The husband of missing mother-of-three Samantha Murphy has tearfully opened up about his grief after his wife disappeared more than two months ago – as search crews abandon their latest hunt for her remains.
Mick Murphy said his wife was an ‘incredibly smart and wonderful woman’ who he still searches for everyday since she vanished on February 4 while going for a run in Ballarat East, northwest of Melbourne.
‘You know for someone so good to be gone out of the community it’s pretty hard, she was always good to us and a good mum,’ Mr Murphy told Nine News as he tried to fight back tears.
‘You won’t hear a bad word about her, she was a good mother, caring and always providing for everybody.
Mick Murphy broke down while talking about his missing wife Samantha, who vanished from Ballarat on February 4
Samantha Murphy (left) and Michael Murphy (right) are pictured in Indonesia in 2017
‘She was always smiling and happy and we want people to remember Sam for who she was. Anyone who knows her knows what she’s like.’
Mr Murphy said his wife operated like ‘clockwork’ so when she didn’t return from her run as expected, alarm bells started to ring.
The pair have been married for 27 years and ran a smash repairs business together in Ballarat.
Mr Murphy now spends his days searching for his wife, determined not to lose hope her body will be found.
‘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.’
A march will be held in Ballarat on Friday night where locals will show their support for those affected by the recent deaths of Ms Murphy, 51, and other women Hannah McGuire, 23, and Rebecca Young, 42.
‘The march for her today, the respect that the community has for not only for Sam but the other women that have lost their lives in the last few weeks, the support will be great and I think it’ll be a pretty emotional time,’ Mr Murphy said.
‘I wouldn’t wish this on anybody.’
Police returned to bush tracks on Thursday near where Ms Murphy went missing but by Friday afternoon Victorian Police said the search had been called-off.
Samantha Murphy was allegedly murdered while out for a Sunday morning jog
Police pack away their dirt bikes after another unsuccessful search on Friday
An officer prepares to pull out of the area after another unsuccessful search on Friday
The latest search effort for Ms Murphy ended at 1.30pm, with the last of the Victoria Police dirt bike team seen loading their bikes into a trailer.
‘If we’d found anything you would have all heard about it,’ one officer told Daily Mail Australia.
Police will not return to the bush on Saturday.
Detectives from the missing persons squad and other specialist crews were involved in the search.
Unlike a large scale search carried out by police on Thursday, media had been kept in the dark about where crews were looking on Friday.
‘Over the past two months, police have also regularly undertaken a range of enquiries and small-scale searches as part of the current investigation,’ the spokesperson said.
‘We are not in a position to supply further specific details of today’s operational activity at this time.’
Police entered thick bush in an area about 25 kilometres from where Samantha Murphy vanished on February 4
Search crews have been looking down mine shafts and navigating treacherous conditions in the hunt for clues
Specialised dogs capable of finding bodies have been brought in to assist the search
The search had provided renewed hope search teams were close to locating the 51-year old’s body.
On Thursday, Victoria Police brought in specialist cadaver dogs from New South Wales to scour the bush at multiple locations in dense scrub spanning a vast stretch of countryside.
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.
The nature reserve is just south of Buninyong where Ms Murphy’s phone was last detected by mobile phone towers at 5pm on the day she vanished.
Ms Murphy, 51, was last seen leaving her home on Eureka Street, Ballarat East, to go for a run in the Canadian State Forest on the morning of February 4.
Police were believed to be looking in bush about 20km south of the Murphy family home.
Ms Murphy’s husband Mick Murphy was informed about this week’s search. He had been previously kept in the dark about similar search efforts
A helicopter was seen flying overhead the dense woodland just before 2pm on Thursday, with search crews making their way deeper into the thick scrub.
By 4pm, the search was suspended for the day.
Thursday was the first time search crews have used the highly-trained cadaver dogs, brought in from NSW Police, since the investigation was launched.
They are specially trained to be able to sniff out humans remains and corpses, even under extreme conditions.
Police on trail bikes have also been used to help cover the wide area of the increasingly desperate hunt for Ms Murphy’s remains, more than eight weeks after she vanished.
Officers had previously made unsuccessful search efforts at Buninyong Bushland Reserve in March.
It remains unclear what new information triggered the fresh search locations for police on Thursday.
In March, detectives charged 22-year-old tradesman Patrick Orren Stephenson with Ms Murphy’s alleged murder.
Samantha Murphy in the last haunting image of her captured before she took off on her run on February 4
Patrick Orren Stephenson has been charged with murder
They allege he killed her at Mount Clear on the day she went missing.
Stephenson is the son of Orren Stephenson, who played 15 AFL games for Geelong and Richmond between 2012 and 2014.
It is understood Stephenson has refused to cooperate with police.
Detective Acting Superintendent Mark Hatt described Thursday’s effort as an ‘extensive’ large scale search that built on targeted searches in other areas.
‘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.
Anyone with any information about Ms Murphy’s disappearance is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
It comes after the death of Ms McGuire, who was allegedly murdered by her ex-partner Lachlan Young a week ago.
The McGuire family are expected to be at the rally handing out t-shirts sporting Hannah’s face.
‘Tomorrow we will march and stand in solidarity for Hannah McGuire and every other female who has lost their life to violence,’ a post on the family pub’s Facebook page stated.
‘We have had T-shirts made for Hannah and would be honoured if you wore one.’
In another tragedy in Ballarat, Ms Young was found dead inside the property on the edge of the city in February, alongside her partner her partner Ian Butler, who has ties to the Bandidos bikie gang, in a suspected murder suicide.
Fellow Ballarat woman, Hannah McGuire, was allegedly murdered
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