EXCLUSIVE
The shocked husband of missing mother Samantha Murphy has been spotted speaking to police at the crime scene where a search team found items of interest.
Daily Mail Australia witnessed mechanic Michael Murphy visiting the bush area in Woowookarung Regional Park at around 1.45pm on Wednesday and speaking briefly to Victoria police officers through a car window.
Mr Murphy, a panel beater, appeared visibly bewildered and turned away.
The search for Ms Murphy, 51, was shaken up on Wednesday after a search party found possible evidence near a walking trail at around 12.30pm, with detectives keeping a close eye on a plastic tree guard.
It is not suggested that Mr Murphy played any role in Ms Murphy’s disappearance, only that he came to see what the authorities had found.
Michael Murphy, the husband of missing mother Samantha Murphy, drove to the scene in Ballarat East about 1.45pm on Wednesday. He appeared visibly shaken as he spoke to officers
Exclusive photos show Mr Murphy speaking to a police officer at the border of the search area, where he was turned away
Mr Murphy recorded the message police told him at the entrance to the crime scene and then left
Mr Murphy at the scene of the discovery
Police investigating the disappearance of missing mother Samantha Murphy have found an object of interest in bushland and designated it as 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, and has not been seen since.
All reporters were driven from the area. The police do not want to reveal exactly what they found.
“Police have recovered several items during their search for missing Samantha Murphy from Ballarat East,” a spokeswoman said.
‘The items are assessed to determine whether they are relevant to the investigation.
‘The search for Samantha continues, with the assistance of Police Search & Rescue, Uniform Police, Canine Unit, Mounted Branch, SES and CFA.’
The mother of three disappeared without a trace after going for a run in a national forest at 7am on Sunday.
Some locals have expressed fears that her running path has taken her past several hard-to-see mine shafts.
Police, SES and volunteers appeared to be leaving no stone unturned in the search this morning.
Volunteers were seen looking under bushes and inspecting undergrowth immediately outside the Murphy home.
A person in the home outside gave the media ‘the bird’ before closing the blinds. Police were also seen inside.
Across the road, officers were seen questioning a neighbor before then searching the rear of his property.
Ms Murphy, an avid runner, was last seen wearing a brown/maroon shirt and black leggings
About 12:30 p.m., a search crew found a piece of possible evidence near a plastic tree guard along a hiking trail in Woowookarung Regional Park before reporters were turned away from the scene.
Victoria Police closed a hiking trail (above) in nearby state forest and kicked out media after finding an item of interest and declaring a crime scene
Daily Mail Australia witnessed detectives closely inspecting a new tree’s plant protector after discovering an interesting item
SES crews outside Samantha Murphy’s family home on Wednesday. A major effort was focused on searching the area outside her Ballarat East property – before attention shifted
Police on horseback walk past the Murphy compound on Wednesday as the search enters its fourth day
Search crews were also observed conducting similar line searches along nearby Eureka Road.
Mrs. Murphy, 51, had embarked on a 12-mile run through the Canadian State Forest, an area her husband Michael claimed she knew well but never returned.
Mr Murphy, who runs a major repair business with his missing wife, has largely remained tight-lipped since Ms Murphy went missing.
Daily Mail Australia has been told media outlets who approached his company on Tuesday were met with a frosty response.
“It’s just up in the air, we don’t know,” Murphy told the newspaper Herald Sun on Tuesday.
‘In the end it’s just a matter of time.’
He was pictured on Tuesday speaking to police as the desperate search continued.
A police car was in the driveway of Mrs. Murphy’s home Wednesday morning
Police are questioning one of Ms Murphy’s neighbors on Wednesday
An SES employee searches for clues outside the Murphy complex
Police and SES teams will gather down the road from Ms Murphy’s home on Wednesday
On Wednesday, a concerned neighbor told Daily Mail Australia that Ms Murphy’s disappearance had shocked the community.
“It’s just such a concern because you just don’t know what happened. Is there anyone out there? We just don’t know,” she said.
Some locals are already starting to come up with a series of theories about what happened, while some are concerned about ‘suspicious’ individuals living in the region.
This was preceded by a large-scale search operation the Search and Rescue Squad, local police, more than 100 specialist officers from the dog brigade, mounted unit, solo unit and air wing.
SES crews and teams from Forest Fire Management Australia and Parks Victoria have also joined the search.
The Ballarat community has come together, with a growing number of residents and Ms Murphy’s friends joining the search.
Ms Murphy’s ‘appalled and concerned’ family have serious concerns, describing her disappearance as ‘out of character’.
On the morning Ms Murphy disappeared, she was captured on her own CCTV system wearing a brown shirt and black mid-length leggings.
The search for missing mother-of-three Samantha Murphy (pictured) has entered its third day
Mrs. Murphy is an administrator at Inland Motor Body Works, which she co-owns with her husband
On Tuesday, Acting Inspector Lisa MacDougall said Ms Murphy’s mobile phone had pinged in Buninyong but “investigations are ongoing to see if (the phone) is still on”.
“It’s clear that phone batteries can run out, but that’s part of the investigation,” she told reporters on Monday.
Mrs Murphy was known to be fit and walked through the national forest almost every day.
“The search area is not completely remote, we are on the outskirts of Ballarat, and it’s not that far from urban areas either,” Insp MacDougall said.
Temperatures rose to a scorching 36C on Sunday and it is not known whether Ms Murphy had food or water with her.
“It was clear that (Sunday) was a hot day… there is clearly an increased risk there because of the heat,” Insp MacDougall added.
‘It increases the urgency of the search for us and of course we take into account that this has consequences for someone’s health.’
Ms Murphy is described as white, approximately 173cm tall, with a slim build and shoulder-length blond hair.
Anyone who sees her is asked to contact police immediately.
