Search for missing Ballarat mum Samantha Murphy resumes

Officers will focus on "an area highlighted by intelligence derived from a number of sources".

Members of the public have been asked not to join the search, which is based about 20 kilometres south from the Murphy family home.

Officers out scouring the area include those who specialise in missing persons, search and rescue, road policing, local members, the public order response team, mounted branch and dog squad.

The Murphy family was made aware the search was being undertaken.

The new probe follows unsuccessful efforts in the Canadian State Forest over the past months.

Previous searches have failed to find any trace of Samantha Murphy. (Joe Armao/AAP PHOTOS)

The 51-year-old was last seen leaving home on Eureka Street to go for a run in Canadian State Forest on the morning of February 4.

Police in March charged 22-year-old tradesman Patrick Orren Stephenson with her murder at Mount Clear on the day she went missing. He will return to court in August.

Stephenson is the son of Orren Stephenson, who played 15 AFL games for Geelong and Richmond between 2012 and 2014.

Detective Acting Superintendent Mark Hatt described Thursday's effort as an "extensive" large scale search that built on targeted searches in other areas.

"I want to assure those in the Ballarat community that police remain focused on doing everything we can to return Samantha to her family," he said.

The regional western Victorian city has been rocked by a series of tragedies this year including Ms Murphy's disappearance, a mine collapse that claimed the life of miner Kurt Hourigan, the death of mother-of-five Rebecca Young and bushfires in surrounding areas.

On April 5, 23-year-old Hannah McGuire was found dead in a burnt out car at Scarsdale.

Ballarat locals plan to stage a rally in the centre of the city on Friday evening as an act of solidarity in the fight to end violence against women.

A description of the event on social media said women do not feel safe in Ballarat.