Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #14

[brooks]

I know there is a $210k reward for “safe return”.

Do you have any theories about why family wouldn’t offer that money to bounty hunters?

MOO

No, sorry, I do not have any theories.

 

[carbuff]

I'm not saying he's lying or telling the truth; I just have to add that some people speak this way when just plain anxious and stressed. I do. I blabber on and sometimes someone will have to bring me back around to remind me to answer the question directly. I always want to explain everything (too much) so there's no misunderstanding. Bwahahaha - it backfires on occasion, but people who know me, know this. Big social anxiety causes me to blather if I have to speak at all.

I do that too. I once had police asking me about a teenage party that turned violent next to us, and I was trying so hard to be SOOOO accurate, making sure I said what I knew and didn't try to speculate--that everybody including the cop and Mr. Carbuff thought I was trying to cover up for the kids.

I can't get a feel for whether he's lying or not. I don't necessarily believe him but I'm not picking up huge red flags either.

 

[Tate123]

I take great comfort in the fact that SM's side of the family (who love her very much) have stated that they are appreciative of the immense work that law enforcement is doing.

 

[MassGuy]

Could this have been his original plan?

The daughters come home early (on time) > They find Mom not at home > They call Mom, no answer > They call Dad > Frantic dad returns home in a hurry > We went to ____

We as in BM and the girls.
____ = to look for Mom, We searched bike trail, found her abandoned bike.

I’m convinced that’s exactly what he planned. They were supposed to be the ones to make that discovery, and call 911.

Dad is in Denver, and appears to have a solid alibi. Except the alibi doesn’t matter if she disappeared earlier.

 

[10ofRods]

While LE was looking at BM, why couldn't FBI and CBI been doing this back a month ago?!

FBI and CBI don't usually do the tasks of community police. It would be very rare. FBI provided its evidence gathering team. This team is not the same as the FBI's case investigation or profiling units. Typically, all that FBI team does is help with electronic data, rapid subpoenas, analysis, and also, new kinds of digital data collection that are developed all the time. For example, once they know the apps on Suzanne's phone and on other phones of interest, the FBI knows a lot about the kind of data one can get from that app company. It's amazing how much data is stored on individuals by various apps (even just game apps, but most families have something they use besides Messenger and FB). Most people have apps that track them (and save all the data) more than they realize. I suspect that's the FBI's main role here.

CBI, OTOH, is more likely to have major bio-forensic capacity than little Chaffee County. Just the examination of the bike, the pollen, the dirt, etc is in their bailiwick and you'd want their expertise if you were LE.

Do you have much experience in following true crime? Because neither the FBI nor CBI has the kind of person power to, for example, add people to on-ground search teams, watch videos collected, or go door to door. Most counties find themselves strained by having to do this kind of thing and we're lucky that Salida is small enough (and the County seat - so more LE resources) for them to do this. It's what you'd expect a small town with a strong sense of compassion and pride to do.

The FBI and CBI are probably now in the shadows, as I have never seen FBI agents go door to door in anything other than issues involving federal crimes (which is what their on-ground teams are trained to do - not state level criminal case crimes). CBI does not, AFAIK, have its own extra personnel at the ready to do this either (nor does any other state bureau that I know of).

I've seen other local services help out if the matters are not too ticklish (Highway Patrol, police from another city in the same county).

Can you give an example of a missing person's case where the FBI or a state bureau did get involved in that way on the ground? Year end stats for missing persons in the US was 612,000 for 2018. Can you imagine the number of agents the federal government would have to employ if it decided to do door-to0-door canvasing in each and every one?

I think it's important to understand just how massive a problem this is (Missing Persons) and how some cases (Suzanne's, Barbara Thomas's, Gannon's) get more press (Suzanne more than Barbara), more attention on WS, etc.

But for every Suzanne there are hundreds of others gone missing with *no* FBI or state level involvement at all. That's a reason that so many of us are interesting in what's happening in Mayville and Salida.

