Phone found during search undergoing forensic testing

Forensic testing is being carried out on a phone found in a dam during a search for missing Ballarat woman Samantha Murphy.

Transcript

00:00 It was a large search effort here on the Bunnyong Mount Mercer Road and surrounding farmland

00:06 yesterday.

00:07 We saw the missing persons squad specialists with sniffer dogs and also an excavator brought

00:11 in to clear scrubland as police conducted a large search through here.

00:15 It led them to the dam behind me where yesterday afternoon they did find a phone that they

00:20 believe could belong to Miss Murphy.

00:22 There was cheers, hugging, high fives among the investigators when they found the phone

00:27 yesterday because it is potentially such a big breakthrough in this case.

00:31 It has dragged on for close to four months now.

00:34 The 51-year-old mother of three going for an early morning run back in February and

00:38 then disappearing seemingly without a trace.

00:41 It of course sparked national interest when we saw so many people going out and searching

00:46 for Miss Murphy with no leads as to her whereabouts.

00:49 We saw two months ago local man Patrick Oren-Stevenson charged with her murder but that still hasn't

00:55 led to the discovery of her body.

00:58 Police here yesterday sent divers into the dam.

01:01 It's a small shallow dam and that didn't seem to stir up any further leads but hopefully

01:06 the phone does lead to some closure for Miss Murphy's family.

01:10 So Nicholas, what's expected with the search today?

01:15 Police we understand won't be returning here today.

01:18 They've completed their search of this area.

01:20 They were here until right at the last light yesterday.

01:23 The focus very much now is on the forensic side of things, confirming if the phone is

01:28 Miss Murphy's and then seeing what information can be gleaned from it.

01:31 Of course it's been out here now for some four months.

01:34 The investigators say they are very much focused on finding Miss Murphy's body even though

01:40 this case has dragged on for so long.

01:43 And then further in the year we are yet to see Mr. Stevenson face court, facing that

01:48 murder charge.

01:49 He is due to appear next in August.

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