Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #11

[JaePim]

Well I have been teetering on the fence about Barry’s guilt.

Without knowing any evidence LE has I thought he just might be innocent. Everyone kept posting about him not speaking, or the way he acts or doesn’t act, the way LE won’t make a statement, etc.

Then the Tyson Draper video came out and I began to feel Barry is innocent for sure because he was relaxed, calm, and seemed genuinely interested in sharing his theories on what happened to Suzanne. The majority of posters here said the video was staged by both Barry and Tyson. I do not believe that.

Then Tyson spoke and said not only was it not staged, but that he thinks Barry IS guilty by what we didn’t see, the look in his eyes.
He also said Barry was nervous and his story appeared rehearsed.

I am anxious to get off the fence!

Here we have a stranger talking to Barry and having the feeling the guy is guilty. Now I don’t know Draper but that is his gut instinct.

I don’t know how all you guys came to the conclusion that Barry's guilty but I have been on WS long enough to realize you all pretty much call it every time.

I’m interested in knowing why you have that “gut feeling” that he is guilty. Is it because he is the husband? Or because he isn’t out there begging for help to find her? Or because LE has stayed so silent?

It really is interesting how differently people perceive others. In the video, I found BM not relaxed at all. Detached for sure. With an underlying edge, IMO. I personally just didn’t buy that Mr Nice Guy—let’s take a walk and I’ll tell you all about what happened and also how LE messed it up, etc.

I agree with you that the experts on this forum are pure gold. But what I think makes them so reliable is that they don’t come to conclusions based on “gut feelings”—they’ve followed so many cases, they have a real knowledge of human behavior, LE, legal issues, forensics, etc. I’ve learned so much from some of the people here.

 

[Heliopops]

It was raining (hard at times) when the youtuber was stalking BM. That is why BM was wet. I'm sure you all know that if you viewed the video, and that fact has been posted here numerous times.

I thought the same as you when I assumed the interview happened soon after he had seen him drive by wet. I also thought his mother was with him (when wet).

But the YouTuber saw him wet the day before, when it was not raining and he was on his own in the truck (MOO), distraught and shirtless. YouTuber went back the following day and met / interviewed him when he was out with his mum.

 

[MsBetsy]

WHY rush? She has two daughters who need their mother.

Yes, but if they cannot find her body they may need to take more time to collect and analyze the evidence. They have to put all the pieces of the puzzle together and we don't know if there's one piece left or lot's of pieces. Maybe that's what the OP meant.

 

[wheatnotchaff]

I have a sort of left-field question ... Curious if any of you know whether satellite imagery can be reasonably used in a criminal investigation such as this case? I know I've read something about this in the recent past, but can't recall if it's actually do-able (yet), let alone feasible in the case of SM. My thought about this is that if LE has been able to narrow down certain timelines of interest for either SM or BM, they could *in theory* refer to satellite imagery to help them determine who was where when. And how/when that darned bike got to where it was found. I imagine it would be time-intensive to review images covering a span of time, but if it's even a remote possibility and not cost prohibitive, it could be so helpful in these kinds of cases. Maybe I'm completely off-base here, but I seem to recall something about satellite technology being able to create very good images of relatively small objects. Anyone know?

 

[Seattle1]

The only MSM source for bike recovered from a bridge is Daily Mail:

Citing unnamed local sources, only Daily Mail reported the bike found on a bridge. CrimeOnLine and Internewscast news cited DM.

Nancy Grace's podcast added "under the bridge" when no reporter on the panel could name the bridge close to the home as reported by DM.

After NG, I could find no MSM reference to Fooses Creek, Fooses Creek Bridge, or Trail linked in MSM to this investigation. I think it's speculation and most likely carried over from social media rumors about the bike, a tree, and Fooses Creek Trail. The best NG came up with during her podcast was the Arkansas River.

I'm totally scraping any bridge near the house off my list as a location for the bike. DM's report is not credible. Decide for yourselves....

Police search and carry out evidence bags from the $1.5M home of missing Colorado mom | Daily Mail Online

May 20, 2020

Suzanne, 49, has not been heard from since May 9. A bike owned by the mother-of-two was recovered from a bridge close to her home on May 10, according to local sources – the same day she was reported missing.

SEE IT: NEW photos of Suzanne Morphew’s home show police presence

May 21, 2020

On Wednesday, the Daily Mail reported that sources said Morphew’s bike was recovered from a bridge near her home in the remote Colorado town.

Police and FBI wrap up search at property where missing mom Suzanne Morphew's husband worked - Internewscast

May 25, 2020

Mrs Morphew has not been heard from since May 9. A bike owned by the mother-of-two was recovered from a bridge close to her home on May 10, according to local sources – the same day she was reported missing. [Cites DM].

