Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #10

[Hatfield]

ITA

And an animal attack likely would have left blood, torn clothing, or some sign of struggle.

I agree that it seems like LE would have found some sign of her being dragged away.

In that area of the country, cougars scare me more than black bears. Because they are stealthy and stalk from a distance so you dont usually know they are even there until they decide to pounce and attack. My understanding is they will usually grab their prey by the throat if they can and they like to drag off their prey to a secluded area to feed on the prey.

If a cougar had taken her and was in a hurry to run away, my guess is it would go uphill because it is easier for them to run uphill. Have you ever seen how a cat can easily scramble up stuff but when going down, it is harder on them. Similar to humans too how we can sometimes climb up serious stuff but not be able to get down. So, if I had to guess which way a cougar would go, I would guess uphill too like BM did. But I would also have guessed search dogs or LE would have seen some sign around the scene of the bike so I dont put the cougar up there too high in this case. It is just interesting to me because I dont think a lot of people know how it can and does happen in areas where cougars exist. Not many states are known for a decent size cougar population. Colorado is one of them though.

I've never seen one in the wild but I have read up a lot about them and their behaviors.

The main attacks on humans are children and smaller frame adults although I would not put it past them to attack even larger adults if hungry enough. Cougars are very strong and powerful and could easily drag off someone the size of SM if one had attacked her. They could take someone even heavier if hungry enough, but they are not dumb and they want to take on something they know they could easily subdue and drag away.

The 2nd last link below states...
"Adult males are around 2.4 m (7.9 feet) long from nose to tail tip.....Males generally weigh 53 to 100 kg (117 to 220 pounds)...."

The 1st link and below article I found today is interesting as it gets further down in the article. Talks a lot about actual cases.

Killer Cougars

Cougar - Wikipedia

 

[LietKynes]

I think what Lietkynes mean about "no description" it is referring to the victim, Suzanne Morphew, not the suspect!!!
Moo

Yes, thank you; that is correct.
Not sure who thought I was referring to TD (video guy).
It would be a stretch, for sure !

 

[Area52]

The Missing Person poster not only has a description, it also has photos of SM. LE is not treating this case any different than any other missing person case that I've followed.

JMO

The missing person poster put out by the Chaffee County sheriff's office does not have any description of Suzanne Morphew. It does not describe her height, weight, hair color or eye color. These things are usually in a missing person poster. So I agree with Lietkynes, it very unusual. But if you have seen a poster from LE with a description, please link it. Thanks

 

[LietKynes]

No.
It wasn't that LE said the weren't needed.

"Morphew's colleagues from the Maysville Fire Station have also been attempting to help with the search, although one told DailyMail.com they have been warned off by police. Tim Nelson, 33, said: 'The Sheriff's office, they told us none of the fire guys are allowed up there."

Suzanne Morphew's husband was paid to lay dirt at the building site Colorado cops are searching | Daily Mail Online

Ita.

It's also called a 'conflict of interest'.
Period.
End of discussion ( I don't mean you or here at WS ).
We can speculate here and I'm curious by "warned off by police" , if any firefighters had tried to help search ??
Did it become awkward ?


I was thinking about how tight-lipped and professionally LE have handled this.
Think about it, having to work around people's rumors on sm and also the possibility of someone who's working against LE and doesn't want them solving this.
Really odd thing to say, but other cases have shown some people can be amazingly deceptive if their freedom is on the line.
Imo.

I can imagine the frustration of LE trying to work this case and find justice for Suzanne.

 

[LietKynes]

MVHO, devils advocate, if I were innocent, and I thought the bike had something that might help bring my spouse home, I’d be upset, even if I had no reason to doubtLE, especially if someone else suggested it to ...on the fence, neither do I fault LE, IMO even tho the probability that a family member is involved. LE is not likely to ignore other scenarios...IMO doesn’t it take as long to clear a person as it does to arrest one in cases like this? JMO

My take is that LE are working diligently and carefully to solve this case, and are getting their ducks in a row.

