Australia Samantha Murphy, 51, last seen leaving her property to go for a run in the Canadian State Forest, Ballarat 100km NW of Melbourne, 4 Feb 2024 #3

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SouthAussie said:
Yes, the police could have mentioned a lot of things. But it doesn't help them with their investigation.
I don't think they want the public to investigate potential foul play. They would like the public's help in locating a missing person who was last seen at 7am on Sunday 4th Feb.

So, they gave information that would help with that. And they asked for CCTV. Up until this point, that is all the help they need.

If they suspect foul play, there may also be "hold back" information that the police keep under wraps. Something only the potential foul play perpetrator would know.

imo
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Well said SouthAussie, and hello!
I haven’t been around for a long while… but good to see some familiar names here still.

With regard to the sharing of information with family members, I can speak from experience.
Ironically SApol …not vicpol to be fair.. however when my friends teenage daughter went missing and tragically was murdered , my friend was told not to speak to media .

She was kept up to date and briefed every few days. I was present at many of these meetings as her support .

She was hiding from the media at our house as instructed by police as the tv crews were invasive and quite frankly , acted disgracefully.
Hiding in bushes , chasing her car…. Camped out side her house, in her driveway and knocking all night and day.

There was no need for a press conference in that case but she was absolutely told ( as was I ) not to speak to media .

I’m pretty sure it’s standard procedure to both shield families and to ensure the integrity of the investigation.

Like you said SA , police ask for what they need and use media for that.

Media are a tool ( many reporters are just tools too) and police are good at using them.
However they can harm an investigation equally as efficiently.
Sorry for long post , but there was a lot of comments about the family and media silence, and I just wanted to explain what I saw from the victim family side.
 
Sorry to be a pain. Scroll by now. IMO

Can someone explain the 5pm Ping.

Is it because someone came across a discarded Apple Watch and reactivated it (like the homeless man - is that possible?) JMO
Or it was purposefully turned back on - SM's phone? JMO

Or was it just a glitch? Just wondering?

Just wanted to rule out if someone had a reason to be in the area till 5pm (playing golf, worked in that area, volunteer work at the fire station) and then chose to reactivate the phone - giving the impression SM is lost in the woods?? MOO
 
nightrider17 said:
Sorry to be a pain. Scroll by now. IMO

Can someone explain the 5pm Ping.

Is it because someone came across a discarded Apple Watch and reactivated it (like the homeless man - is that possible?) JMO
Or it was purposefully turned back on - SM's phone? JMO

Or was it just a glitch? Just wondering?

Just wanted to rule out if someone had a reason to be in the area till 5pm (playing golf, worked in that area, volunteer work at the fire station) and then chose to reactivate the phone - giving the impression SM is lost in the woods?? MOO
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The 5pm ping is currently just a rumour.
The Police refuse to give any information of the time of the ping, as per the police presser…
The time of the ping has not been published by media as far as I know ?
(Happy to be corrected if someone has a link??? )

IMO
 
ediethedog said:
I’m planning to be at the community search on Saturday. I say “planning “ because I’ve just had spinal surgery, and can’t drive yet. So relying on son to drive me. But I’m absolutely hoping to be there , as we are in Melbourne… not too far.
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Look after yourself @ediethedog - my hubby’s just had spinal surgery too. Good luck with the recovery!
 
They need experienced hikers there on Saturday, not general public, that won’t suffer from fatigue, have the equipment and not scared of snakes.. Hiking off track in the ditches alongside roads and tracks would be my MOO.

(My hiking club would be ideal for example, plenty of really strong hikers(30-40 OF) but any club in Melbourne or outskirts would be ideal. )
 
nightrider17 said:
Sorry to be a pain. Scroll by now. IMO

Can someone explain the 5pm Ping.

Is it because someone came across a discarded Apple Watch and reactivated it (like the homeless man - is that possible?) JMO
Or it was purposefully turned back on - SM's phone? JMO

Or was it just a glitch? Just wondering?

Just wanted to rule out if someone had a reason to be in the area till 5pm (playing golf, worked in that area, volunteer work at the fire station) and then chose to reactivate the phone - giving the impression SM is lost in the woods?? MOO
Click to expand...

SLouTh said:
The 5pm ping is currently just a rumour.
Click to expand...


Just to add to this … I think Police had the phone ping well before 5pm as that area was the first to be searched by Pol Air on the Sunday, that Samantha went missing … (Helicopter is searching that area before 5pm)

Thanks to @eptio

Sunday 4th February movements of VH-PVO (POL30)
15:38 - Begins flying towards the Ballarat area from Flinders (roughly 136km away)
16:18 - Arrives near Buninyong and begins searching the area around Union Jack Reserve


The Police search the Buninyong Area before they search the trail area of Woowookarung Regional Park.(That would have been based on some kind of intel … like a ping perhaps ?? )

18:02 - Departs Ballarat Aerodrome and begins doing laps of the properties between Yankie Flat Rd and Woowookarung Regional Park.

