Huge update in search for Samantha Murphy's body

The man accused of murdering Ballarat mother Samantha Murphy has reportedly been removed from prison and taken under heavy police guard to bushland near Ballarat, as Victoria Police intensify their search for her remains.

Patrick Orren Stephenson, 23, who has pleaded not guilty to the murder of the 51-year-old, was previously escorted to the search site from jail last year. According to Sunrise, he remains under tight security as police continue their investigation.

Murphy was last seen on February 4 last year, setting out for a routine 14-kilometre run through the Canadian State Forest. Despite extensive searches by police and community volunteers across the Canadian State Forest, Enfield State Park, and the Buninyong Bushland Reserve, her body has not been found.

While police have not confirmed that Stephenson is cooperating with the search, nor suggested that he knows the location of Murphy's body, his presence at the scene signals ongoing investigative efforts.

In June last year, a significant breakthrough emerged when Murphy’s personal belongings – including her credit cards, driver’s licence and an iPhone encased in a teal cover – were discovered submerged in mud at the bottom of a dam in Buninyong, close to her home. Investigators found the phone in near-perfect condition, raising hopes that its data might reveal clues about Murphy's final movements.

Police subsequently focused their search on bushland south of Buninyong, roughly two kilometres from the dam.

Victoria Police have declined to comment on the latest developments, citing the ongoing court proceedings. Stephenson’s trial is expected to take place later this year.

During a February court hearing, Prosecutor Raymond Gibson KC indicated that police officers and a DNA expert are among eight proposed witnesses for the trial. The list also includes a road crash reconstruction specialist, a digital data expert and a phone data analyst.

Stephenson, the son of former AFL player Orren Stephenson, had never personally met Murphy. However, the pair shared a local connection: Murphy volunteered at the uniform shop at St Francis Xavier Primary School, where Stephenson had been a student.

It is understood that police had been monitoring Stephenson for two weeks prior to his arrest in March last year, at a Ballarat home where he and his girlfriend were house-sitting.

The investigation continues.

Images: File photos