 

[LietKynes]

The missing person poster put out by the Chaffee County sheriff's office does not have any description of Suzanne Morphew. It does not describe her height, weight, hair color or eye color. These things are usually in a missing person poster. So I agree with Lietkynes, it very unusual. But if you have seen a poster from LE with a description, please link it. Thanks

bbm
I think the poster with the photo of Suzanne with her biking outfit and helmet were not put out by the sheriff's office; but rather a private group of friends or family ?

Afaik, there has been zero 'missing' posters or description made public by LE.
Which has us all guessing and trying to figure out what happened.

 

[Dave F.]

H'mmmm.........SM's hometown Anderson, Indiana Herald newspaper has featured this story nine times, while the Chaffee County Times (Colorado) has not run the story at all. Could it be that people in Chaffee County just don't talk as much?

heraldbulletin.com
chaffeecountytimes.com | The Chaffee County Times | Buena Vista, Chaffee County Colorado, breaking news, entertainment, sports, classifieds

 

[ChuckMaureen]

MOO

SM's bike was discovered in a moderate ravine just off the side of the road, as if the bike was thrown there. According to BM, LE recovered the bike but did not properly photo record it's location and potentially destroyed surrounding surface evidence.

As I watched and listened to BM, I believed him. SM was either abducted or attacked by an animal.

Take in to account the COVID-19 lock down... many people were under stay-at-home orders so the great outdoors was nearly devoid of humans for a time. I could imagine animals taking advantage of the situation, boldly wandering in the out and about where they would otherwise rarely traverse, such as roadways where SM seeming was riding her bike.

What makes me lean away from the animal attack scenario is the "personal item" claimed to belong to SM that was discovered down the road from the bike location. That leads me to thinking that SM was, indeed, abducted and that she managed to toss that item out through a window of the vehicle in which she was being abducted.

I do not believe BM was involved in the disappearance of SM.

MOO

 

[Gigi3]

^^RSBBM

I believe members are referring to response by VI @ riolove77 which to my knowledge is the same as quoted below (e.g., post has not been deleted).

Thank you! That’s the one I was referencing.

 

[Feistyomi]

Worst case scenario, how could the bike in this case get "tainted" enough to actually hurt this investigation or case in court? It doesn't belong to the alleged abductor, so one wouldn't expect to find their fingerprints on it. If BMs prints are on it, that proves nothing because he could always claim he'd touched it in the past to put it on a bike rack. A total absence of any prints means nothing because of biking gloves or dried mud, rain, or a recent cleaning, etc.

Obviously if a car had dented it, LE would have handled it very carefully. But other than that, the bike's value lay in how and where it was found (abandoned, on its side, apparently). So I don't see how any "less than perfect handling" of the bike by LE could in any way hurt BM or hinder the overall case. And I don't even believe that it got "tainted" it in the first place or that it's real evidence, for that matter--I think that this is just another ploy by BM to distract us.

MVHO, devils advocate, if I were innocent, and I thought the bike had something that might help bring my spouse home, I’d be upset, even if I had no reason to doubtLE, especially if someone else suggested it to ...on the fence, neither do I fault LE, IMO even tho the probability that a family member is involved. LE is not likely to ignore other scenarios...IMO doesn’t it take as long to clear a person as it does to arrest one in cases like this? JMO

I believe we are allowed to sleuth mountain lion but not his family members.

JMO, attempted humor, perhaps an intrepid journalist can get that scoop,also.

 

[Murphy1950]

I'm sorry, I am probably too tired to be reading now.

RSBM...

Hear you. I've been there. You have added a tremendous amount to the page/conversation today, thanks.

