The family of Ballarat woman Samantha Murphy have made an emotional plea for her to come home, five days after she disappeared when heading out for a run.
Murphy’s eldest daughter, Jess, broke down in tears as she spoke directly to her mum at a press conference at Ballarat West police station on Thursday.
“Mum, we love you so much, and we miss you, and we need you at home with us,” she said.
“Please come home soon. I can’t wait to see you and to give you the biggest hug when I do, and to tell you off for giving us so much stress. I love you.”
Jess said her mother was “a really strong woman, and she’s far too determined to give up this fight”.
“I know she’s out there somewhere, so if you could please continue to search for her to give us something to work with,” she said.
She said she did not feel comfortable at home given the presence of news crews and asked for her family’s privacy to be respected.
Murphy’s husband, Michael, repeated her plea for privacy.
“If we’ve got something, we’ll come out and say it,” he said.
Michael urged anyone with information about his wife’s disappearance to come forward.
“People just don’t vanish into thin air. Someone has got to know something,” he said.
“Whether it be any little thing that you might think is relevant, just call the police, let them know.”
He also thanked the community for its support.
“The generosity throughout the community has been unbelievable,” he said.
Murphy, 51, was last seen leaving her Eureka Street home at Ballarat East about 7am on Sunday.
Crews have been searching in the Canadian Forest area since Monday before shifting their focus to the suburb of Mount Helen, east of Geelong Road, on Wednesday, with a third search party canvassing paddocks in nearby Warrenheip.
Police on Wednesday released more CCTV footage they initially believed showed Murphy running at 7.16am on Sunday near her home heading towards Yankee Flat Road.
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But on Thursday afternoon they said a member of the community had come forward and identified themselves as the person depicted running.
Police said the footage was no longer relevant to the search for Murphy.
However, they continued to urge residents in the area to review any CCTV they have between 7am and 11am on Sunday.
Ballarat police acting inspector Lisa McDougall reiterated this on Thursday.
“We would like the community to not make any decisions about what is or isn’t relevant. Certainly, if they find anything of interest on the footage, we’d like them to let police know that,” McDougall said.
She said no suspicious circumstances had been identified and investigators were “keeping an open mind”.
“We’re keeping an open mind and considering all possibilities and we’re being extremely thorough and methodical with that…
2024-02-08 01:12:16
Source from www.theguardian.com