INTO THIN AIR
Painstaking search for Samantha Murphy dubbed ‘Australia’s Nicola Bulley’ as vanishing off face of earth while on jog
Experienced runner Samantha was meant to join her family for a brunch after jog but never made it back
A PAINSTAKING search for a mum who vanished in Australia has chilling echoes of the Nicola Bulley case that gripped the UK last year.
A frantic search for missing mum-of-three Samantha Murphy, 51, was launched after she went missing during a run over a month ago.
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With her devastated family still holding out hope, a 22-year-old man was charged with her murder today in a tragic twist.
Policealleged she was murdered at Mount Clear around 6 miles from her hometown Ballarat on the day she disappeared while they said the location of her body is still unknown.
The suspect, the son of a former Australian Football League player, was taken into custody yesterday in relation to Samantha's disappearance.
After being quizzed by cops, who believe it was not a hit-and-run incident, the suspect was charged with murder.
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It was the first breakthrough in the case of Samantha who was dubbed "Australia's Nicola Bulley" after she mysteriously disappeared sparking wild theories - as happened in Nicola's case in the UK.
MYSTERY DISAPPEARANCE
Samantha was last seen leaving her home on February 4, around 7am.
An experienced runner, Samantha was headed to the Canadian State Forest wearing black leggings and a maroon top for a nine-mile jog.
She was meant to join her husband Mick and their children for brunch at 11am but never made it back.
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The mum's disappearance sparked a large-scale search with locals volunteering to help scour the area but to no avail.
On February 9, homicide detectives from the Missing Persons Squad joined the search.
Ten days later police said they were treating her disappearance as suspicious.
'People don't just vanish', says Nicola Bulley's devastated partner Paul Ansell in doc on first anniversary of her death
Her eldest daughter Jess, 22, begged the local for community for help as she sent an emotional message to her mum.
She said: “Mum’s a really strong woman, and she’s far too determined to give up this fight.
“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.”
Samantha's worried husband Mick, 51, urged anyone with information to come forward and said: “People just don’t vanish into thin air. Someone’s got to know something.”
His words are a chilling echo of the emotional plea Nicolla Bulley's sister Louise made last year when the mum-of-two disappeared after dropping her daughters at school.
NICOLA BULLEY LINK
Despite their differences, the two cases share eerie similarities - for starters, they involve loving mums who vanished without a trace and for no apparent reason.
45-year-old Nicola, was last seen in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire, on January 27, walking along a river path with her dog.
An extensive search was launched along the river spanning to Rawcliffe Road as well as nearby footpaths.
Her disappearance sparked wild conspiracy theories by online sleuths that were fuelled even more after her phone was found on a bench still connected to a work conference call.
Tragically, her body was found by two dog walkers less than a mile from where she was last seen three weeks after she went missing.
An inquest into her death found she died from drowning.
DESPERATE FOR ANSWERS
While Nicola's family may be able to get some closure, Samantha's family is still desperate for answers as they cannot see any connection to the alleged suspect.
Her dad John ‘Pud’ Robson, told the : “I haven’t got the faintest, mate. Not in that age range.
“I can only hope that he is the bloke responsible because that way, we might get a bit of closure.
“You know, it’s sort of too late to think that she might still be alive.”
Speaking outside their home, husband Mick said: "The adrenaline with everything that’s been going on, it’s just, it’s trying to be brave for everybody.
“It’s something you wouldn’t want anybody to experience.”
“It is (a relief). Definitely. It’s like something has just let the pressure valve off sort of thing. It hasn’t been good near on five weeks.
"Anyway, we’re doing as good as we can. Keeping a brave face.”
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Police had previously revealed they were using mobile phone data to piece together Samantha's last movements and believe she reached the Mount Clear area about an hour after leaving home
Cops last month alleged that “more parties” may have been involved in the mum's disappearance.
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