Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #13

[Truecolors]

I realize she is missing but when LE finds evidence to believe she is no longer alive it becomes a criminal case. If they don’t have a suspect, they should still be looking and asking for help. They aren’t, and that’s why we can only surmise it’s a criminal case.

MOO, it’s obvious they suspect foul play.

Are they required to tell the public that they are beginning a criminal in investigation? The “missing person” label may simply reflect the absence of new details released. Just like the bike ride information. That’s how it was originally reported, and no new information has been released to confirm or change that report.

 

[Curiousobserver]

That, plus...

Surveillance cams also "down" at key times.
Browser history, GPS trip logs, messenger/text conversations, emails... cleared or erased, also at key times.
His, and hers as well.
I think criminally minded people haven't really caught up with just how much of our day to day lives is constantly tracked.

Once all of that info is gone over (and deleted items recovered), it will tell quite a story.

jmo

The LE chief might also just hate this guy- in a small town chances are they know each other.

 

[Bridger]

The LE chief might also just hate this guy- in a small town chances are they know each other.

That is exactly my concern. And increasingly, my suspicion.

 

[Madeleine74]

Are they required to tell the public that they are beginning a criminal investigation?

SBM

They are not required to tell the public anything at all during the investigation, there's no law, though if the public is in danger they will say something about that and remind people to do things like lock their doors and windows, etc, etc.

Once a legal document is filed, like an arrest warrant, the public will be told because those are public documents.

Most of the time these types of cases are not random and the boogeyman is close to the victim.

 

[IceIce9]

bbm
Disappearing from Indiana?
Disappearing on the way from Indiana to Colorado?
Disappearing on the way from Colorado to Indiana?

Had they recently traveled to Indiana? If so, when? Did they visit friends or family?

I am still wondering what the last day was that she was seen alive.

 

[Madeleine74]

The LE chief might also just hate this guy- in a small town chances are they know each other.

This is a common sentiment. The vast majority of law enforcement professionals take their jobs seriously and are diligent. They don't get all up in their feels, as the kids say. It's a job, it's not personal. That doesn't mean they don't have great empathy for the victim, the family and friends of the victim, but they're not 'hating' their way through an investigation. Crimes against children are tougher because anyone who has children of their own is going to experience greater sadness and anger at a crime against someone young.

I even had this very discussion with a detective on a case I followed in my area, after a conviction in the case. I asked him if "he hated the murdering husband or if he was offended at the tone of the defense attorney when he testified." He said "no, it's all part of the job."

 

[Ontario Mom]

This is a very important point that you raise and if I may I would like to expand upon your post :
People do not realise just how much electronic tracking there is in our everyday lives and the footprint that we leave . Let’s take for example the obvious ones like public CCTV and residential / business CCTV and street CCTV , shop and bank and fuel CCTV, road surveillance CCTV to monitor traffic flow and speed camera CCTV etc The list is endless! Then there are tracking devices on the car if there is one , then there is the cell phone and text message/social media footprints alongside Pings
But - there are some footprints that we either don’t think about or are not aware of for example I own a luxury ( ish ) brand of car and I don’t have a key , I have a black plastic fob that I carry around which activates the car but without inserting it anywhere within my car console. Now when my car has a problem and I go to the dealership, this fob is inserted into their computer and it tell you every journey I have made and the status of the car throughout that journey, if the fuels low , if the seatbelt warning is activated, if any warning lights come on , if tyre pressure is low etc
I was gobsmacked just how much information that could be obtained and to be quite honest, I am a law abiding citizen but it scared even me , just how much we are being monitored. Then there is ANPR both mobile and static and lets not forget that it’s not only your cell phone that can be pinged and calls traced but LE can go to any mast and triangulate all mobile cell phones that ping off a particular mast at a given time and they can cross reference the data from this to any of the contacts in your phone and see if there are any patterns . So just from this you can start to see how many avenues are open for LE to look at. And then we have instagram and Facebook and WhatsApp and snapchat and Twitter and email and fit bits and apple watches and you start to get my drift .....
Edited to add: We have family Life 360 so that we can see where our children are and vice versa and my DH decided to turn his location permissions off
BUT although it does not now tell me his location in words, it does show him driving down the various roads and highways when he’s out and about. So another form of surveillance and if somebody was going to commit a heinous crime, they cannot possibly erase all their electronic footprints x

The vast majority of what you've mentioned here, I can almost guarantee none of us ever really give a second thought to, because we are law abiding citizens with nothing to hide from the police. (I confess, I had no idea the fobs contain data, now that does sort of creep me out). That said, that's exactly the problem for those who are normally a law abiding citizen, and then one day decide to I dunno, kill someone and hide the body. They also don't think about all these ways they've been tracked all along, but it's the FIRST thing investigators will start gathering to look over - all the electronic evidence.

Despite the fact I follow so many cases where digital evidence comes into play, I still find things all the time that are "tracking" me that I never knew about previously. One example is with google Chrome. Loads of people use it, and most know you can delete your search history. What some folks might not know, is that clearing your history is all well and good but you better take a look here https://myactivity.google.com too, after you've cleared your history. Then, you need too look at your synced phone's history too, because it doesn't always actually clear everything. This is just 1 tiny little thing, and there are 100 of them, if not more, tracking us all over the place, as you've mentioned. Quite literally from my front door to my car in the driveway, I am tracked by my phone, my fitbit, and my Ring cam that recorded me leaving the house. Once I get in the vehicle and turn it on, GPS is on as well. I haven't even left my driveway yet and I've been tracked by 4 separate devices - not to mention whatever home security cams folks next door and across the street might have. It's kind of mind boggling really, but here we are.

