms Murphy's family.

“The investigative phase of the investigation continues and as new information becomes available identifying areas of interest, the search will be scaled up,” a Victoria Police spokesperson said.

“Police continue to be in regular contact with Samantha's family regarding developments in the search and the status of the investigation.”

It comes after police sent specialist rescue teams to investigate abandoned local mine shafts in and around the Goldfields area.

It is feared she may have strayed from the forest paths she normally runs and fell into one of the treacherous shafts often hidden from view by bushes.

But locals also say the mine shafts could be used to hide her body if she fell victim to foul play.

Police are also checking the numerous local dams on surrounding farmlands to see if any trace of her can be found there.

“There are a lot of unused mines in the area,” admitted Crime Command Detective Acting Chief Inspector Mark Hatt.

“A police search and rescue team is currently involved in the operation [for that]. They have been involved in the search from day one.

“It is a challenging area and terrain within the search area… it is also thick and rugged forestland.”

Detectives from the Missing Persons Squad have also called in an army of telecoms technology experts to try to map Ms Murphy's movements based on phone records they have.

Chief Inspector Hatt confirmed Ms Murphy was wearing an Apple Watch and had her mobile phone with her when she disappeared.

But he was hesitant to share information about what the phone records had revealed so far.

“We are not commenting on that at this stage,” he said. “We are still in the process of deploying our expert telecommunications engineers to assist us with this.”

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,” Chief Inspector Hatt said. 'That will of course be passed on to our telecommunications technicians.'

Chief Inspector Hatt added that there was no information to suggest foul play had occurred and urged the public to avoid unnecessary and pointless speculation.

He confirmed the homicide squad was not involved in the investigation Friday morning.

Chief Inspector Hatt said the homicide unit was not involved in the investigation as of Friday morning.

On Thursday, Murphy's husband Mick and eldest daughter Jessica desperately begged her to return home.

Through tears, Jessica urged the crowd to continue searching for her mother.

“Mom, we love you so much and we miss you and we need you home with us, please come home soon, I can't wait to see you,” Jessica told reporters.

“Mom is a very strong woman, and she is far too determined to give up this fight.”

Jessica's father thanked the community for their support in recent days as he called for answers.

“People don't just disappear into thin air,” Murphy said.

'Someone needs to know something… whether it's something small that you think is relevant, just call the police and let them know.

“It will give us a little peace of mind if we get some hope.”