Lauren Scharf
@LaurenScharfTV

Chaffee County Sheriff: NO NEW UPDATE for #MissingPerson #SuzanneMorphew Dive teams searched Fooses Lake, a 6-minute bike ride from Morphew's home. I can see a bridge on @googlemaps
Is this the bridge @NancyGrace is referring to? I'm not sure.
5:39 PM · May 21, 2020

Thursday Crime Stories: Gorgeous Colorado mom missing: Was her bike found UNDER a bridge?

May 21, 2020

Crime Stories with Nancy Grace
Gorgeous Colorado mom missing: Was her bike found UNDER a bridge?

 

[MassGuy]

Investigators working on the #MissingPerson case of #suzannemorphew are aware of the video of Tyson Draper speaking with Barry Morphew. CBI spokesperson says Barry and other members of the Morphew family have been cooperative with the investigation.
#FindSuzanne

County, State, and Federal agencies are following up on the more than 400 tips for #suzannemorphew #MissingPerson It has been 23 days since the Chaffee County mother vanished.
Tip line: 719-312-7530

This is the video I’m referring to:

https://twitter.com/laurenscharftv/status/1268012036190957570?

s=21https://twitter.com/laurenscharftv/status/1268012036190957570?s=21

 

[Lilypad13]

Sure. I didn’t think of that. Enough for them to know he likely made her disappear but no body to prove it. Not yet.

I don’t look for Suzanne to ever be found, regardless of who did what to her.

I hope not. That would be so sad for her girls to always be wondering where their mother is. IF BM is guilty maybe he will eventually confess it out of guilt and for his daughters’ sake. Being married that long surely he did love her once or still but may have lost his temper and did something by accident. If that’s the case maybe he will come to the realization that carrying the guilt and the amount of energy it takes to carry on the deceit is harder than telling the truth. Hopefully LE is still talking to him and saying we understand these things can happen and if you love your family be a “real man” and take responsibility for your actions. Maybe LE can offer a “deal” for leading them to her body...no capital punishment but maybe less than life or something?

 

[BeckyF]

In the matter of a missing loved one, it would make sense to go to journalists and media in order to publicize your wife’s disappearance. Unfortunately, for BM, this means that a journalist is going to ask him: when was the last time you saw SM, where were you on the days preceding Mother’s Day, when was your last communication with SM, are your daughters supportive of your innocence, when did you last see your daughters, did you and SM argue about anything in the days before her disappearance. BM is unable/unwilling to risk these types of inquiries.

THIS^^^ And his unwillingness to answer these types of questions is very telling.

 

[Truecolors]

Hmmm, you lost me. The girls need to heal. Being in limbo is the worst thing. They need their mother. If she isn’t coming home because of their dad, he needs to go to jail.

JMO, based on cases I’ve seen over the years. When the arrest will be a shock to the family, they may have extra reasons to be meticulously prepared before making an arrest.

MOO...and I hope he’s innocent.

 

[Madeleine74]

They didn't rule out an abduction. More like they didn't look for anyone else. How is THAT going?

Because you're not getting information from LE, assumptions are being made.

The truth is LE is not disclosing to anyone outside their investigation what or who they've ruled in or out of a list of suspects, outside of an animal attack, which the Sheriff has said is not their belief. "Not looking for anyone else" is a conclusion that's not based on facts or information. LE's silence really angers a lot of people who want to know it all and know it right now.

LE can only go where the evidence leads them.

 

[Seattle1]

Lauren Scharf
@LaurenScharfTV

Investigators working on the #MissingPerson case of #suzannemorphew are aware of the video of Tyson Draper speaking with Barry Morphew. CBI spokesperson says Barry and other members of the Morphew family have been cooperative with the investigation. #FindSuzanne
7:50 PM · Jun 2, 2020

Lauren Scharf
@LaurenScharfTV

County, State, and Federal agencies are following up on the more than 400 tips for #suzannemorphew #MissingPerson It has been 23 days since the Chaffee County mother vanished. Tip line: 719-312-7530 This is the video I’m referring to: https://youtu.be/bfKjDlBVjn0
7:55 PM · Jun 2, 2020·


ETA: Reporter Lauren Scharf revealed on NG that after nephew TN went dark with media as the spokesperson, that is when she interviewed BM's elderly Uncle as he was the only family member to respond.

 

[branmuffin]

Why would’ve BM been in the creek? Surely that water would be ice cold. Was BM searching for something in the creek?

