A large-scale search for Victorian mother of three Samantha Murphy has failed to locate her after she went missing 10 days ago.
A large-scale search for Victorian mother of three Samantha Murphy has failed to locate her after she went missing 10 days ago.
A forensic psychologist has detailed what he believes has happened to missing Ballarat mother Samantha Murphy as the search for the 51-year-old enters its 10th day.
Murphy went missing on Sunday, February 4, at 7am after going for a run in the Canadian State Forest in Victoria, Australia, with police describing her disappearance as “out of character”.
The morning Murphy vanished, she was seen on her own security camera system wearing a brown singlet and black half-length leggings.
Despite extensive searches in bushland and surrounding areas, authorities have found no trace of Murphy or any clues as to her whereabouts.
On Saturday, it was announced the search for the mother of three would be scaled back.
Search crews have scoured dense bushland in the Canadian State Forest in Victoria, Australia, for missing Ballarat woman Samantha Murphy.
“The investigative stage of the investigation continues and as any new information comes to hand identifying areas of interest, the search will be scaled up,” police said.
Now a forensic expert who has analysed some of Australia’s most infamous criminals has opened up about the case, revealing his theory as to what might have happened to Murphy while she was out on her run.
Forensic expert’s theory about missing mum Samantha Murphy
Forensic psychologist Tim Watson-Munro told Sky News that despite his expertise in criminal forensics, he has “never encountered” a case like Murphy’s.
What has baffled Watson-Munro about the Murphy case is that there has been “no evidence” to examine, explaining there is usually a small clue left behind for investigators to work with.
Samantha Murphy, described as a physically and mentally strong woman, has not been seen since she went out running on February 4.
“I’ve never encountered a case like this where someone ostensibly goes for a run and they’re never seen again. It’s very unusual... There’s no clues at all,” he told Sky News.
He highlighted that there were a “number of possibilities” of what happened to Murphy, but that having a happy family life before disappearing only adds more questions.
This has led Watson-Munro to look at one concerning theory on what happened to Murphy.
“One of them is that she had been stalked for a while. I’ve done a lot of profiling. Stalkers love routine of their potential victims,” he told Sky News.
He theorised that a stalker may have abducted Murphy, suggesting the perpetrator could know about “evidence and covering their tracks”.
He went on to suggest she may have been abducted in a van or car and taken away from the potential crime scene that police have been combing.
Police have since wound back their search in Canadian State Forest, which Watson-Munro said could be a clue to what authorities are thinking might have happened to Murphy.
“I gather that there was a ping from a mobile phone some distance away and then a dropout. So obviously a phone was either thrown away as a decoy or she made it that far and then the phone died out.”
Victoria Police released CCTV of a woman running in Ballarat the day Samantha Murphy went missing. However, in a turn of events, the footage wasn't of Murphy.
He explained that given the lack of evidence and witnesses, police might be dealing with a “calculating, intelligent person” who “understands forensic procedures”, suggesting if someone is involved that they know about “covering their tracks”.
Last Thursday, Acting Inspector Lisa MacDougall said police are “keeping an open mind” on all possibilities, and said there are “no suspicious circumstances that we’ve identified at this stage”.
The official police search for Murphy has now been handed over to the Missing Persons Squad and a full-scale search will only resume if fresh information emerges.
The Country Fire Authority and State Emergency Service were part of the search effort, with the latter officially stood down as of 5pm on Friday.
Missing persons squad detectives took carriage of the investigation on Friday.
“Police continue to be in regular contact with Samantha’s family regarding the developments of the search and the status of the investigation,” a spokeswoman said.
“The investigative stage continues and as any new information comes to hand identifying areas of interest, the search will be scaled up.”
