Homicide police are joining the increasingly desperate search for Ballarat mother Samantha Murphy, which is entering its sixth day.

The detectives from Victoria Police’s missing persons squad may be called in on Friday to help in the investigation, the Herald Sun reports.

About 40 local police officers are expected on the ground in Ballarat, hopeful of finding any sign of the 51-year-old, who vanished on her Sunday run.

It comes as local political identity Sissy Austin said Murphy’s disappearance had “triggered” her own experience of being attacked while running trails in Ballarat almost a year ago.

“My inbox is flooded with people sending love and expressing that this all must be triggering for me. Of course it is, it’s triggering for any woman who’s been attacked running,” she said on Facebook.

The “terrifying” attack that left Austin unconscious on the forest floor was reported to police and broadcast by media at the time in February 2023.

Austin, a former Greens Senate candidate, was running in Lal Lal State Forest on a Saturday morning when a man struck her on the head with a rock tied to the end of a stick.

She woke on the ground with blood streaming down her face and had to run about four kilometres back to her car to call for help, the ABC reported at the time.

“It was terrifying trying to find my way back through the tracks to my car,” said Austin in 2023.

“After I woke up on the ground, the whole bush was spinning, but I think adrenaline and the ancestors guided me back to my car.”

Police at the time said “nothing” like that had occurred in the area in recent memory, and advised people to run in pairs.

Austin was running and listening to music via her smartwatch when she was attacked.

The man was described as Caucasian and was wearing black jeans, a cap and no shoes or shirt.

Sissy Austin ended up in hospital after she was attacked while running trails in Ballarat.

Austin has been helping with the search for Murphy. She told The Project some “unruly men” were harassing female search volunteers in the forest.

‘I just can’t believe that another runner has gone missing in our town and so, yeah, the most useful thing I feel like I can do with myself at this time is help search for Sam,” she said on the program on Thursday night.

“It’s an eerie feeling out here. It’s hard for everyone, but it’s not as hard for us as it is for Sam’s family.

‘My heart and soul goes out to Sam’s family and if they’re watching this, we’re doing absolutely everything that we can to search for Sam.’

Family distraught

Murphy – known to family and friends as a mentally and physically strong woman – was last seen leaving her Eureka Street home at Ballarat East about 7am on Sunday to go for a run.

Search crews have canvassed a vast area of Ballarat, in central Victoria, looking for the mother of three. State Emergency Service personnel and the Country Fire Authority have helped police comb Ballarat East, the Canadian Forest area and Mount Helen in recent days.

The local community has also helped with the search, with residents picking through scrub on the roadsides throughout the day, or after finishing work.

Police were preparing to determine Friday’s focus area ahead of search efforts resuming at first light. They were expected to again call in drones from the police air wing.

Murphy’s distraught eldest daughter Jess on Thursday called for help to bring her mother home.

“I know she’s out there somewhere, so if you could please continue to search for her to give us something to work with, we’d really appreciate it,” she said.

The missing mother’s husband Mick added: “People just don’t vanish into thin air.”

Samantha Murphy has not been seen since leaving her Ballarat home early on Sunday.

Police said CCTV released on Wednesday that they initially thought showed Murphy running on Eureka Street was actually someone else. It has since been discounted as relevant to the investigation.

They have asked residents in the suburbs of Ballarat East, Canadian and Mount Helen to review any CCTV or dashcam they have between 7-11am on Sunday for any sign of Murphy.

Anyone with information about Murphy’s disappearance should contact Crime Stoppers.

-with AAP