The search for the body of Samantha Murphy has narrowed to an area near Ballarat.
Police moved their efforts to Buninyong, 11km from the Victorian regional city on Wednesday morning.
Murphy was last seen leaving her home to go for a run on the morning of 4 February.
Victoria Police allege she was murdered by 22-year-old Patrick Orren Stephenson, at Mount Clear, on the day she went missing.
The 51-year-old mother of three left home in the morning of 4 February to go jogging and has not been seen since. Source: AAP / James Ross
Mount Clear, a semi-rural suburb, is 6km from where police have focused their search.
Detective acting superintendent Mark Hatt from Victoria Police Crime Command said all available resources were being poured into the search.
“Since Samantha’s disappearance, extensive searches have been conducted in the Ballarat area and today we will focus on an area of bushland in Buninyong,” he said.
“We will have a range of specialist resources involved, however as we are searching for Samantha’s body, we ask that members of the public do not try and join today’s search.”
Stephenson, a tradie, was arrested earlier this month on the outskirts of Ballarat.
He is the son of former AFL player Orren Stephenson, who played 15 games for Geelong and Richmond between 2012 and 2014.
Their family home is in Mount Clear, where Patrick Stephenson often stayed. He lives in Scotsburn, about 16km from Ballarat.
Source Agencies