 

[al66pine]

BM, Action to File Against Youtuber?
After thinking about suggestion that BM file defamation lawsuit against Youtuber (TD?), I thought about other tort actions might apply. Of those described below, I don't see that BM has a sound basis for any of them, but I could be missing something. Maybe someone else will see a fit there. Or maybe a different type of tort altogether. imo

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Defamation "Related torts
"Some jurisdictions have a separate tort or delict of injury, intentional infliction of emotional distress, outrageousness, or convicium, involving the making of a statement, even if truthful, intended to harm the claimant out of malice; some have a separate tort or delict of "invasion of privacy" in which the making of a true statement may give rise to liability: but neither of these comes under the general heading of "defamation". Some jurisdictions also have the tort of "false light", in which a statement may be technically true, but so misleading as to be defamatory. There is also, in almost all jurisdictions, a tort or delict of "misrepresentation", involving the making of a statement that is untrue even though not defamatory. Thus a surveyor who states a house is free from risk of flooding has not defamed anyone, but may still be liable to someone who purchases the house relying on this statement. Other increasingly common claims similar to defamation in U.S. law are claims that a famous trademark has been diluted through tarnishment, see generally trademark dilution, "intentional interference with contract", and "negligent misrepresentation".
^ Defamation - Wikipedia ^

 

[Seattle1]

From the video BM makes it sound as if he saw the bike and the way it was lying on its side and the direction the wheel was facing. My question to that is when did LE find the bike? If 911 was called at around 5:45 or so and he didn’t get home until 9:00 pm from Denver did LE leave the bike there for him to see? Then he talks about how they contaminated it but he could have missed the 3 hours of daylight spent processing the bike and looking at tracks etc. He makes it sound as if he was there at the scene the whole time but then says he didn’t come back into town until 3 hours after she was reported missing. Moo

This had to be the strangest part of the video to me. I agree, too many details from the husband when he allegedly arrived home after dark.

First, we know from nephew TN that the bike was located on Sunday so that leaves the hours 5:45 pm to midnight.

Then, we have BM blaming LE for allowing 10 people to touch the bike -- suggesting they contaminated evidence, and how BM seemed to have so much knowledge about the bike to the point he seemed to catch himself as he was talking about the position of the tire. This practically screamed to me that the husband knows far too much about the bike!

JMO

 

[Gigi3]

Why would LE do that? Why alert the real abductor/killer they are no longer looking at BM? I don't see any advantage in LE doing that.

JMO

Well, IMO it would put an end to all the speculation about BM. I’ve seen cases where significant others are cleared, such as Mollie Tibbits and Heidi Broussard, so that all the rumors could be put to rest.

If they have evidence that could clear an innocent man, the advantage would be to stop all tips/information regarding that person and focus on the real killer/abductor. Why wouldn’t LE do that? MOO

 

[NervousNellie]

LE has released a missing person poster just as they have done in all other missing person cases and they've also asked the public to review security video. If nobody witnessed the abduction, how does LE know what the person looked like?

JMO

I just checked the Sheriff’s FB and did not find a missing persons poster. Would you

^^RSBBM

I believe members are referring to response by VI @ riolove77 which to my knowledge is the same as quoted below (e.g., post has not been deleted).

Yikes! Thank you. I looked for it (he was responding to me!) and couldn’t find it. Thank you for setting the record straight.

 

[Dave F.]

The "personal item" belonging to SM found by LE searchers was announced in the Chaffee County Sheriff Bulletin dated Friday May 15, 2020. The bicycle was discovered the morning of Monday May 11, 2020. It is doubtful that the two were in close proximity. IMO
HWY 50 Temporary Closure for Search for missing woman - Chaffee County Sheriff

 

[Feistyomi]

MOO

SM's bike was discovered in a moderate ravine just off the side of the road, as if the bike was thrown there. According to BM, LE recovered the bike but did not properly photo record it's location and potentially destroyed surrounding surface evidence.

As I watched and listened to BM, I believed him. SM was either abducted or attacked by an animal.

Take in to account the COVID-19 lock down... many people were under stay-at-home orders so the great outdoors was nearly devoid of humans for a time. I could imagine animals taking advantage of the situation, boldly wandering in the out and about where they would otherwise rarely traverse, such as roadways where SM seeming was riding her bike.

What makes me lean away from the animal attack scenario is the "personal item" claimed to belong to SM that was discovered down the road from the bike location. That leads me to thinking that SM was, indeed, abducted and that she managed to toss that item out through a window of the vehicle in which she was being abducted.

I do not believe BM was involved in the disappearance of SM.

