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

[Denniece]

I don't see her choosing a bike ride to accomplish this, frankly. And had her phone and ID and so forth been missing, I think LE would have different theories about this case.

Unless, of course, she staged her own disappearance near her house. Then she's not in her normal state of mind, because no matter the midlife crisis, a person doesn't run off and leave their children because of empty nest syndrome. She would have had to be suffering from some other, greater mental health issue or crisis.

She's been gone more than a month, her daughters must be in morning, state and even national resources have been brought to bear and she's just off with some guy? If he's not local, then she met him on the internet and managed to hide her digital footprint with high tech wizardry that goes beyond VPN (because FBI can still see what places a person has visited on the internet). If she wiped her hard drive before leaving, LE would be looking in entirely different places than under local concrete and going door to door in Salida.

Guy would have to be local - so where is she? Holed up in that guy's house or cabin? Used a burner phone throughout this torrid affair and LE has not discovered that yet?

They are putting the heat on BM. daily. They looked at one of his work sites. They forbid him (and his colleagues) from searching. They are now going door to door in Salida, probably hoping to get confirmation or denial of rumors going on around town, as there always are rumors.

She's not in someone's house in Salida, IMO. She's not in a cabin without electricity in the mountains, just hiding out. If she ran away to be with someone else, then she's with that someone (or they have brought harm to her).

I too have worked in mental health settings for years. I think BM looks very scared. And I think I know why. It's not because his wife is holed up with another man, though.

Okay.

It’s a thoughtful post. Definitely something to explore.

Glad to know you made it through, by the way!!!!!

I honestly don't thinkt is what happened with Suzanne. But when it was suggested that she just up and left her life I thought about that, and tried to think of reasons she may have simply left her life behind. Just another perspective. Stranger things have happened (Heidi Broussard!?! I didn't suspect SC but never expected it'd turn out to be a close friend.)
I don't see we have enough information yet to be hanging BM in haste, and aside from that I can only see a man in pain and out of his element. I'm guessing that with BM being a busy contractor that SM was the partner who ran everything else in their household. Not in a controlling way but because she was good at it, and it was her "thing". But as I said, I wouldn't be surprised if he's found to be responsible if only because "statistics". And because otherwise I'm throwing darts and seeing what sticks.

Thank you so much. I appreciate that. I'm doing so well. I have my next 6 week check up soon and I'm very optimistic that I will be in the clear! I was fortunate I had access to one of the best oncology teams in the world or the outcome may have been much different.

 

[TruthIsStranger]

Maybe I'm not finding as much as may be out there, but to me, it doesn't seem as though media is camped out there and interviewing townspeople or doing research on their own. I know LE isn't isn't leaking, but in many cases, media people generate stories using their initiative with their own research and not by copy-pasting or quoting existing articles. We've often seen articles about a missing person's background, community involvement, career, friends' anecdotes, or even gossip being reported. but not in this case. It's hard for me to believe that if there was an affair with either spouse that a friend of a friend of an acquaintance who saw or heard something hasn't been reported. There's either nothing untoward in the marriage, or people who know or have even heard something have integrity and don't gossip. Maybe the journalists have integrity and aren't looking for salacious gossip - how refreshing!

I also haven't seen people coming to media with "information" or theories - those people who want to see themselves on tv or in print, either. Maybe if there have been those people, they've not been given the satisfaction. Again, how refreshing.

I often have to remind myself that just because we're focused on a particular case, the world has other missing people and victims that they focus on. What happens in my city will make a national blip on occasion, but for the most part remains local. That's natural. There are many, many missing human beings and victims.

I think we'd be hearing more about this if it was determined to be linked to other incidents. The public needs to know if there's a danger to others for example.

It's true that MSM hasn't covered the case much because of LE and family silence, and I wonder if this is partly due to the fact that this type of "soft" information is so widely available elsewhere.

As we all know, "news" has become so much more diversified, and WOW is there a lot to chew on even in this case. Many YouTube true crime channels are covering the case and reporting on it using info from social media threads, locals (named and unamed), and some live interviews with people who worked with BM or spoke to him and even got him on camera. There has definitely been talk regarding BMs character as a husband and employer/businessman. News articles from 30 yrs ago regarding achievements of BM, yearbooks, work histories, romantic timelines, etc. have been covered on YT. I'm not saying that the information is true or false, and I understand why WS doesn't allow it, but it's interesting to see how much background "chatter"/info/speculation is happening all over non-MSM outlets. I've seen it in multiple Facebook groups (some private, but you can request to join), YouTube videos, YouTube comments, and Reddit threads.
In the past, BMs brief video and LE silence would have left the public completely in the dark, but not anymore! Not saying it's all accurate, but a lot of it does seem to be credible TO ME (MOO), especially when different, unrelated people are saying similar things.

