Police have arrested a man in connection with the disappearance of Ballarat mum Samantha Murphy.
A 22-year-old Ballarat man was arrested shortly after 6am on Wednesday at his home by Missing Persons Squad detectives, Victoria Police said in a statement.
“He remains in custody, however no charges have been laid at this time,” police said.
The mum of three was last seen leaving her Eureka Street home about 7am on Sunday, February 4, to go for a 14-kilometre run through the nearby Woowookarung Regional Park.
“Despite a significant investigation and extensive searches of the Canadian Forest area, no trace of the 51-year-old has been located,” police said.
“There are no further updates at this time and the investigation remains ongoing.
“Police have also spoken with a number of people already as part of this investigation.
“We understand that there is a continued high level of interest in this investigation and concern about Samantha’s disappearance, however it remains critical that any speculation does not impede any aspects of the investigation.
“Detectives are continuing to appeal for anyone who has CCTV or dashcam footage and is yet to speak to police to come forward.
“Anyone who sights Samantha is asked to call triple-0 (000) immediately.
“Anyone with any other information regarding her disappearance is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential crime report at CrimeStoppers.com.au.”
Last month Ms Murphy’s husband Mick, 51, shared a heartbreaking message for the community.
“We want Sam home please,” he said.
Mr Murphy said his family was “doing the best we can under the circumstances”.
It followed an emotional media conference five days after her disappearance where Mick and his eldest daughter Jess, 22, begged the community for help.
“Mum’s a really strong woman, and she’s far too determined to give up this fight,” Jess said.
“Mum, we love you so much, and we miss you. We need you at home with us. 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.”
Mr Murphy added, “People just don’t vanish into thin air. Someone’s got to know something.”
Ms Murphy’s disappearance sparked a wide-scale search with hundreds of locals volunteering to help search the bushland where she usually runs, but no trace of the mum was found.
Detectives this week revealed they were using mobile phone data to piece together the movements of those who were in the area on the morning Ms Murphy disappeared.
Police had already used mobile phone data to narrow down her last-known location before she vanished.
Early reports suggested Ms Murphy’s phone pinged off the Buninyong tower, south of the Woowookarung Regional Park, at 5pm the day she went missing, though it has not been confirmed.
She is believed to have reached the Mount Clear area, adjacent to the park, about an hour after leaving home, but has not been seen or heard from since departing.
Police last month indicated it was unlikely Ms Murphy was still alive and that “more parties” may have been involved in moving her from the local area.
“Everyone” close to Ms Murphy was a “person of interest”, police said last month, while stressing her husband was not a suspect.
“We have a number of people that we are speaking to and I can say the family have been absolutely fantastic in co-operating with police,” Detective Acting Superintendent Mark Hatt told reporters.
“At this stage [Mr Murphy] is not [a suspect]. Everyone in relation to Samantha is a person of interest. In our investigation we are speaking to everyone that was in her life.“
frank.chung@news.com.au
— with NCA NewsWire