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own accord. The search then expanded to the wider
Ballarat area, including Black Hill and Brown Hill. After five days, the search crews scaled back their efforts, and the Missing Persons Squad took over the investigation. Members of the public, both local to Ballarat and from across Victoria, continued searching for Murphy. By 23 February, police said they
146:
On 11 February 2023, a woman running in the Lal Lal state forest was knocked unconscious by an unidentified male. She was attacked with a rock tied to a stick and was admitted to hospital. The attack occurred less than 20 kilometres (12 mi) from the location where Murphy had headed for a run on
155:
On 3 February 2024, Murphy had dinner with her husband and some mutual friends at their home. During this dinner, Murphy said she had been regularly walking and running in local bushland and planned to run 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) at
Woowookarung Regional Park the next day. Murphy was captured by
219:
conducted an extensive search of the park and surrounding areas. The search initially commenced at
Woowookarung Regional Park and nearby bushland; no sign of Murphy or her belongings were found and police ruled out the possibility of her having suffered a medical episode or leaving the area of her
687:
1183:
231:, was arrested in connection with Murphy's disappearance. The following day, he was charged with murder. The police hypothesis is that Stephenson, who was not known to Murphy's family, killed her at Mount Clear. Stephenson's name was initially subject to a
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s. The group's creator, who worked openly with detectives to utilise the groups information, advocated for closure of the group due to the local speculation and online trolls interrupting the investigation. Similar activity was seen on
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described the disappearance as "very unusual" and stated he had never before heard of a case involving a person going missing in the same way as Murphy. A local community member set up a group on
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in the driveway of her home. She was due to attend a family event at 11 am. After she failed to attend, her family contacted police to report her missing.
262:
to coordinate local volunteers. As the membership grew, so too did posts speculating about Murphy's disappearance alongside conspiracy theories and claims by
180:, which she was wearing on her run, was not activated. GPS analysis showed that she had run 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) through Woowookarung Regional Park to
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114:. On 6 March, a man was arrested in connection with her disappearance and was subsequently charged with murder. Murphy's body has not been found.
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the day she disappeared. A former member of the
Victoria Police homicide squad said the attack could be linked to Murphy's disappearance.
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134:. She was the mother of three children, and ran a small business with her husband, Michael, near the family home. Murphy was
620:"Former detective believes police investigating Samantha Murphy disappearance should look at suspects from year-old attack"
339:"Search for missing Ballarat woman Samantha Murphy turns to dashcam footage as police 'scale back' on-the-ground operation"
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172:, approximately 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) from her home, although signals from multiple towers are required to
204:
138:, approximately 173 centimetres (5 ft 8 in), slim in build, and having shoulder-length blonde hair.
1210:"Psychics and amateur sleuths toss unfounded theories into search for missing Ballarat woman Samantha Murphy"
1038:"Australia news live: man charged with murder of missing Ballarat woman Samantha Murphy, Victoria police say"
216:
453:"'She's just not coming back': Samantha Murphy's family mark her birthday without her for the first time"
173:
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221:
111:
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547:"Sissy Austin: former Greens Senate candidate attacked while running in a Victorian state forest"
238:
On 29 May, Murphy's wallet containing her ID cards and mobile phone was found on the bank of an
651:"Missing Ballarat woman Samantha Murphy's disappearance 'suspicious' and 'unusual', police say"
106:
Searches carried out over several days failed to find any evidence of what happened to Murphy.
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1045:
554:
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1072:"Samantha Murphy: Victoria police allege man murdered Ballarat woman in 'deliberate attack'"
820:"Call for dashcam footage expanded as bushland search for missing Ballarat woman winds back"
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131:
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516:"First Nations advocate hit with 'rock tied to the end of the stick' in weekend run attack"
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Murphy's disappearance resulted in a significant community response. Forensic psychologist
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Born on 30 March 1972, Samantha Murphy was a 51-year-old
Australian woman who lived in
1247:
95:
was a 51-year-old
Australian woman who went missing on 4 February 2024. She left her
1098:"Here's why the name of Samantha Murphy's alleged killer remains a secret — for now"
184:, at which point there may have been an "anomaly" or "disturbance" in the GPS data.
343:
272:
908:"Samantha Murphy most likely dead, police say, as phone clue leads to new search"
934:"Police doubt missing mum Samantha Murphy is alive, probe possible body removal"
243:
224:
and believed "one or more parties" may have been involved in her disappearance.
181:
177:
851:"Search for Samantha Murphy scaled back, but volunteers continue combing bush"
380:"Inside the bushland where Ballarat mother Samantha Murphy often went running"
1221:
1049:
558:
352:
711:"'Anomaly' in digital data could be clue to Samantha Murphy's disappearance"
196:
169:
28:
680:"Search for missing mum scaled back as police focus efforts on phone data"
586:"Woman details brutal attack 20km from search for missing Samantha Murphy"
420:"A CCTV snap, a morning run, then nothing. The search for Samantha Murphy"
1176:"'Psychopathic': Disturbing new theory about missing mum Samantha Murphy"
1149:"Husband knew instantly phone found near dam belonged to Samantha Murphy"
306:"Fears grow for Australian runner missing in dense bushland for six days"
259:
123:
96:
47:
985:"Ballarat man arrested over suspicious disappearance of Samantha Murphy"
485:"Victoria Police, SES to search state forest for missing Ballarat woman"
424:
468:
celebrated what would have been
Samantha's 52nd birthday on Saturday.
268:
766:
Crowe, Alex; Estcourt, David; Dexter, Rachael (22 February 2024).
1011:"Ballarat man charged with murder of missing mum Samantha Murphy"
768:"Police tap phone data in search for missing mum Samantha Murphy"
110:
treated the disappearance as suspicious, later stating that they
794:"Search area expands for missing Ballarat woman Samantha Murphy"
737:"Search for Ballarat mum Samantha Murphy enters its second week"
157:
246:, approximately 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) south of Buninyong.