“Draper said that the weather on Saturday was gray, rainy, and a bit cold, but that Morphew looked like “he had fallen through ice … He looked like a zombie.” Draper said he believes Morphew must have been in the creek, and said that while he didn’t see Morphew emerge from the woods separating the creek from the road, he believes that would have been the only way Morphew could have accessed his car without passing Draper in the other direction. The two men did not speak at that time, Draper said, noting that Morphew did not look at him as he was driving by.”

YouTuber who ‘secretly’ recorded video of Barry Morphew discussing wife’s disappearance says he believes Suzanne Morphew’s husband knew the camera was on

That really bothers me too. I keep wondering why BM would be sloshing around in a freezing cold creek high with spring runoff. What was he looking for? Was he making sure something was still there?

 

[Madeleine74]

If we were the jury on this case right now we would have zero to go on to determine his guilt or innocence. This is what is making this so difficult... LE for good reason I assume has given the public little info on this case. It is starting to feel like a cold case surrounded by mystery

We wouldn't be the jury because there would be no jury and no arrest at this point in time. People always assume a case has gone cold when a week or 2 pass without being told something/anything.

Those who have followed criminal cases for a long time know the drill -- you'll learn very little, if anything, LE discloses very little, and it takes as long as it takes for LE to gather all the evidence to lead to an arrest. It can take months, sometimes many months. It's part of the reality if a case is going to be followed.

 

[MyBelle]

Or they could’ve asked the family for a photo of the bike, or even serial number for the bike if available, to identify it.

Who keeps a photo or serial number of a bicycle? We only keep serial numbers of things that exceed our insurance deductible. If LE takes a photo at the scene showing it to someone at the scene would be a whooooooole lot faster than digging through files looking for old photos and serial numbers.

JMO

 

[NoSI]

Last post on mountain lions... and why a attack is SO INCREDIBLY LOW on the list of possibilities...

"Bottom Line: You expect on average to be killed by a car at the very minimum 320 times before you expect to be killed by a mountain lion. So you really shouldn't start worrying about a mountain lion killing you until at least 160 of your hiking companions have been killed by automobiles"

Source: Detailed Calculation Of The Odds Of Death From A Mountain Lion Attack On A Person

I realize it was published a long time ago, but don't think that the numbers have changed drastically....

 

[PaulaDC]

The weird thing is- why does the nephew know so much about them finding a bike but either doesn't know the condition it was in or wants LE to publicly state the condition.

It seems somebody has been doin' alot of that pre-splainin' thang. moo

 

[Madeleine74]

All the more reason not to rush to arrest their father.

Exactly. The state gets one bite of the apple, as the saying goes. Once they arrest someone they need to charge them and once a person is charged the clock starts ticking and the arrestee is entitled to see the evidence in the case. It would be idiotic to arrest someone without enough evidence to prove charges.

 

[Truecolors]

Who keeps a photo or serial number of a bicycle? We only keep serial numbers of things that exceed our insurance deductible. If LE takes a photo at the scene showing it to someone at the scene would be a whooooooole lot faster than digging through files looking for old photos and serial numbers.

JMO

Lots of people record and register the serial numbers of expensive bikes. It’s an easy way to claim a stolen/recovered bike.

And I’ve got recent pics of my bike in my camera roll, in the cloud...

 

[Dave F.]

My apologies...I gave the wrong name of the bridge in my previous post. The small bridge the local ladies showed in their video is near the Morphew home and goes over Foose’s Creek. I believe it’s located on Co Rd 225. I’ve circled it in the photo below.

Yes, that is Fooses Creek bridge on CR 225. That view is inverted, so that south is at the top of the picture. This Google Earth Aerial view is with north at the top, as it will appear in GE. The coordinates are:
38°32'27.50"N, 106°14'37.23"W
I've dropped a yellow pin on the bridge, because it's hard for me to find when I return to Google Earth.
I note that this bridge is on relatively flat ground, with no ravine nearby.

Link: The picture is entirely generated in Google Earth with no alterations. Exact coordinates are provided in post.

 

[Gigi3]

Respectfully disagree. LE doesn't show evidence in public any more - not in Colorado, anyway and not in general in the West.

It's a community of 135, some of whom don't actually live there full time, if LE has a verbal description from the neighbor or the daughter, I don't think they need someone to stare at it, to say it's Suzanne's.

Suzanne is reported missing. Her car is there, her bike is not. Bike is found. Matches neighbor or daughter's or husband's description.

Why in the world would they want to show any of these people a piece of evidence? Wouldn't they want to know what those people already had to say about the bike and its last-seen condition?

Great points. Also, according to BM’s own words, whatever article they found of SM’s has not been revealed to family either.

So, that means to me that they obviously had other ways of identifying this evidence. Why wouldn’t the alleged bike be the same? MOO