JMO

Post in thread 'Samantha Murphy, 51, last seen leaving her property to go for a run in the Canadian State Forest, Ballarat 100km NW of Melbourne, 4 Feb 2024'
Australia - Samantha Murphy, 51, last seen leaving her property to go for a run in the Canadian State Forest, Ballarat 100km NW of Melbourne, 4 Feb 2024
 
I think this would be the relevant cellular tower, at the top of Mount Buninyong.

b.jpg
Google Maps

And I think the yellow circled area is where some initial searches have been. Relatively close to the phone tower ... between 4 and 11 km away from the tower.

b.jpg
Google Maps


This link also confirms a multi-services tower location on Mt Buninyong ... it services 3G/4G for Telstra & Optus, 2G/3G/4G for Vodafone, and 4G NBN services.
 
ediethedog said:
Well said SouthAussie, and hello!
I haven’t been around for a long while… but good to see some familiar names here still.

With regard to the sharing of information with family members, I can speak from experience.
Ironically SApol …not vicpol to be fair.. however when my friends teenage daughter went missing and tragically was murdered , my friend was told not to speak to media .

She was kept up to date and briefed every few days. I was present at many of these meetings as her support .

She was hiding from the media at our house as instructed by police as the tv crews were invasive and quite frankly , acted disgracefully.
Hiding in bushes , chasing her car…. Camped out side her house, in her driveway and knocking all night and day.

There was no need for a press conference in that case but she was absolutely told ( as was I ) not to speak to media .

I’m pretty sure it’s standard procedure to both shield families and to ensure the integrity of the investigation.

Like you said SA , police ask for what they need and use media for that.

Media are a tool ( many reporters are just tools too) and police are good at using them.
However they can harm an investigation equally as efficiently.
Sorry for long post , but there was a lot of comments about the family and media silence, and I just wanted to explain what I saw from the victim family side.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your perspective, it's a great thing you did for your friend.
 
ZombieKittie said:
I know from looking into previous missing persons cases that unlike US we don't have a comprehensive database for all our missing persons and unidentified body's which I find incredibly heartbreaking. There are some civilian website that are rarely updated, hard to navigate and only have at best 25% of the missing people in Aus. This is partly because the state police don't have databases for the whole of Aus and each state operates differently. It's also why crime stats in Aus are really hard to track accurately. Or at least that is what we were taught 3 years ago in one of our first criminology subjects at uni
Click to expand...
Right so, your professors concur. It's ad hoc and disorganised.

We've got Darren Chalmers confessing to a murder in Victoria he committed in the 90s having been caught for a murder he committed in his 50s more recently in WA.

www.abc.net.au

Annette Steward's murder remained a mystery for 27 years. Her killer is likely to spend the rest of his life in prison

Darren Chalmers has received a second life sentence for the murder of Geelong woman Annette Steward in 1992, after he killed WA woman Dianne Barrett in 2019.
www.abc.net.au www.abc.net.au
 
Algorithm said:
Look after yourself first, I would be worried about your own recovery rather than spending 4-6 hrs hiking trails after back surgery
Click to expand...
Thank you … you’re right ..
However I’m a well experienced bush walker - in the ranges where I live , and have been given clearance to walk as much as tolerated…I’m 3 months in to recovery now and while I’ve got to be careful, I’ve got back to 4 kms a day .. weather permitting ( it’s been pretty hot and windy in Melbourne)

Edited :forgot to add …. I haven’t been able to get confirmation that Saturday has been given the ok by vicpol . Has anyone seen if it has?
I don’t want to be part of trampling on potential evidence or hampering any investigations.
I did send the organiser an email but haven’t heard.
 
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ediethedog said:
Thank you … you’re right ..
However I’m a well experienced bush walker - in the ranges where I live , and have been given clearance to walk as much as tolerated…I’m 3 months in to recovery now and while I’ve got to be careful, I’ve got back to 4 kms a day .. weather permitting ( it’s been pretty hot and windy in Melbourne)
Click to expand...
Also in Melbourne I think my brain melted when I went outside earlier.

But I agree with everyone else be careful out there and that goes for anyone planning to join the search. Stay hydrated and safe
 
Detective Willy said:
There was 1 question asked at the first press conference that I still find interesting - this one that was asked at the 5m 50 sec mark.

The reporter asks if this could be related to "an incident at a Ballarat Hospitality Venue". (I read this as a Pub or club).

As we have seen in the past, the press often have more inside info than the general public. Does anyone know what this incident was at the Ballarat Hospital Venue?

IMO it is either a dumb question or one that has been intentionally left alone and not spoken about for operational reasons?

samantha murphy press conference - Google Search
Click to expand...
Yes .... I had completely forgotten about this question .... and yes, I think it would have been asked with the insight and information we are not privy to!
 
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