A criminologist believes that Samantha Murphy, who has been missing since February, is the ideal victim in the country’s ongoing search for missing people.
The 51-old mother of three was last seen leaving her home in Ballarat on February 4.
Despite a massive search effort, which involved hundreds of volunteers and police officers, no sign of her has been found.
Xanthe Mallett, a well-known criminologist, said that cases such as Murphy’s are rare in Australia.
She noted that it only occurs occasionally that a missing individual case hits a chord.
According to her, Murphy was most likely living a normal life before she went missing.
According to Prof. Mallett, Murphy’s case has caused many Australians to believe that it could happen to them.
Crime expert John Silvester said that due to the lack of secrets in the case, it has become an interesting topic for the public.
He noted that there could be a suspect among the hundreds of people who participated in the search effort.
He said that one of them may have been a killer who became part of the community.
Some people believe that Murphy fell into an abandoned mine shaft in the city, which used to be a bustling gold mining region.
But locals say this theory is not feasible as she was very familiar with the area.
The police stated that they are currently searching for a body.
They also noted that those close to Murphy have been identified as persons of interest.