Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #15

[LietKynes]

Early on in SM’s disappearance I was leaning toward a crime of passion, explosive anger, roid rage type of incident. More recently, I’m inclined toward premeditation, with: the daughters out of state and possibly out of cell range, Barry out of town, a holiday, and the additional cover provided by the Covid stay at home mandate possibly obscuring her last known whereabouts/last date seen in public. Maybe all of these things are merely coincidental, but it seems like too many things to accidentally line up in this way.

Agreed ; an awful lot of coincidences !

Also, if I were the neighbor --it'd take a lot for me to call 911 for a capable, competent adult who was late for a bike ride that neither I nor anyone else saw her depart on.
Recent article say that the bike ride cannot be verified.

If the poor neighbor --- whom I believe was pulled into this investigation even if only on the periphery --- SAW Suzanne leaving on the bike ride, they would have said so and maybe we'd have an approximate timeline.
There is no timeline other that LE asking people to save their security footage from May 8th !

If LE said save it from the morning or afternoon of the 10th, that would make me think Suzanne either went for a bike ride or at least a walk.
But from the 8th makes it appear that LE want to know who last saw Suzanne from that date; or the movement of the vehicles at that time.
Or both.

Was Suzanne's car driven recently, and was the seat where she left it ?

I'm thinking of the Lori Hacking case.

 

[10ofRods]

bbm
Agreed.

This is more important than we realize.

In what order were the calls to the neighbor and the 911 call made ?
How much time was spent looking for Suzanne and calling her before the "emergency" response ?
We still don't know that.

It would take some time for most people to call 911 if their spouse was missing, depending on the circumstances.
After calling and texting, how long did BM drive around to where she was supposedly "biking" ?

Sometimes a person is late because they stopped at a friend's or if driving they slid off the road and were stuck in the snow or whatever.
BM's accounts are confusing because they keep changing.

In the surprise interview with TD he (BM) mentions a mountain lion and also falling into a ravine and washing away in the creek.
Speaking of the creek, how deep is it ?

And if prior to the interview he was searching for Suzanne-- why was he doing it alone ? (although his mother was with him)
Why not tell LE you need to come and help search in this location because....(bike accident, mountain lion, fill in the blank.)
Imo.

As far as we know, no family member was at home when the neighbor went over. I doubt the elderly neighbor did much searching on her own (although she probably walked up and down the various dirt roads right in that little neighborhood, I know I would).

Then LE arrives around 6 and begins to search. As far as we know, BM arrived at ~9 and we have no other information about who else might have arrived or what they might have done.

As to the creek, it looks to be knee deep in the pictures I've seen (recent photos posted by various people). It looks to have deeper parts where a person might be up to their hips and it's flowing pretty good right now. Would be cold. But not as cold as the actual river, which also looks fairly shallow but, after the dam, eventually is strong enough and fast flowing enough to allow for a brisk local business in whitewater rafting.

Here are pictures of the South Alabama (further downstream - about 15 miles from the Morphew residence) in summer:

Salida

Some whitewater companies in Salida:

whitewater.net

https://www.salidariveradventures.com/

www.independentrafting.com

There are others, but just as Moab is known for rock climbing and mountain biking, Salida is known for both float trips and whitewater rafting.

River flow was considered moderate on the day Suzanne went missing. I do not believe she could have gone into the creek and floated away, at all (unconscious, injured). But if she went into the river way downstream from where the bike was apparently found, all bets off as to what would happen to the body.

 

[FelicityLemon]

bbm
Exactly. ^^^

LE wouldn't procure a warrant for someone they've cleared !
It's telling what LE are not saying.
Sadly.
MOO.

But they would clear someone after executing the warrants and finding nothing.

 

[Wendyb1063]

So BM lied when he said his daughter texted Happy Mother's Day and got no reply? (TD video)
The only way to contact someone in the house is via landline?

Not necessarily.

I live in a rural area where there is no cell coverage. However, we can get satellite internet and also broadband "DSL" through the phone line. It's not great, but it works. We also have an "M-cell" which is like a mini cell tower that connects to our broadband service and allows us to use our cell phones within and just outside of our home.

 

[LietKynes]

So BM lied when he said his daughter texted Happy Mother's Day and got no reply? (TD video)
The only way to contact someone in the house is via landline?

bbm
Hmmm.
Well.... who knows ?
Not saying he did and we also don't know if everything BM has said is the truth.
The problem with the truth is that it keeps changing in Suzanne's case.

Wildly differing stories are never going to be looked at favorably.

That's like someone saying the reason they're home late from work is because of : stopping at the bar, visiting a coworker, car became stuck in the ditch , swerved and went off the road due to another driver, car was low on oil, asked to stay and work overtime, etc.

