Husband knew instantly phone found near dam belonged to Samantha Murphy

Samantha Murphy's husband says he knew instantly a phone found beside a dam on the outskirts of Ballarat yesterday belonged to his missing wife.

Today it was confirmed the iPhone found yesterday near Slaughterhouse Road, south of Buninyong, had belonged to the 51-year-old mother.

The dam was just five kilometres away from the phone tower where her mobile last pinged.

READ MORE: How the investigation into the disappearance of Samantha Murphy unfolded

Her husband Mick Murphy was called after police made the discovery.

He today told 9News he immediately knew it was hers.

Investigators now hope data from the device can lead them to her body and finally provide closure to her loved ones.

"The physical properties of the phone will obviously be damaged but what's behind it, those ones and zeroes of data, will be retrievable," cybersecurity expert Nigel Phair told 9News.

"This is the game changer for the investigation."

The phone was found inside a wallet that held identification cards, which are also being treated as crucial pieces of evidence.

READ MORE: Chinese national arrested over 'world's largest' cybercrime botnet

Police divers searched the dam itself for Murphy's body but she has not yet been found.

9News understands police will be back in the area to look for clues and determine how her phone ended up at the rural property.

"Of all the waterways to explore they've chosen this one, I believe quite firmly, for a reason," criminologist Tim Watson-Munro told 9News.

Murphy, 51, was last seen leaving her home on Eureka Street in Ballarat East to go for a run in the Canadian State Forest on the morning of February 4.

On March 8, 22-year-old Patrick Orren Stephenson was charged with her murder.

9News understands he is still not cooperating with police.

READ MORE: Authorities continue search for man who disappeared two decades ago

Detectives from the Missing Persons Squad, together with a range of specialist resources including federal police, spent hours yesterday searching south of Buninyong.

The 9News helicopter captured video of police officers cheering and hugging after finding the phone inside a wallet-like cover beside the dam about 12.25pm.

Police said they "have been regularly undertaking a range of enquiries and small-scale searches as part of the current investigation" since Murphy went missing.

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