Detectives from the Missing Persons Squad, together with a range of specialist resources including federal police, have spent the day performing a “targeted search” south of Buninyong, about five kilometres south of where Samantha’s phone last pinged to a mobile phone tower.
9News has footage of police seizing a phone inside a wallet-like phone cover with identification cards inside from beside the dam about 12.25pm.
Aerial footage showed police celebrating after sniffer dogs made the discovery on a private property, not far from a roadside.
Police have confirmed they “located some items of interest”, which will be forensically tested.
“At this stage we are not providing further information about the items until that testing has been completed,” a police spokesperson has said.
Police divers spent the late afternoon searching the dam.
Metal detectors were also used to scour the water.
The owner of the property told 9News the water level in the dam hadn’t been as low in at least six months.
Investigators have said they initially planned to set aside three days to search the dam and area, but have moved more quickly than anticipated, and will not be returning to the farm tomorrow.
Detectives have said they will regroup tonight and decide where to continue searching for the mother’s body.
An excavator digger was also seen clearing bushes beside the dirt road.
A resident who lives along the road where police are searching has told 9News they were warned a couple of weeks ago that police would be searching the area over this period of time for any links to this missing Ballarat mother.
Victoria Police have asked members of the public not to attend the search.
”Police are undertaking a targeted search in the Ballarat area today as part of the investigation into the disappearance of Samantha Murphy,” police said this morning.
“We are not in a position to supply further specific details of today’s operational activity at this time.”
Detectives said they “have been regularly undertaking a range of enquiries and small-scale searches as part of the current investigation” since Murphy went missing.
Samantha’s family has also been advised of the search.
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