It's not that different from a mountain lion (per the TD interview), went off the road and washed away in the creek, went biking and was kidnapped, etc.

As far as their internet... they wouldn't necessarily need a dish but could buy or rent a modem and there you go --high speed internet.
I haven't seen a link for spotty or no internet service at the Morphews in msm but will go and look around.

Iirc, the only mention of little to no internet cell phone service was for the daughters whilst away on their camping trip.
MOO

 

[Love Never Fails]

Was hoping a for resolution in this case by now. Suzanne has been missing so long.

 

[Acorunadepor]

I respectfully and completely disagree.

You could slap a pair of rose-colored glasses on my head and make me shotgun a gallon of Kool-aid and I still wouldn't see BM's actions as those of an innocent husband displaying concern for his wife.

BM is the one who claims that the neighbor called him after she went to the house, and that he's the one who suggested that "maybe we should call the police."

So, either BM is a liar, or it was his idea to call the police.
Regardless of which of those two are true, he comes out looking bad.

Husbands who lie about events surrounding their wife's disappearance are suspect.
Husbands who appear to be manipulating people and events surrounding their wife's disappearance are suspect.

Did you hear him ask TD to keep an eye out for an injured/confused/unconscious SM while he was out searching, to dial 9-1-1 immediately if he found her, what to do if she appeared injured, etc.?

No?
Huh.
Me, neither.

Instead, he asked TD to keep an eye out for evidence and if he found "something," not to touch anything.
On account of, you know, DNA and stuff.

One would think finding his missing wife would be the presumed focus and sole intent of searches.
Interesting and, in my eyes, highly damning that the possibility of TD discovering SM there didn't even occur to BM.

The likeliest reason for that not occurring to him is that he knows she isn't there to be found.
On account of, that isn't where he put her.

Did you hear BM ask TD if he had any recording devices and if so, ask him if he could post at least part of their convo to Social Media to help get the word out about Suzanne's disappearance and to remind the public that there's a 210k reward?

No?
Huh.
Me, neither.

Instead, he wanted to make sure that TD put away his recording devices.
On account of, you know, they'd "had a lot of media there" and stuff.

Of course!
I mean, what innocent husband doesn't place concern about public perception of his own image above the safety and wellbeing of his missing, possibly injured, lost and dying wife?

If these are the actions of an innocent, devoted husband doing everything he can to locate his missing wife, then I'm the Pope.

Of England.

JMO.

<modsnip>

First of all explain to us fellow sleuthers what is so manipulating about BM. Because besides the videos, we don't know nothing about him personally. Literally.

A husband is always a POI. But I am still reading the same two words as in previous threads: liar and manipulator. In this way we are getting nowhere in this thread.

And what if he said, lets not call the police and wait a couple of hours. One could say he was buying time before it got dark. (The sunset was at 20.03, call was made at 17.46.)

 

[10ofRods]

So BM lied when he said his daughter texted Happy Mother's Day and got no reply? (TD video)
The only way to contact someone in the house is via landline?

Before we head into the mountains, we check various cellular carriers (we're AT&T which is the best carrier about 50% of the time - if we're going to central Utah, I switch my iPad carrier to whichever other company is better - Verizon last time, because it's way better than AT&T in that situation, as it also is in the Sierra/Yosemite/Sequoia areas we love so much).

So perhaps this family chose the best cellular carrier for their locale, as opposed to AT&T, which many reporters would have (just statistically, ATT is the most common carrier).

At any rate, I do believe most families would work out how to text, which is easier to transmit in low-cell spots than voice.

If it's true that cell service at the house was week AND they didn't have a separate internet service, boy were they isolated on the regular.

 

[Moonchime]

I read an interview with the investigators who worked Kelsey Berreth’s case. Frazee’s cell phone records were key as it led them directly to Frazee’s girlfriend who implicated both him and herself. I assume warrants were issued for cell phone records in this case. In addition to creating a timeline and showing BM’s whereabouts, it will reveal who his contacts are. You never know where that leads.

BM's cellphone was seized in the beginning, so hopefully these records have given the investigators a lot of useful information.

 

[FelicityLemon]

So BM lied when he said his daughter texted Happy Mother's Day and got no reply? (TD video)
The only way to contact someone in the house is via landline?

Often, when the cell phones can't make a connection, you can still text. It's been this way for so many years. In fact, we just had this problem two days ago with the phones. TMobile was absolutely not connecting outgoing or incoming calls. We have Verizon, a relative has TMobile. No phone connection either way, but we were able to text for hours. *shrugs* I can't speak to what works in the CO mountains though, maybe someone else can let us know.

 

[Moonchime]

I read an interview with the investigators who worked Kelsey Berreth’s case. Frazee’s cell phone records were key as it led them directly to Frazee’s girlfriend who implicated both him and herself. I assume warrants were issued for cell phone records in this case. In addition to creating a timeline and showing BM’s whereabouts, it will reveal who his contacts are. You never know where that leads.

