Victoria Police are now waiting on forensic test results after finding “items of interest” in the Samantha Murphy investigation.

Detectives from the Missing Persons Squad located a phone in Buninyong, south of Ballarat on Wednesday morning during a fresh search for the Ballarat woman.

The area where the phone was found has been cordoned off while Victoria Police wait for forensic test findings.

“At this stage, we are not providing further information about the items until that testing has been completed,” a Victoria Police spokeswoman said.

The 51-year-old mother was last seen on 4 February after she left her home to go on a run in the Canadian State Forest.

The search location is believed to be a few kilometers south of where Murphy’s phone last pinged on the morning she disappeared.

Patrick Orren Stephenson, a 22-year-old tradesman was charged for the murder of Murphy in March this year. He will return to court in August.

Police confirmed on Thursday morning that the search of the Buninyong area had finished and that the investigation was ongoing.

Photo: Police car by rawpixel is available HERE and is used under a Creative Commons Licence. This image has not been modified.