 

[Truecolors]

For the media thread @oviedo , if you don’t have it yet.
After 1 month and few updates, CBI says ‘a high level of commitment’ remains in Suzanne Morphew case

Comprehensive article. This quote stuck out to me. BBM

They are searching, following the evidence. I believe they are getting close. MOO

This case remains a high priority for the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office and CBI, she said.

“Our agents are working closely with the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office, and the FBI has a team as well assigned to this. Committed — there’s a high level of commitment to this case,” she said. “You may not see a news release on a daily basis but that doesn’t mean that extensive work isn’t happening on a daily basis. … Countless hours every day by agents and analysts and investigators to determine where Suzanne is and what happened.”

 

[gitana1]

IMO, it is pitiful that they have only conducted 10 large scale searches in 30 days. We know that 2 or 3 of the searches were digging concrete. If they are not going to search for Suzanne in the area she went missing, it would be appropriate to let volunteers search. Maybe some bounty hunters will start searching for her if the reward is available to them.

The problem with that is we don’t know if that’s the area she went missing from. And if they have no indication that Suzanne was actually in that area with the exception that her bike was found there, the risk to amateur volunteers (dehydration, poison oak, rattlesnakes, getting lost, falling) and/or the utilization of precious resources provided by professional SAR, would not be worth it.

My urge is always to search. I wonder, “Why aren't we seeing hundreds of people searching when someone goes missing?” I always have that thought.

But then I see it play out like Gannon Stauch’s case. They knew what areas to search and why. They found evidence that the public could’ve trampled but the body was found in a totally different state in an area they had no reason to search.

Btw, do we have a map of where her bike was found?

 

[10ofRods]

Means they may actually be back at square-one and are now fishing.

Nearly 2 dozen law enforcement officials to conduct a canvas in Suzanne Morphew case

Possible. It would still be an unusual move. I mean, surely they're not just knocking on doors and asking, "Sir or Madame, what do you think happened to Suzanne, a woman from Mayville who went on a bike ride and did not return?"

Because if they don't have actual tips leading to specific questions, it's a useless activity and I don't think that's what they're doing.

They are not back to square zero IMO.

Recall this practice used after little Sway Swetlick went missing and trained investigators went door to do asking questions. Trained investigators also know the type of questions to ask. See something, say something. Moving the convo out of rumor and/or social media mode. This is good news!

^^^^THIS! As many of us know, things have been said on SM. These are fairly consistent things and have been said by people whose FB profiles seem to establish (to my satisfaction at least) that they are locals. There are quite a few of them, but some of what they are saying...well, it should be possible to both talk to the actual social media users, but also to get much-needed corroboration from completely different people who must surely be aware of some of the same things.

It's like contact tracing, where you have a certain group of people who you know are acquainted with POI's X, Y and Z, and you go get information from their contacts. SO much unusual information becomes available when this is done.

LE may even find out counter-information to what's being said on social media, and be able to pursue entirely new directions in this case, either through new POI's or through new information about current POI's.

I think more than one person out there may be sweating a little bit, and I thought that was probably one of the goals of this press release. People who have certain kinds of info get tired of the sheer anxiety of holding onto it, and often tell one or two other trusted people. Or break, when LE comes knocking. It can be a fairly minor piece of information, but it still becomes a major break in the case. If 5 different people all report hearing the same offhand comment or seeing the same odd thing at a particular time, even though they think it's tangential to the case, LE is fishing for something specific, trying to check out specific rumors and they think some people have info they need.

 

[gliving]

Suzanne Morphew disappearance: Chaffee County sheriff plans massive community canvass to generate new leads

June 10, 2020 at 12:59 p.m.

In the month since Suzanne Morphew disappeared while riding her bike in Chaffee County, the sheriff’s office has conducted 10 large-scale searches and followed hundreds of tips in an effort to find the missing 49-year-old.

So far, nothing has led to an answer on her whereabouts

Suzanne Morphew disappearance: Chaffee County sheriff plans massive community canvass to generate new leads – Canon City Daily Record

 

[Truecolors]

About searches, we only know when SM was reported missing, and where she was reported missing from.

LE has been evasive about confirming how long she’s actually been missing.