BM's cellphone was seized in the beginning, so hopefully these records have given the investigators a lot of useful information.

 

[Murphy1950]

I just have to say it cracks me up when I see all this tutting about the neighbor being a “senior citizen.” I’m close to 70 and am perfectly capable of walking several miles

Yes, I agree. I'm close to that age and I do ballroom dancing.

Can I join the club? ...Just call me Blanche, please. Yikes, elderly, Scary.

Excellent! He used the neighbor as part of plan B.

Anyways before I die off, there seems to be consensus gelling that perhaps the neighbor wasn't just a random call, but preplanned in Barry's mind , so he could avoid a long conversation with emergency LE.
Seems like Plan A was the girls and when that fell through, he quickly came up with Plan B, the neighbor.
In any case....if the reasoning is sound and I think it is....then I see Trevor, the nephew as plan C, it allowed Barry more avoidance. He may have also been a used as a substitute for the daughters when LE wouldn't let anyone in the family home.

 

[Seattle1]

So BM lied when he said his daughter texted Happy Mother's Day and got no reply? (TD video)
The only way to contact someone in the house is via landline?

I have a vacation mountain home with no cell service (no signal) but texts are possible via wifi (not cellular). However, home broadband/wifi is not so reliable and you become accustomed to hearing a sudden burst of pings when suddenly 10 texts download. It is what it is, and the accepted price one pays for the serene setting. We know that full functioning service is going to be dependent on what Western Colorado had to do: build our own telecom.

*Let's say I'm old enough where I did not have my own cell phone in my pocket riding the school bus, and understand that the world still faced and dealt with murders, wars, stife, and emergencies-- long before home internet and mobile phones. Jeez -- I even traveled across the ocean without a phone! MOO

Internet service in western Colorado was so terrible that towns and counties built their own telecom

 

[Acorunadepor]

Agreed ; an awful lot of coincidences !

Also, if I were the neighbor --it'd take a lot for me to call 911 for a capable, competent adult who was late for a bike ride that neither I nor anyone else saw her depart on.
Recent article say that the bike ride cannot be verified.

If the poor neighbor --- whom I believe was pulled into this investigation even if only on the periphery --- SAW Suzanne leaving on the bike ride, they would have said so and maybe an approximate timeline.
There is no timeline other that LE asking people to save their security footage from May 8th !

If LE said save it from the morning or afternoon of the 10th, that would make me think Suzanne either went for a bike ride or at least a walk.
But from the 8th makes it appear that LE want to know who last saw Suzanne from that date; or the movement of the vehicles at that time.
Or both.

Was Suzanne's car driven recently, and was the seat where she left it ?

I'm thinking of the Lori Hacking case.

Mark Hacking called LE himself. To report that she never returned from jogging. He killed her because she found out everything he said about his life was made up, and thus she wanted a divorce. He killed her while she was sleeping. He reported her missing on July 19th and he was arrested August 2nd. Her remains were found in October of that year.

This case I think won't go as quick as that one. Sadly enough.

 

[vaporlass]

As someone who always thinks the husband did it, I’ve really been pondering this case. Things don’t seem to add up. Probably because we have so little to go on, but nonetheless.
Let’s suppose that BM is not directly responsible for SM’s disappearance and view him through that lens. His behavior strikes me as conflicted. As in, 50% “she followed through on her desire to leave me”. Maybe also he knows she’s been struggling emotionally. Hence, his “too soon (to make this public and advertise our problems)” comment. Hence the family’s silence. Let’s just give her space and let her come back on her own. We can work things out without alerting the media and causing more upset. The other 50% of his initial behavior seems like a man grasping at straws, because there is ALSO the possibility she met with foul play. Such as his spouting to TD all the combined possibilities that he and LE have considered for her fate.

Also, his short, awkward video makes more sense if he is struggling between theories:
*50% speaking directly to her....Oh Suzanne, I understand why you left. I’ve heard you loud and clear. Just come back, no questions asked. You left your daughters too, BTW, and they are hurting. A direct guilt-bribe you would only say to someone who left voluntarily.
*And, 50%, if someone has you, we are willing to do what it takes to get you back.

His actions make sense to me only if he is innocent of her disappearance, but worried for her fate and guilty of his actions in their marriage that could have forced her hand. She’s dissatisfied and fed up with me, with a side dish of “she could be in real trouble”.

I think LE considered these scenarios too, but experience, gut feeling and the tip line put BM at the top of their list. Ripping up a concrete foundation with the help of the FBI leads me to believe they are very committed to this theory! If their month long search for forensics has come up short, they may need to regroup. And start again with things like canvassing the community....