310:
227:
On 6 March, Patrick Orren
Stephenson, a 22-year-old male from
156:
a CCTV camera the following day at approximately 7 am
1124:"Samantha Murphy's alleged killer's ute seized by police"
959:"Samantha Murphy's alleged killer hit with fresh charges"
103:, home for a morning run, but failed to return home.
168:
Murphy's mobile phone signalled a cellular tower in
906:Lazzaro, Kellie; Mayers, Laura (22 February 2024).
618:Hermant, Norman; Asher, Nicole (13 February 2024).
82:
74:
66:
58:
43:
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932:Crowe, Alex; Estcourt, David (22 February 2024).
378:Kirkham, Rochelle; Neal, Matt (9 February 2024).
1203:
1201:
1070:Ore, Adeshola; Kolovos, Benita (7 March 2024).
275:, called on the public to cease speculating.
8:
242:during a targeted search of a property near
86:Initial court suppression of name of accused
21:
271:, and the Commissioner of Victoria Police,
174:triangulate the location of a mobile device
27:
20:
882:"Breakthrough in search for Sam Murphy"
849:McMillan, Ashleigh (11 February 2024).
296:
16:2024 disappearance of Australian woman
1228:from the original on 14 February 2024
1186:from the original on 13 February 2024
1174:Sullivan, Reilly (12 February 2024).
861:from the original on 12 February 2024
830:from the original on 12 February 2024
792:Kirkham, Rochelle (5 February 2024).
761:
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709:Collis, Danielle (29 February 2024).
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630:from the original on 14 February 2024
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596:from the original on 15 February 2024
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514:Jeuniewic, Lexie (13 February 2023).
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432:from the original on 11 February 2024
392:from the original on 11 February 2024
359:from the original on 11 February 2024
318:from the original on 10 February 2024
7:
880:Johnston, Damon (23 February 2024).
735:Finch, Nicholas (11 February 2024).
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1122:Sciberras, Allanah (8 March 2024).
545:Collard, Sarah (14 February 2023).
1208:Ore, Adeshola (12 February 2024).
649:Ore, Adeshola (14 February 2024).
584:Hendley, Shona (8 February 2024).
14:
1264:Missing person cases in Australia
483:Mayers, Laura (5 February 2024).
1096:Silva, Kristian (7 March 2024).
451:Magennis, Molly (5 April 2024).
209:Victoria State Emergency Service
22:Disappearance of Samantha Murphy
818:Neal, Matt (10 February 2024).
418:Crowe, Alex (9 February 2024).
176:. The SOS function of Murphy's
337:Cox, Lisa (10 February 2024).
304:Lau, Chris (9 February 2024).
285:List of people who disappeared
1:
678:Wu, David (9 February 2024).
222:suspected Murphy was deceased
1036:Wind, Emily (7 March 2024).
126:, a large rural city in the
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1254:2020s missing person cases
26:
164:Investigation and search
70:Patrick Orren Stephenson
193:Search and Rescue Squad
217:Country Fire Authority
112:believed she was dead
624:ABC News (Australia)
520:ABC News (Australia)
385:ABC News (Australia)
684:Skynews (Australia)
23:
1269:Women in Melbourne
187:For several days,
1259:2024 in Australia
1180:SkyNews Australia
233:suppression order
128:Central Highlands
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62:Samantha Murphy
39:4 February 2024
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1017:. 6 March 2024
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1230:. Retrieved
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965:. 3 May 2024
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655:The Guardian
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551:The Guardian
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344:The Guardian
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273:Shane Patton
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1232:14 February
1190:13 February
943:23 February
891:23 February
865:12 February
834:12 February
803:22 February
777:22 February
748:12 February
694:14 February
634:14 February
600:14 February
590:News.com.au
569:14 February
530:14 February
499:21 February
436:12 February
396:12 February
363:12 February
322:12 February
244:Durham Lead
182:Mount Clear
178:Apple Watch
142:2023 attack
54:, Australia
1248:Categories
291:References
130:region of
118:Background
1222:0261-3077
1050:0261-3077
559:0261-3077
353:0261-3077
229:Scotsburn
197:dog squad
170:Buninyong
136:Caucasian
1226:Archived
1184:Archived
1102:ABC News
1081:25 March
1015:ABC News
989:ABC News
917:18 March
912:ABC News
859:Archived
828:Archived
824:ABC News
798:ABC News
720:19 March
688:Archived
660:19 March
628:Archived
594:Archived
563:Archived
524:Archived
493:Archived
489:ABC News
462:21 April
430:Archived
390:Archived
357:Archived
316:Archived
279:See also
260:Facebook
250:Response
215:and the
205:Air Wing
132:Victoria
124:Ballarat
101:Victoria
97:Ballarat
52:Victoria
48:Ballarat
44:Location
1133:9 April
1107:9 April
1055:7 March
1021:7 March
995:6 March
938:The Age
855:The Age
772:The Age
425:The Age
207:), the
75:Charges
67:Accused
59:Missing
1220:
1159:30 May
1048:
969:30 May
557:
457:7 News
351:
269:Reddit
203:, and
78:Murder
1234:2024
1218:ISSN
1192:2024
1161:2024
1135:2024
1109:2024
1083:2024
1057:2024
1046:ISSN
1023:2024
997:2024
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893:2024
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805:2024
779:2024
750:2024
722:2024
696:2024
662:2024
636:2024
602:2024
571:2024
555:ISSN
532:2024
501:2024
464:2024
438:2024
398:2024
365:2024
349:ISSN
324:2024
158:AEDT
36:Date
311:CNN
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
