The tearful daughter of a Ballarat woman has pleaded for her mother's safe return, five days after she went missing during a run.
Emergency crews are continuing the search for Samantha Murphy who disappeared on Sunday.
"We need you at home with us," Ms Murphy's eldest daughter Jess told a press conference in Ballarat on Thursday.
"Please come home soon, I can't wait to see you and to give you the biggest hug."
The 51-year-old was last seen leaving her Eureka Street home at Ballarat East about 7am on Sunday.
Police say her disappearance is out of character and they are concerned for her welfare after temperatures reached 36C.
Emergency crews continue to search East Ballarat, the Canadian Forest area and Mount Helen.
Acting Inspector Lisa McDougall said no suspicious circumstances had been identified.
But CCTV footage does show a person running in the opposite direction of the search area.
"So that CCTV footage is being examined and analysed to see if there is relevance," Insp McDougall told reporters in Ballarat.
A friend of Ms Murphy said she was an extremely dedicated mum and described the situation as an "absolute nightmare rollercoaster".
"Sam is the most strong woman I know and I'm not just talking about mind, I'm also talking about body," Virginia O'Loughlan told Sunrise.
"Sam is a fierce woman who will be doing whatever she can at the moment to make sure that she's reunited with her family."
Ms Murphy's friend praised the community for their efforts in searching for the missing mum, saying she was a sensible person who would have stuck to the tracks.
"We need as many people as we can out there, whether it be on car, on foot, horseback, motorbike, just continually looking and just trying to work out where Sam would be," she said.
Police on Wednesday released more CCTV footage they said showed Ms Murphy running at 7.16am on Sunday near her home, heading towards Yankee Flat Road.
Residents in the area have been asked to review any CCTV they have between 7am to 11am on Sunday.
Crews found some items on Wednesday but they were not believed to be related to Ms Murphy's whereabouts.
Ms Murphy is Caucasian, about 173cm tall with a slim build and shoulder-length blonde hair.
She was last seen wearing black half-length leggings and a maroon or brown singlet.
