The husband of a missing mum-of-three has explained why he has remained mostly tight-lipped about her mysterious disappearance and stayed out of the spotlight as the search enters its fifth day.
Samantha Murphy, 51, vanished without a trace on Sunday after leaving her home on Eureka Street, East Ballarat, to go for a run through a national park at 7.16am.
Her husband, Michael, has now revealed why he has remained mostly hidden from the public eye in the days since his wife’s disappearance.
‘I’ve been speaking with the police and I’ve been advised not to say anything,’ Mr Murphy told the Herald Sun on Wednesday.
The panel beater said he was doing ‘ok’ and wasn’t worried about the commentary surrounding the search because he doesn’t ‘even look online’.
Earlier, he visited the bush area at Woowookarung Regional Park at about 1.45pm and spoke briefly to police officers through a car window.
Mr Murphy appeared visibly stunned and was turned away.
It’s not suggested Mr Murphy played any role in his wife’s disappearance, only that he came to see what authorities had found.
Victoria Police confirmed to Daily Mail Australia late on Wednesday that extensive search efforts had been wound down at nightfall.
‘The search does scale back at dark but will reconvene at first light tomorrow,’ a police spokesperson said.
The search for missing Samantha Murphy (pictured) enters its fifth day on Thursday
Michael Murphy, the husband of missing mum Samantha Murphy, drove to the crime scene in Ballarat East at about 1.45pm on Wednesday. He appeared visible shocked speaking to officers
Victoria Police on Wednesday night confirmed the search would wind down at nightfall but resume at first light on Thursday morning (pictured, SES personnel search a property)
It comes as CCTV of Ms Murphy captured on her own security system revealed she was wearing what appeared to be an Apple Watch when she left on Sunday.
While it remains unclear whether she was wearing the watch on her run, the device is capable of sending out an SOS signal if the user’s heart rate drops.
Apple Watch SE or Apple Watch Series 4 or later can detect a ‘hard fall’ and can contact emergency services if the user has enabled the feature.
Earlier on Wednesday, items discovered during a search were found not to be relevant to Ms Murphy’s disappearance in a heartbreaking update.
The search for the mum-of-three was rocked after possible evidence was found near a walking trail at about 12.30pm – giving her family hope that police were closing in on her whereabouts.
Officers were seen looking closely at a plastic tree guard before a section of bushland was cordoned off after items were located in shrubs.
However, detectives now believe the evidence is not relevant to the search.
‘Items located today during the search for Samantha have been assessed and at this time are not believed to be related to her whereabouts,’ a police spokesperson said.
New CCTV vision shows Ms Murphy leaving her Ballarat property at 7am on Sunday
A signboard for spontaneous volunteers outlining search areas for Ms Murphy is seen displayed in the Buningyong Police station on Wednesday
SES personnel are seen searching farmland in Ballarat as the search entered its fourth day
Police haven’t ruled out the possibility that Ms Murphy left one of the routes, some of which are surrounded by hundreds of deep mine shafts and fringed by dense bushland.
It comes as the large-scale search expanded to a fresh section of Ballarat on Mount Helen, a southern suburb of the city fringed by bushland popular with runners and cyclists.
Meanwhile, Ms Murphy’s teenage daughter has hit back at ‘malicious’ comments surrounding her mother’s disappearance on Facebook.
‘You have no idea what you are talking about,’ she wrote.
‘Be quiet and think before you post.’
A friend also leapt to the defence of the Murphy family, saying she was defending them against ‘trolls’ posting ‘malicious’ comments.
He then left the crime scene, supposedly to return home to the couple’s East Ballarat home
Exclusive photos captured Mr Murphy speaking to a police officer at the boundary of the search area, where he was turned away
Police investigating the disappearance of missing mum Samantha Murphy have found an item of interest in bushland and declared a crime scene
Samantha Murphy left her Ballarat home at 7am on Sunday to go for a run in the nearby state forest and did not return home, nor has she been seen since
Mr Murphy owns a smash repairs business with his wife, who works in admin.
Daily Mail Australia has been told media who approached the Ballarat East business on Tuesday were given a frosty reception.
Ms Murphy vanished without a trace after going on a 20km run through the Canadian State forest just after 7am on Sunday.
New CCTV shows her leaving her property, after which she is believed to have headed in a north-easterly direction toward Yankee Flat Road near the intersection of Warrenheip Road.
Some locals have expressed fear that her running path may have taken her past several hard-to-see mine shafts.
Volunteers were seen looking under bushes and inspecting scrubland directly outside the Murphy home on Wednesday.
A person inside the home gave media outside ‘the bird’ before closing the blinds. Police were also seen inside.
Across the road, officers were seen questioning a neighbour before then searching the rear of his property.
Ms Murphy vanished without a trace after going on a 20km run through the national park
SES crews outside the family home of Samantha Murphy on Wednesday. A large effort was focused on scouring the area outside her Ballarat East property – before attention shifted
Police on horseback walk past the Murphy compound on Wednesday
Search crews were also observed carrying out similar line searches along nearby Eureka Road.
On Wednesday, a worried neighbour told Daily Mail Australia Ms Murphy’s disappearance had shocked the community.
‘It’s just such a worry because you just don’t know what has happened. Is there someone out there? We just don’t know,’ she said.
Some locals are already beginning to come up with a range of theories as to what has happened, with some concerned about ‘suspicious’ characters in the region.
A large-scale search has involved the Search and Rescue Squad, local police, more than 100 specialised officers from the dog squad, mounted branch, and air wing.
SES crews and teams from Forest Fire Management Australia and Parks Victoria have also joined the search efforts.
A police car sat in the driveway of Ms Murphy’s home on Wednesday morning
Police question one of Ms Murphy’s neighbours on Wednesday
An SES worker looks for clues outside the Murphy compound
Police and SES crews gather down the road from Ms Murphy’s family home on Wednesday
The Ballarat community has rallied together, with a growing number of residents and Ms Murphy’s friends joining the search efforts.
On Tuesday, Acting Inspector Lisa MacDougall said her mobile phone had pinged in Buninyong but that ‘inquiries are ongoing as to whether [the phone] is still on’.
Ms Murphy was known to be fit and run almost daily in the state forest.
‘The area of search isn’t completely remote, we are on the outskirts of Ballarat, and it’s not that far from urban areas as well,’ Insp MacDougall said.
Temperatures soared to a scorching 36°C on Sunday and it’s unknown whether Ms Murphy had food or water with her.
Ms Murphy is described as Caucasian, about 173cm tall, with a slim build and shoulder-length blonde hair.
On the morning she vanished, she was captured on her own CCTV system wearing a brown/maroon singlet and black half-length leggings.
Anyone who sees her has been urged to contact police immediately.