 

[TruthIsStranger]

Yes, someone she knows intimately or superficially with anger, abandonment, jealousy, derangement, money, etc. issues then stranger abduction.

The at risk categories you list for trafficking are spot on; however sometimes middle class white women and youth fall into some of those categories.How many families don't have some sort of family dysfunction? It's been a few years but I did go to human trafficking task force meetings and knew social workers in the field, what I recall are cases where a teenage girl in a wealthy family, rebels or isn't treated well and ends up at risk. Traffickers hang out at malls and they don't care what class one comes from they only care if they can pull you away. Sometimes this happens to wealthy white middle class teenagers who don't feel loved at home, are rebeling, etc. I remember reading about them, talking about them years ago. I shall find a story for you and post it. Poems and discussions are all I can recall at the present.

I've known too many wealthy construction people with crime and drug problems to rule such factors out. But statistically speaking is where the money usually is, so I will grant you that what I have presented is an outside chance but one none the less.

Here, Gitana1, I will confess my bias, I detest drugs, organized crime and what they do to a community, I can never exclude them as a factor, considering my locale.

Statistics are much more reliable than bias.

But Suzanne was 49, not a wealthy teenager.

 

[TruthIsStranger]

He has not made an on camera statement, not once. He hasn’t given an interview, or made any public effort to get the word out.

I have no doubt the media has tried to get him to talk, and for whatever reason, he has decided against it.

If he said he was going to do an interview, a dozen reporters would be there. Clearly, he wants nothing to do with them.

So yes, I believe he is avoiding them.

I agree. I've never seen the husband of a missing woman avoid the media more than BM. It's shocking. But I'm sure that he saw how badly several recent guilty Colorado POIs did in their MSM interviews and decided he couldn't risk it, whether he was guilty or not.

 

[TruthIsStranger]

Depending on what type of treatment she had, she might not have the typical side effects that people associate cancer treatment with, such as hair loss.

I believe that Barry is avoiding all media outlets, too. The question is WHY? Why would a person who has a loved one missing avoid keep her face out in the media? I can think of only one reason, and it isn't because he is shy.

What confuses me is why haven't her girls gone to the media? Are they afraid that they will be asked about the behavior of their father and his seeming lack of interest?

Imagine how terrifying it would be to defy someone who might be capable of really hurting you. The other side of that, to be fair, is they believe BM is innocent and are following his lead, or they have been directly told by LE not to speak, but I can't say that I remember a similar reaction in other MP cases.

 

[Mimi in London]

True...but I also will say a husband who kills his wife is very likely to be 'a bully and a terrible father'...'not a loving spouse'....& 'a rotten husband'....

Sounds sorta chicken/egg to me

JMO

There is interesting research, published last year, which offers insight into a person’s potential to kill their partner. It establishes an eight-stage pattern.

Killers 'follow pattern' in domestic abuse cases

 

[TruthIsStranger]

Speaking from the point of view of a former teen daughter whose mother who had cancer in her 40s....there may have been a stretch of a few months where she was feeling the effects of treatment and not interested in taking photos. Maybe lots of days in pajamas, not getting her hair done, etc.

MOO

True. My mom had chemo and did not want to be photographed during that time.

However, Suzanne was wealthy and very well-preserved (although I hate that phrase!) for her age. I'm also 49, so I know the struggle, LOL. In fact, Suzanne seems to have barely changed from her wedding photo, so she seems like someone who's always made a consistent effort with regard to her appearance.

Even if she had treatments in the past year, they couldn't have been that recent (her family wouldn't have left her unattended), so she probably had time to get back to using all of her high quality makeup, hair, and body care treatments/regimes. Unless she was depressed or completely changed her priorities, she probably would have wanted to feel and look like her old self as soon as possible. Thus, she might not have looked that different from her older photos.

 

[TruthIsStranger]

Hadn't she just successfully battled cancer a second time? Maybe she wasn't keen on pictures while undergoing the cancer treatments or recovering from. I know I won't let my picture be taken when I'm not feeling my best.