So where to search? Where did she go missing from? If the evidence they are finding shows she was missing before Mother’s Day, then searching more in the area of the bicycle may not be helpful in locating her.

MOO

 

[LietKynes]

FBI and CBI don't usually do the tasks of community police. It would be very rare. FBI provided its evidence gathering team. This team is not the same as the FBI's case investigation or profiling units. Typically, all that FBI team does is help with electronic data, rapid subpoenas, analysis, and also, new kinds of digital data collection that are developed all the time. For example, once they know the apps on Suzanne's phone and on other phones of interest, the FBI knows a lot about the kind of data one can get from that app company. It's amazing how much data is stored on individuals by various apps (even just game apps, but most families have something they use besides Messenger and FB). Most people have apps that track them (and save all the data) more than they realize. I suspect that's the FBI's main role here.

CBI, OTOH, is more likely to have major bio-forensic capacity than little Chaffee County. Just the examination of the bike, the pollen, the dirt, etc is in their bailiwick and you'd want their expertise if you were LE.

Do you have much experience in following true crime? Because neither the FBI nor CBI has the kind of person power to, for example, add people to on-ground search teams, watch videos collected, or go door to door. Most counties find themselves strained by having to do this kind of thing and we're lucky that Salida is small enough (and the County seat - so more LE resources) for them to do this. It's what you'd expect a small town with a strong sense of compassion and pride to do.

The FBI and CBI are probably now in the shadows, as I have never seen FBI agents go door to door in anything other than issues involving federal crimes (which is what their on-ground teams are trained to do - not state level criminal case crimes). CBI does not, AFAIK, have its own extra personnel at the ready to do this either (nor does any other state bureau that I know of).

I've seen other local services help out if the matters are not too ticklish (Highway Patrol, police from another city in the same county).

Can you give an example of a missing person's case where the FBI or a state bureau did get involved in that way on the ground? Year end stats for missing persons in the US was 612,000 for 2018. Can you imagine the number of agents the federal government would have to employ if it decided to do door-to0-door canvasing in each and every one?

I think it's important to understand just how massive a problem this is (Missing Persons) and how some cases (Suzanne's, Barbara Thomas's, Gannon's) get more press (Suzanne more than Barbara), more attention on WS, etc.

But for every Suzanne there are hundreds of others gone missing with *no* FBI or state level involvement at all. That's a reason that so many of us are interesting in what's happening in Mayville and Salida.

Bumping this excellent post. ^^^

I have nothing noteworthy to add; except that I'm curious about what time Suzanne went silent on her social media, phone,etc.

Because most of us are communicating online (like myself here at WS ) or elsewhere at least once a day.
So when did that stop ?

IF the daughters lived away from the home, when was the last time they spoke (& not just texting) in person ??
Imo.

 

[Poedelini]

Maybe they try to verify some leads they have within this community canvas. Jmo

 

[girlhasnoname]

Press Release:

Suzanne Morphew Missing Person Case (June 10)

CHAFFEE COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
Salida, Colorado
PRESS RELEASE
June 10, 2020



It has been one month since Suzanne Morphew was reported missing in Chaffee County. In that time, local, state and federal investigators have followed-up on hundreds of tips and conducted a number of searches in an effort to locate Ms. Morphew, who was reported missing on Mother’s Day, May 10, 2020.



The Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office is being assisted by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in this missing person case.



In addition to countless interviews conducted in the last month, approximately 500 tips have been called into a designated tip line in the investigation, along with 10 large-scale searches performed throughout the county.



On June 10, investigators plan to conduct a community canvas in the county to contact residents and others to not only share information about Ms. Morphew’s disappearance, but also focus on obtaining any new information in her case. Nearly two dozen members of law enforcement will take part in this comprehensive effort on Wednesday.



The public is asked to continue to report any information about this case by calling (719) 312-7530.



The Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office will release information related to the investigation as it becomes available.

*****Chaffee County Sheriff John Spezze*****

Oh there's no way LE doesn't have a solid working theory here. Unfortunately, I believe they are looking for Suzanne's remains to further solidify the case.

