By Melissa Meehan in Melbourne

It’s almost a year since Ballarat woman Samantha Murphy went for a run and never came home. 

The 51-year-old was last seen alive when she went for a run on the morning of February 4.

In March, police charged 23-year-old tradesman Patrick Orren Stephenson with Ms Murphy’s murder, but the search for her body still continues.

Over the past 12 months, a number of extensive searches for Samantha’s body have taken place with particular focus on the Enfield State Park, Canadian Forest and Buninyong Bushland Reserve.

The most recent search focused on the Enfield State Forest at Grenville in September, 2024.

The location is approximately a 15-minute drive from Buninyong, where Ms Murphy’s phone was found buried in the mud on the edge of an agricultural dam in May.

Ms Murphy’s disappearance led to an outpouring of grief in the Ballarat community and the nation, with an influx of volunteers joining multiple earlier searches.

Detective Inspector Dave Dunstan said police had worked tirelessly to find Ms Murphy.

“While nothing can erase their grief and loss, being able to return Samantha to her family has always been incredibly important to us,” Det Insp Dunstan said on Sunday.

“I want to reaffirm to the community that the Missing Persons Squad remains committed to doing everything we can to locate Samantha – while a year has passed, we still believe we can locate her.

“This year we will continue to conduct searches in the Ballarat area, including searches in areas highlighted by intelligence derived from a number of sources.”

He called on locals using areas of interest to be aware of their surroundings and contact police immediately if they believe they may have come across her remains.

“There is nothing we want more than to return Samantha to her family and we remain committed to doing this,” he said.

Stephenson pleaded not guilty to murder in November as he elected to fast-track his criminal trial.