MOO

JMHO, I tried to sleep last nite and came to the same conclusion...posted my thoughts approx 3:30am fwiw
I try to keep as open minded as I can but even w/ the statistics and everyone’s input, there is still enough doubt for me to be on the fence
Therefore, for the numbers people, how many family, relationship, or acquaintance dissapearances W/ no body end up as cold cases?
There are several I follow, in my state, one was a teenager, one a young adult, neither had a SO and families were devastated.
I understand they are rare, and hopefully becoming rarer.
I know math, I just don’t...how many resolved cases involving murderers close to victim does it take for random to pop back up?
IMO. The definition of random implies no pattern.
I am not biased by BM, I am biased by SM , for her, I need BM to be innocent.MVHO

 

[dixiegirl1035]

It was almost two weeks from the date SM went missing to when we heard from the Fire Chief for the first time (May 21- Crimeonline) who said SM usually went biking before church but could not confirm SM went to church on May 10.

I never doubted that BM repeated his "let me tell you what happened" when offering SM bikes before church to his firefighter buddies during that two week period (before Fire Chief interview). MOO

Ita.
Also keep in mind that LE wanted people to keep their security footage from the 8th....

One additional observation ...

BM never answers Ty's question asking when was the last time anyone saw SM. He doesn't answer the question!!! Not even a "We're not sure". Completely dances around it. This is telling, IMO. Starts with saying it was Mother's Day and then relates the story about the girls trying to text her and getting no response. I think he wants to leave the impression that she went missing on Sunday, but he never states this is the case. I don't believe he specified to Ty when he left for Denver, but will listen again to be certain. The girls were camping for some number of days (we don't know how many). They may have been out of cell reach for days, for all we know. We're not allowed to sleuth them, so will leave it at that. My point is, he gave a story to lead you to believe she went missing Sunday, but even with what little we know, there's no evidence being reported that this is what happened.

Yeppers, he's trying to point that she must have gone missing on Sunday (and not before?) because she rides her bike on Sunday... the day I have an alibi. Therefore, no need to look into my need to have an alibi on Saturday or Friday folks.

ummm, okie dokey.

 

[LietKynes]

At one point during the video BM pointed up the hillside and said to TD that the Colorado Trail runs from here all the way to Denver. TD didn’t ask him about the Colorado Trail but BM offered that information anyway.

I looked it up and the CT can be traveled on foot, 4WD, bike, by car.

Traveling the CT

‘There are many ways to enjoy The Colorado Trail, from a day-hike, bike or ride, to a multi-day trip through some of the state’s best backcountry, to an end-to-end excursion beginning in either Denver or Durango. There are dozens of access points to the CT’s 567 miles of trail. These are accessible by car, 4-wheel-drive, bike, horse, on foot, or even by train.’

Traveling the CT - Colorado Trail Foundation

bbm
Did he think she might have ridden her bike in that direction ?
Towards Denver ?
That city seems to come up a lot in this case.
A family member said at the beginning of the investigation that BM had business in Denver.

Later refuted by the fire chief.
Speaking of which... has he had anything to add lately ?

Why this extra information that's not needed, and wasn't asked for ?
Maybe just because some people are tougher to figure out.

Did anyone else know that she was riding her bike that day ?
Tbh, I doubt there was a bike ride.
Imo.

 

[branmuffin]

There were two videos. #1 was TD entering Maysville, walking the area, approaching the M residence driveway etc. He was alone and narrating what the terrain looks like, how busy the road(s) are etc. Also This is when the bag “Day #4” that has been referred to was found. It was next to a mile marker in a field. In this video he walks by the river and past two vehicles before arriving at his Red truck. One of the parked vehicles was BM’s truck and it was empty. When he begins his walk down the “bike path” BM comes out of the trees (in TD’s words) shirtless, soaking and distraught gets in his truck and then drives away. Supposedly, BM returns and TD is there and they have the conversation you have now seen. I posted video #1 last night but I didn’t download it. He waited to post the video we have been discussing until he spoke to LE and an attorney for some legal advice.

This whole thing is so bizarre.

Edited to read Truck not trick.

That is bizarre. I would very much like to see that video.