Police remain hopeful of finding missing Ballarat mother Samantha Murphy, almost one year on from her disappearance.
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Ms Murphy never returned home after leaving for a morning run on February 4, 2024.
Her disappearance sparked a massive community effort, with volunteers and emergency services combing the bushland around Mount Clear and Buninyong for any sign of her whereabouts.
A month after her disappearance, In March 2024, police charged 23-year-old tradesman Patrick Orren Stephenson with Ms Murphy's murder, but the search for her body still continues.
In a statement released on the eve of the anniversary of her disappearance, Detective Inspector Dave Dunstan said police had worked tirelessly to find Ms Murphy.
"While nothing can erase their grief and loss, being able to return Samantha to her family has always been incredibly important to us," Det Insp Dunstan said on Sunday.
"I want to reaffirm to the community that the Missing Persons Squad remains committed to doing everything we can to locate Samantha - while a year has passed, we still believe we can locate her.
"This year we will continue to conduct searches in the Ballarat area, including searches in areas highlighted by intelligence derived from a number of sources."
He called on locals using areas of interest to be aware of their surroundings and contact police immediately if they believe they may have come across her remains.
"There is nothing we want more than to return Samantha to her family and we remain committed to doing this," he said.
Over the past year police have conducted multiple searches in the Enfield State Park, Canadian Forest and Buninyong Bushland Reserve.
Dogs, police on motorbikes, and teams of volunteers have been used to navigate the dense and difficult-to-navigate bushland of the search area, but all have failed.
On May 29, 2024, investigators found a phone believed to have belonged to Ms Murphy in a farm dam on a property off the Buninyong-Mount Mercer Road.
The phone was sent off for forensic testing, but police have not revealed if it provided any further information into Ms Murphy's disappearance.
Stephenson pleaded not guilty to murder in November as he elected to fast-track his criminal trial.
With AAP
