<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <docID>329684</docID> <postdate>2024-09-25 09:14:57</postdate> <headline>Police continue search for Samantha Murphy’s body</headline> <body><p><img class="size-full wp-image-329685" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/20240309001914509133-original-resized.jpg" alt="" width="900" height="600" /></p> <caption>Ballarat woman Samantha Murphy has been missing for seven months. (Jeremy Bannister/AAP PHOTOS)</caption> <p><span class="kicker-line">By <strong>Adrian Black</strong></span></p> <p><strong>Multiple branches of Australian police are undertaking a targeted search for the body of missing mother Samantha Murphy who disappeared more than seven months ago.</strong></p> <p>The 51-year-old Ballarat woman was last seen leaving her home on Eureka Street, to go for a run in the Canadian State Forest on the morning of February 4.</p> <p>Detectives from the Missing Persons Squad, with help from a range of specialists from Victoria Police, NSW Police and the Australian Federal Police, began a new search in Grenville on Tuesday.</p> <p>"Since February, police have regularly undertaken a range of enquiries and small-scale searches as part of the current investigation," Victoria Police said in a statement.</p> <p>"We are not in a position to supply further specific details of today's operational activity at this time."</p> <p>A similar search in March uncovered Ms Murphy's phone, buried in the mud on the edge of an agricultural dam.</p> <p>Ms Murphy's disappearance led to an outpouring of grief in the Ballarat community and the nation, leading to an influx of volunteers who joined the early stages of the search.</p> <p>Police have asked the public not to help this time.</p> <p>Police in March charged 23-year-old tradesman Patrick Orren Stephenson with the murder of Ms Murphy.</p> <p>Stephenson will face court in November, after prosecutors asked for a delayed committal mention to go through an "extensive" evidence brief including reams of CCTV footage.</p> <p>Ms Murphy's family has been advised of the search.</p> </body>