SEARCH FOR MISSING MUM LOCALS SPEAK OUT

A desperate community banded together to find Samantha

Locals in the regional city of Ballarat, Victoria, have told Woman's Day of their shock and heartache following the mysterious disappearance of Samantha Murphy last week.

The mother-of-three was last seen leaving her property on Eureka Street for a run in the Canadian State Forest just after 7am on February 4.

At the time of going to press, Samantha, 51, had not been found.

COMMUNITY SEARCH

In what has been dubbed the largest community response ever in the Ballarat region, hundreds of residents joined emergency crews to help look for Samantha.

Local Priscilla Grech spent last week searching with friends around a lookout. "I'm a mother-of-three too, and I just want to find her safe and sound and for her to be able to return to her family," Priscilla tells Woman's Day.

"I had a few other ladies with me. We split into groups of two and searched different tracks. It was very rough terrain - full of mine shafts and the tracks led off everywhere." She explained how Samantha's disappearance had affected everyone.

"It's shaken our community, but it is great to see so many people who are out searching.

I still have hope." Some residents initially voiced fears that Samantha may have fallen into one of the many hidden mine shafts in the area. However, local cyclist Danny Brizzi disputes this. "If you're a local, you always stick to the trails," he told Woman's Day.