A new search for the body of Melbourne mother Samantha Murphy has been launched in the small town of Buninyong.
The area is around 11km away from Ballarat, where Murphy was last seen leaving her home for a run on February 4.
A police operation to find her was launched after she failed to attend a brunch later that day.
On February 23, police said they believed somebody else was involved in Murphy's disappearance.
Victoria Police then arrested and charged 22-year-old Patrick Stephenson with her murder on March 6. Police said Stephenson, an electrician and the son of former AFL player Orren Stephenson, was not known to Murphy or her family.
Initially, police said Stephenson was not cooperating with authorities to help find Murphy's body.
Victorian authorities specifically asked members of the public not to join in today's search.
They said specialists from the mounted police, dog squad, and the search and rescue squad will comb through the Buninyong Bushland Reserve. Police said the area had been highlighted by "intelligence derived from a number of sources".
"Hopefully today's search will benefit the investigation or provide further avenues of enquiry for police," Detective Acting Superintendent Mark Hatt said. "We will also look at further searches in the Ballarat area as the investigation progresses."
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