Ive considered all of this... but it only makes sense to me IF he had NOT encouraged the call to 911, which he said he did in the TD interview.
If he suspected she needed time away ... why call 911? Wouldn’t you give it 24 hrs at least?
Which makes me suspect she had been “out of pocket” for longer than we think. I go back something that was said in the beginning of all this ... that neighbor saw/found SM bike when she was looking for her...
Then the 911 call makes sense and I am back to the drawing board and asking, “What happened to SM?”
Did she leave her bike in the ditch hoping others would suspect she was kidnapped or attacked by a lion?
Everything I’ve read about her, that I see in her eyes... tells me she did not leave her children without a word. A spiritual awakening after cancer doesn’t cause a woman to walk away from her children, maybe her husband, but not her children.
So either he is responsible for her absence or someone else is. Imo.
Would a kidnapper stage a scene? Would a stranger go to a lot of trouble to hide his tracks?
By now, if she’s out there deceased ... the evidence of murder on her is disappearing ... that’s what causes urgency in me for something to break. I do not like it when murderers get away with murder.

 

[Fireflize]

Can I join the club? ...Just call me Blanche, please. Yikes, elderly, Scary.



Anyways before I die off, there seems to be consensus gelling that perhaps the neighbor wasn't just a random call, but preplanned in Barry's mind , so he could avoid a long conversation with emergency LE.
Seems like Plan A was the girls and when that fell through, he quickly came up with Plan B, the neighbor.
In any case....if the reasoning is sound and I think it is....then I see Trevor, the nephew as plan C, it allowed Barry more avoidance. He may have also been a used as a substitute for the daughters when LE wouldn't let anyone in the family home.

Agree 100%. I hear talk of 'distancing' and 'avoidance' and the implications of such behavior. For me, those are new concepts. The particularities of BM's behavior provide a clear illustration of those telltale clues. Moo

 

[LietKynes]

Anyways before I die off, there seems to be consensus gelling that perhaps the neighbor wasn't just a random call, but preplanned in Barry's mind , so he could avoid a long conversation with emergency LE.
Seems like Plan A was the girls and when that fell through, he quickly came up with Plan B, the neighbor.
In any case....if the reasoning is sound and I think it is....then I see Trevor, the nephew as plan C, it allowed Barry more avoidance. He may have also been a used as a substitute for the daughters when LE wouldn't let anyone in the family home.

bbm
Snipped for focus
Good post.

Ok if it was myself going off for a bike ride and I was late due to being distracted by the beauty of nature and everything--- I wouldn't be very happy if my neighbor called 911 because I was late in getting home !
And I wouldn't tell my neighbor to call 911 if I was late, either.

Wouldn't Suzanne have her phone with her in case of anything like a slip and a sprained ankle ?
Along with a water bottle, snacks, etc.
Was any of that found ?
I'm thinking maybe not.

Eta : I forgot. In the unexpected interview with BM & TD, a snack baggie was shown that was found in the woods or by the creek with words on it saying "Day 4" ?
Idk if BM found it or TD.
What a surprise.

 

[Acorunadepor]

Can I join the club? ...Just call me Blanche, please. Yikes, elderly, Scary.



Anyways before I die off, there seems to be consensus gelling that perhaps the neighbor wasn't just a random call, but preplanned in Barry's mind , so he could avoid a long conversation with emergency LE.
Seems like Plan A was the girls and when that fell through, he quickly came up with Plan B, the neighbor.
In any case....if the reasoning is sound and I think it is....then I see Trevor, the nephew as plan C, it allowed Barry more avoidance. He may have also been a used as a substitute for the daughters when LE wouldn't let anyone in the family home.

Who says the girls were contact by BM first? Did he asked them to contact their mother?

All I could find was that the daughters couldn't get a hold of their mother. Not that BM asked his daughters to check up on her.

 

[vaporlass]

Must have been some plan, because it’s been 5 weeks at I’m not aware that he has been arrested yet.

I’ve seen years go by before a spouse is arrested for the murder of their significant other. It’s not that uncommon especially when no body can be found...

 

[LietKynes]

Mark Hacking called LE himself. To report that she never returned from jogging. He killed her because she found out everything he said about his life was made up, and thus she wanted a divorce. He killed her while she was sleeping. He reported her missing on July 19th and he was arrested August 2nd. Her remains were found in October of that year.

This case I think won't go as quick as that one. Sadly enough.

bbm
Agreed.

Yes I listened to a podcast about the Hacking case, and Dateline covered it, I think.
Didn't want to digress too much.
Holy cow.
There are some similarities !!!!!

The calling of 911 by the neighbor possibly at BM's behest.
The "She never returned from (in Suzanne's case --her bike ride)..."
Lori wanted out. (Did Suzanne as well ?)
Just some chills here atm.
MOO