Police have found a mobile phone on the banks of a dam which could represent a major breakthrough in the search for missing mum Samantha Murphy.
The 51-year-old was last seen leaving her home on Eureka Street to go for a run in Canadian State Forest on the morning of February 4.
Police resumed their search for her remains on Wednesday and found a mobile phone on the banks of a dam located south of Buninyong.
Police celebrated after finding a cellphone during the search for Samantha Murphy
It’s been more than three months since beloved mother-of-three Samantha Murphy went missing and her family are no closer to knowing where her body may be. Ms Murphy is pictured with her husband Mick.
Video captured by the ABC shows police celebrating as they made the discovery.
Later, police were seen using a metal detector to scan the edge of the water.
In a statement issued shortly after the find, police said they had located some ‘items of interest’ during the search for the missing mum.
‘The area has been cordoned off and those items will now be forensically tested.
‘At this stage we are not providing further information about the items until that testing has been completed.
‘The items were located during today’s targeted search, which involved investigators and other specialist units from across Victoria Police and assistance from the AFP.’
As part of today’s search, an excavator was used to clear scrub and the dog squad was also involved.
In early March, Patrick Orren Stephenson, 22, was charged with her alleged murder.
Police allege Ms Murphy was killed on the day she went missing in the Canadian State Forest but no trace of her has been found since she vanished.
Stephenson has not entered a plea and it’s understood he has not cooperated with police and questions still remain as to where her body could be.
Since February, police have launched multiple searches searches in bushland as part of the investigation.
Last month, police brought in specialist cadaver dogs from New South Wales to scour the Victorian bush at multiple locations in dense scrub.
Teams of officers focused their search within Enfield State Park, 30km south of Ballarat – but another search team was also working 25km away in thick scrub in the Durham Lead Nature Conservation Reserve.
Just weeks ago, Ms Murphy’s long suffering husband Mick Murphy told Channel 9 he had not stopped searching for her.
‘On that particular day, I was outside and thought she’ll be coming up the road pretty soon,’ he said.
‘Then she didn’t.’
Mr Murphy said he searched daily, either by driving through town or spending two hours walking through a pine plantation.
‘Sometimes I go for a drive and it might not be anywhere particular, or I go for a walk for two hours. It varies every day,’ he said.
‘It’s very good for my mind and if I sat at home I wouldn’t do myself any favours.’
Missing Persons Unit Detective Acting Superintendent Mark Hatt has previously stated police would never give up looking for Ms Murphy.
‘I want to assure those in the Ballarat community that police remain focused on doing everything we can to return Samantha to her family,’ he said last month.
It comes as Ms Murphy’s accused killer was hit with new charges in relation to an alleged drug and alcohol-fuelled bender last year.
Stephenson has received drink and drug driving charges after he allegedly crashed a motorbike into a tree on the night of October 1 following the AFL grand final.
He has also been also charged with careless driving.
Daily Mail Australia doesn’t suggest that Stephenson has been involved in any wrongdoing, only that charges have been laid.
He has not yet entered a plea to the new charges.
Stephenson is due to face court again on August 8 over the driving and murder charges.
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