It was the very first tree they checked.
And beneath layers of old, decomposed leaves, investigators believe they may have uncovered Samantha Murphy’s final silent sign — along with DNA linked to someone no one expected.
Sources say the discovery sent an immediate chill through the search team.
“That’s when everything changed,” one insider revealed.
A Routine Sweep Turns Into A Bombshell
The area had already been sealed off.
The forest was quiet.
The operation methodical.
But as searchers lifted matted leaves at the base of a single tree near the Buninyong bushland zone, they reportedly noticed disturbed ground that didn’t match natural decay.
What came next stunned investigators.
The DNA That Raised Eyebrows
According to sources familiar with the operation, forensic teams identified trace DNA believed to be connected to the case — and not from the person many assumed.
While police have not publicly confirmed whose DNA it may be, insiders say it has been described as “unexpected”, triggering urgent reviews of timelines, access routes, and prior assumptions.
“It wasn’t supposed to be there,” a source said quietly.
Why This Tree Matters
Experts note that decomposed leaf layers act like a natural seal — meaning anything beneath them may have been placed deliberately, not recently disturbed by weather or animals.
That has fueled chilling questions:
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Was this a meeting point?
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A pause?
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Or the last place Samantha Murphy left behind evidence of another presence?
Investigators are now reportedly treating the site as highly significant.
A Case Rewritten From The Ground Up
What’s most unsettling, sources say, is that this clue appeared right at the beginning of the search zone, not deep inside it.
“If this holds,” one insider noted,
“then the narrative of how and where she disappeared may be wrong.”
That possibility has detectives quietly revisiting earlier theories — and people.
Family Waiting As Silence Grows
Friends of the Murphy family say they are bracing themselves as police remain tight-lipped.
No names released.
No confirmation denied.
Just a growing sense that the case has entered a dangerous new phase.
One Question No One Can Ignore
As forensic testing continues, the discovery under that single tree has left investigators grappling with one haunting thought:
If Samantha Murphy left her final sign there — who was standing with her when she did?
And why is their DNA there at all?