 

[Truecolors]

I am still wondering what the last day was that she was seen alive.

MOO—I expect this detail to be part of the reason LE narrowed their focus so soon.

 

[RickshawFan]

The LE chief might also just hate this guy- in a small town chances are they know each other.

Plus, the sheriff came from 27 years on the streets of Denver. Any perp trying to seed Denver into the story has his/her work cut out for them if they have an "alibi in Denver". Trying to keep holes from developing in the "alibi in Denver" would be a nightmare.

 

[RickshawFan]

Had they recently traveled to Indiana? If so, when? Did they visit friends or family?

I am still wondering what the last day was that she was seen alive.

The question might also be WHERE SM was last seen alive, now that our speculation has widened the geography.

 

[Ontario Mom]

I wonder if BM goes to the Salida Walmart often.

Why would you wonder that?

 

[Whiteorchids]

I wonder if BM goes to the Salida Walmart often.

or Murdoch's Ranch & Home Supply or Ace Hardware both in Salida

 

[DizzyB]

I’m just ticked because I’m used to leaks that we can look at. LE is doing its job and is as tight lipped as they come. There’s no info out there that we can grab onto. It definitely looks like they are looking at one individual. We could be completely off base, but logic seems to point in that direction. Either way, from the very beginning, they have decided that they’ve got this and do not need the public’s help in solving this one way or the other.

 

[BeachSky]

Could be, but I'm leaning more towards something bigger that would have make LE suspicious immediately. The phone info would have taken days to discover. LE came out of the gate running on this. IMO

Maybe he had some defense wounds or cuts.
He didn’t do HIS controlled recorded plea until much later.
Even then , in his video...his hands and arms are low , not shown.
Just an observe.
Plus he said it was too soon to speak immediately when she went missing.
So no footage of him, his arms...his hands.
I think LE always questions, photos the other spouse’s body.This would of been so vital.Possibly LE saw something and that person excused it off to being work related.


MOO

 

[Shiloh28]

Why would you wonder that?

He's a contractor, so he might go there often. A trip to buy something like cleaning supplies wouldn't necessarily seem out of the norm.

 

[Seattle1]

dbm

 

[Cindizzi]

This is a very important point that you raise and if I may I would like to expand upon your post :
People do not realise just how much electronic tracking there is in our everyday lives and the footprint that we leave . Let’s take for example the obvious ones like public CCTV and residential / business CCTV and street CCTV , shop and bank and fuel CCTV, road surveillance CCTV to monitor traffic flow and speed camera CCTV etc The list is endless! Then there are tracking devices on the car if there is one , then there is the cell phone and text message/social media footprints alongside Pings
But - there are some footprints that we either don’t think about or are not aware of for example I own a luxury ( ish ) brand of car and I don’t have a key , I have a black plastic fob that I carry around which activates the car but without inserting it anywhere within my car console. Now when my car has a problem and I go to the dealership, this fob is inserted into their computer and it tell you every journey I have made and the status of the car throughout that journey, if the fuels low , if the seatbelt warning is activated, if any warning lights come on , if tyre pressure is low etc
I was gobsmacked just how much information that could be obtained and to be quite honest, I am a law abiding citizen but it scared even me , just how much we are being monitored. Then there is ANPR both mobile and static and lets not forget that it’s not only your cell phone that can be pinged and calls traced but LE can go to any mast and triangulate all mobile cell phones that ping off a particular mast at a given time and they can cross reference the data from this to any of the contacts in your phone and see if there are any patterns . So just from this you can start to see how many avenues are open for LE to look at. And then we have instagram and Facebook and WhatsApp and snapchat and Twitter and email and fit bits and apple watches and you start to get my drift .....
Edited to add: We have family Life 360 so that we can see where our children are and vice versa and my DH decided to turn his location permissions off
BUT although it does not now tell me his location in words, it does show him driving down the various roads and highways when he’s out and about. So another form of surveillance and if somebody was going to commit a heinous crime, they cannot possibly erase all their electronic footprints x

Very good points. I recall a case where a woman was convicted because not only could her vehicle show where she had been, but also when a car door was open and how long. We’ve seen cell phones, Fitbits and smart watches , even pacemakers provide valuable clues and evidence.
Here’s one I never thought of— a water heater!

Another smart device, Bates' water heater, points to an exorbitant amount of water being used in the early-morning hours, in what investigators believe was an attempt to cover up a crime, the affidavit says.

Amazon pushes back on prosecutor request for Alexa smart speaker info - CNN

 

[Auntie Cipation]

I wonder if BM goes to the Salida Walmart often.

or Murdoch's Ranch & Home Supply or Ace Hardware both in Salida

Or any store that has a "rewards" program.

 

[Seattle1]

Welcome to WS @IronOreBetty - it appears you're local!
I'm sorry for your lovely community and that one of its own missing. Can you tell us if there's a restaurant named "La Becca Cafe" in Salida and where it's located? Some believe this is where SM was last sighted. Thank you.

 

[Shiloh28]

As opposed to infrequently? I don't understand.

If he shops at Walmart regularly, he might think it wouldn't look suspicious if he purchased things like cleaning supplies and/or hunting gear on Mother's Day weekend. Someone upthread said there is also an Ace and Murdochs that would carry products helpful in concealing a crime. Where did BM shop?