I think they already have the cell phone data, alibi timeline confirmations, and the DNA/evidence testing results from their searches. It's just a matter of time before there is an arrest.

MOO

 

[Seattle1]

LE searched that job site where BM moved dirt for the foundation. That helped me understand that his landscaping business may be more construction and engineering related than aesthetic design.

Yes. Individual with an understanding of importing versus native soil (sample proctor), compaction rate, for the foundation.

 

[girlhasnoname]

Wanted to share a few thoughts based on my experience. So this week we poured a concrete patio in our yard. When doing a concrete pour (even at a job site) the mix truck is called in from whoever your supplier is. Once it arrives, the truck dumps the concrete while the workers spread, move, and level it out. While it’s not impossible, I highly doubt that BM supplies his own concrete. He isn’t mixing it in wheelbarrows himself. So I find it highly unlikely he would hide something in concrete (which we don’t know really if anything was found or not). Also, when pouring, people are walking all over the pad area - it has to be leveled out well - so it would take quite a bit of planning to get something to the job site and totally hidden before workers arrived or the pour started.

As far as setting up the job himself in Denver, this doesn’t strike me as strange at all. My dad and husband both own businesses doing different types of “construction” work. They have both had to set up jobs before crews arrive. Covid has had minimal to no effect on my husband’s job schedule and he has continued to work outside the home everyday just as usual.

I don’t know where I land on the guilt scale or if these points matter, but hey, there’s my two cents

All cents and sense welcome.

 

[Truecolors]

Bumping this excellent post. ^^^

I have nothing noteworthy to add; except that I'm curious about what time Suzanne went silent on her social media, phone,etc.

Because most of us are communicating online (like myself here at WS ) or elsewhere at least once a day.
So when did that stop ?

IF the daughters lived away from the home, when was the last time they spoke (& not just texting) in person ??
Imo.

I’m hopeful that her phone activity will help LE determine how long she’s been missing.

The daughters were camping, so they may have been out of cell range for a few days.

MOO

 

[TxGidget]

I may get yelled at for this because for the life of me I cant post links on here. But, online property records show BM and SM as deed holders; whereas, if there was a loan on the home it would show the financial institution as the deed holder. Moo.

It must be different in Texas. We have a mortgage, yet in the public records, the deed is in our name, and we are shown as the owners. I know mortgages are filed with the county, but I’m not sure how the public finds them.

 

[LietKynes]

The problem with that is we don’t know if that’s the area she went missing from. And if they have no indication that Suzanne was actually in that area with the exception that her bike was found there, the risk to amateur volunteers (dehydration, poison oak, rattlesnakes, getting lost, falling) and/or the utilization of precious resources provided by professional SAR, would not be worth it.

My urge is always to search. I wonder, “Why aren't we seeing hundreds of people searching when someone goes missing?” I always have that thought.

But then I see it play out like Gannon Stauch’s case. They knew what areas to search and why. They found evidence that the public could’ve trampled but the body was found in a totally different state in an area they had no reason to search.

Btw, do we have a map of where her bike was found?

Ita.

LE just have no idea WHERE Suzanne is.

And imo-- local LE and other LE departments (Fbi , Cbi, etc.) have been both diligent and competent in this investigation.

I don't think it makes them happy to be sent on a wild goose chase after a supposed bike ride that never happened.
Because that's what it seems like after the latest press release !

 

[Seattle1]

IMO, it is pitiful that they have only conducted 10 large scale searches in 30 days. We know that 2 or 3 of the searches were digging concrete. If they are not going to search for Suzanne in the area she went missing, it would be appropriate to let volunteers search. Maybe some bounty hunters will start searching for her if the reward is available to them.

Why? Exactly how many large scale searches in 30 days are not considered pitiful? Only takes one ticket to win the lottery. We have no knowledge of what evidence resulted from each alleged pitiful, search. MOO

 

[Seattle1]

It must be different in Texas. We have a mortgage, yet in the public records, the deed is in our name, and we are shown as the owners. I know mortgages are filed with the county, but I’m not sure how the public finds them.

The warranty deed is in the owners name but does not preclude a deed of trust (secured real estate) recorded.