The big question about Samantha Murphy that remains unanswered, seven months after she disappeared: ‘Needle in a haystack’

The recent search for the body of missing mother of three Samantha Murphy could finally solve the mystery surrounding her death, an expert says.

The 51-year-old was last seen leaving her Eureka Street home in Ballarat, Victoria, on the morning of February 4 to go for a run in the Canadian state forest.

A month later, Patrick Orren Stephenson, 23, was charged with the murder of Mount Clear the day she disappeared.

He is not speaking to detectives and they are still piecing together the events surrounding her alleged murder and what happened to her body.

“Mrs Murphy disappeared seven months ago. That seems like a long time, but when you look at it all, it wasn’t. And investigators weren’t very keen to disclose much of what they were doing,” forensic psychologist Tim Watson-Munro told Daily Mail Australia.

‘If this happened in Melbourne’s CBD, for example, there would be a lot more people around – potential witnesses, and fewer places to dump evidence.

“We’re talking about a vast rural area, there’s dense forests and farmland. It’s really like trying to find a needle in a haystack.”

According to Dr Watson-Munro, the fact that the arrest was made relatively quickly, and that Ms Murphy’s phone was found in near-perfect condition on the bank of a dam in May, showed that the police had information and acted on it.

“That phone was found near a muddy dam and was not affected. The suspect has been arrested, so the question arises whether someone, a third party, put that phone there,” he said.

Samantha Murphy (pictured) disappeared during a morning jog near her Ballarat home

Dozens of police officers gathered near Grenville, south of Ms Murphy’s home, on Wednesday for a new search to find her body

Police with sniffer dogs, horses and motorcycles left Grenville Recreation Reserve to search forest area as heavy rain cleared

Dozens of police officers gathered Wednesday morning in a wooded area where they believe Murphy’s body is located, in what could be part of a new, targeted search.

Detectives from the Missing Persons Unit were assisted by specialist officers from the New South Wales Police and their federal counterparts.

Detective Inspector Dave Dunstan, of Victoria Police’s Missing Persons Unit, said about 45 officers with horses, dogs and motorcycles would comb the area near Grenville, south of Ballarat, once the heavy rain subsided.

The search areas are located in rugged terrain west of Enfield Plantation, where searches have been conducted previously.

“The danger is that there are also a lot of mines here and that is one of the reasons why we have deployed a search and rescue service,” he said.

“There are a lot of unknown mines, so it’s super dangerous.”

Police are believed to be searching several areas within a three-kilometre radius.

Dr Watson-Munro said the new investigation, particularly in an area that had previously been searched, showed police may be able to learn more about what happened to Ms Murphy.

“The fact that they haven’t found Ms. Murphy doesn’t mean they’re not making progress on the case. They could be working on classified intelligence and things like that,” he said.

‘This is evident from the fact that they only found her phone so long after the event.

‘Of all the dams in the area, the police happened to focus on this one.

“A phone’s battery dies in a few hours. If it was the last ping of that phone, the police would have found it weeks ago.”

The area near Enfield State Park has been searched before, with one expert suggesting police likely have information they are acting on

Police earlier this year charged then 22-year-old trader Patrick Orren Stephenson with the murder of Ms Murphy

Dr Watson-Munro also said it was not unusual for a suspect not to speak to police.

“Without going into details about the suspect, who must be presumed innocent until proven guilty, those arrested in principle have the right to remain silent,” he said.

‘Most defendants act on legal advice. Some do not speak because they do not want to say anything that could lead to their conviction or, in rare cases in my experience, people do not speak because they are innocent and have nothing to say.

‘Often a suspect will invoke the right to remain silent.’

He added that the Australian Federal Police, who assisted in the search for Ms Murphy, showed that police were determined to find out what happened to her.

“The involvement of the AFP clearly shows that there is a strong motivation to find her and solve this,” he said.

“In terms of the expertise they bring, they have a broader pool of resources, but it can also be as simple as bringing a fresh perspective to the issue.”

Mrs Murphy’s husband, Mick, and their three children are desperate for answers about what happened to her

Police gathered at Grenville Recreation Reserve on Wednesday as part of the search for Ms Murphy

The search is being conducted by officers from NSW Police, the AFP and Search and Rescue

Grenville is about a 10-minute drive from Buninyong, where Mrs Murphy’s phone was found buried in mud at the edge of a farm dam.

Dozens of officers went out in the swampy conditions on Wednesday to search the area, which is surrounded by scrub, farmland, several timber plantations and the Yarrowee River.

“Since February, police have conducted a series of regular enquiries and small-scale searches as part of the current investigation,” Victoria Police said in a statement.

“We are unable to provide further specific details regarding today’s operational activities at this time.”

Ms Murphy’s disappearance sparked an outpouring of grief in the Ballarat community and across the country, prompting an influx of volunteers to join previous searches.

Police have asked the public not to provide assistance in this case.

Police charged Stephenson with the murder of Mrs. Murphy in March.

He is due to appear in court in November after prosecutors asked for an adjournment to review an extensive body of evidence, including reams of CCTV footage.

Stephenson is the son of Orren Stephenson, who played 15 AFL games for Geelong and Richmond between 2012 and 2014.

Mrs. Murphy’s family has been notified of the new search.