A former detective has revealed the challenges that investigators face in the search for Samantha Murphy, who has been missing for over a month.
The 51-year-old mother of three was last seen on February 4 while she was running.
Since the start of the investigation, the community has rallied around to help search for her.
Hundreds of people have searched the areas where she usually runs.
According to Narelle Fraser, a retired police officer, the actions of the community could be contributing to the investigators’ difficulties.
She noted that if the people who help search for Samantha come across anything that they believe could be related to the case, they could approach the police.
The law enforcers then have to investigate the matter and determine whether or not it is a part of the investigation.
This can be a lengthy process and it can cause frustration.
The task is immense, as there is a lot of information coming in, and the investigators have to go through every rabbit burrow in order to find something that they might not have noticed earlier.
During the early 2000s, Ms. Fraser was part of the team that handled the cases of Anna Kemp, who was pregnant at that time, and her infant daughter, who went missing.
The investigators spent over a week going through garbage bags in an area south of Melbourne before they came across the bodies.
Over the past month, the local police and the members of the public have been conducting searches in the area near Ms. Murphy’s home in Ballarat East.
Unfortunately, no sign of the missing mother has been found.