Police have uncovered a mobile phone in their latest search for the body of missing Ballarat woman Samantha Murphy.
Police have uncovered a mobile phone in their latest search for the body of missing Ballarat woman Samantha Murphy.
Police have uncovered items of interest during a search in the investigation of missing mother Samantha Murphy.
Detectives from the Victoria Police Missing Persons Squad and a range of specialist police resources mounted the search on Wednesday morning.
Its location - initially kept secret - was later revealed to be south of Buninyong, with officers finding what the ABC reported was a phone.
“Detectives from the Missing Persons Squad have located some items of interest in Buninyong this morning during their search for Samantha Murphy,” a Victoria Police spokeswoman said on Wednesday afternoon.
“The area has been cordoned off and those items will now be forensically tested.
“Further information will be provided once we are in a position to do so,” she said.
“Police ask that members of the public do not attend the search at this time.”
According to Daily Mail Australia, the latest police search was undertaken where Murphy’s cell phone was last detected by mobile phone towers at 5pm on February 4, the evening she vanished.
In video footage taken by ABC, police officers at the scene could be seen high-fiving and hugging one another after the discovery of a phone.
Those at the scene could also be seen showing affection to a police dog which was understood to have been used in the search. Dive squads were also involved in the latest search.
Patrick Orren Stephenson has been charged with the murder of Samantha Murphy.
The 51-year-old was last seen leaving her home on Eureka St to go for a run in Canadian State Forest on the morning of February 4.
Police in March charged 22-year-old tradesman Patrick Orren Stephenson with the murder of Murphy at Mount Clear on the day she went missing.
He will return to court in August.
Stephenson is the son of Orren Stephenson, who played 15 AFL games for Geelong and Richmond between 2012 and 2014.
Since February, police have launched multiple searches searches in bushland as part of the investigation.
Members of the public are asked not to attend the scene.
Stephenson is understood to have remained silent about Murphy’s whereabouts. It is not known if he has since revealed details of where Murphy’s body could be.
What we know about Patrick Stephenson
Stephenson is the only son of former AFL star Orren Stephenson, who made his debut in 2012 for Richmond before joining Geelong in 2013.
According to the Age, he would often bring his son Patrick to games and hang out at teams’ clubrooms where he would mix with the players.
His son followed in his footsteps and was regarded as a strong AFL player in his own right at a local level.
The alleged killer was reportedly living between his own home and his parent’s house when he was arrested.
Neighbours were left stunned, with some telling the Age the murder suspect lived a happy childhood and loved being around the AFL scene.
Patrick Orren Stephenson 22, has been charged with the murder of missing Ballarat woman Samantha Murphy. The 51-year-old mother of three disappeared on February 4 after going for a run in the Canadian State Forest in Victoria. Photo / Supplied
“I was totally amazed, I didn’t expect it at all, didn’t know what was going on, particularly when I got home [to the street] full of cars,” a neighbour said.
He was described as coming from a great family.
“They were wonderful, absolutely wonderful neighbours,” said one.
“I didn’t really know [the man], I only really know the girls.”