Might be why there were no recent pictures.

Let's not forget about the lock down, when no one could get a haircut, and we started living in the same pair of sweats for days (or so I've heard). Also, there were fewer social occasions where hair and makeup were done and pics were taken. After a certain age, many of us don't want "spontaneous" casual photos taken at home and we're not selfie-obsessed. So if the chemo was in the Fall and then the lock down was in the Spring, this would explain a lack of recent photos.

 

[TruthIsStranger]

Yes. If he believed his wife was kidnapped, then his behavior makes absolutely no sense. Law enforcement clearly doesn’t believe that, so it’s actually in his best interest to “scream from the mountain tops.”

If he merely picked up the phone and talked to a reporter, this case would be front page news again. His priority is not finding his wife, because I believe he knows what happened to her.

I’ve said this before, but at a bare minimum, he’s the worst husband on the face of the earth.

He’s not the first man from Colorado that I’ve said that about. Incidentally, the others were cold blooded killers.

Why is he a horrible husband? Because if you didn’t kill her, someone took her. If someone took her, the only way you can help save her is via public attention.

Enough said. Pass the rotten tomatoes.

If I disappeared temporarily, and my innocent husband wasn't publicly declaring with absolute certainty that I had been sex-trafficked despite my advanced age, well, let's just say that there would be hell to pay when I returned. kidding! (Something to the effect of: "This is an outrage! Are you blind? Of course, that's what happened! Never mind that she's 49, you fools; just look at her!")

And if I found out that he hadn't spoken to the MSM about my disappearance and he had only spent 30 seconds on a video? Ummmm, yeah. Wow. He most certainly would end up as a missing person, himself, within 24 hrs!

Just a bit of levity, there, but seriously--what husband, who thinks his wife might actually come back, would want to admit to her that he did so little to find her?! If you don't know what happened, then you MUST get all the help you can from anyone and everyone--'cause you just don't know, right? Any little thing might help, but you don't know what little thing or who or where or when or why, so you'd do anything and everything--especially talk to MSM. If you're innocent, that is.

 

[Truecolors]

Have we considered all possible types of PoI's?
One type of (hypothetical) PoI not yet discussed AFAIK is a (hypothetical) friend/boyfriend of a teen girl. I recall a few teen girls' whose parent(s) expressed disapproval (direct, subtle, or diplomatic) of friend/boyfriend, who then reacted by threatening, injuring, or killing girl's parent(s) but cannot think of any case names. I believe there's no basis for thinking ^ here and any post discussing anything beyond ^ likely violates WS ToS.
Jmo, ^ that's at bottom of possibilities list, tied w a little green man in flying saucer landing on US 50 and whisking SM away back to Mars, his home planet.

Here’s a recent one. Pretty horrifying. Dane County judge sends suspects in Arboretum double homicide to trial

Another that I’ve been following for a few years is the murder of Scott Fricker and Buckley Kuhn Fricker.

But these cases of boyfriend-kills-girlfriend’s parents tend to have some obvious history. When these parents ended up murdered, people close to them came forward with stories about the boyfriend.

I agree that is not the case here.

 

[branmuffin]

I'd love to know which neighborhoods they start in, and what their chief list of questions might be.

Yes, it's odd, that even five days later, we still haven't heard any reports of locals saying what questions were asked by LE or their general impression of where the investigation is going. Or even if they think its stalled.

 

[branmuffin]

I personally feel that she did reveal things in her life to other loved ones otherwise they wouldn’t be so silent to the media through all of this.. that’s just me

I think Suzanne was a very private person, because she was an isolated person. It may be by choice but sometimes I feel her personal identity was subsumed by her spouse. The dynamic presented to the public is that of a loving wife and a wonderful mother but who is Suzanne? I keep thinking of that phrase used in the televised sermon, an obediant wife.

 

[enelram]

There is interesting research, published last year, which offers insight into a person’s potential to kill their partner. It establishes an eight-stage pattern.

Killers 'follow pattern' in domestic abuse cases

Excellent article, thank you for posting.
I agree that most times this behavior is not a one-off crime of passion. there may be years of
control and misbehaviors that lead up to physical violence.
The patterns are usually there but may be hidden from the outside world.
As I've said many times "you don't know what goes on behind closed doors" and abusers get
very good about hiding these behaviors.

Sometimes friends or family know what the marriage is like but often they don't.
Same with children in the family.

 

[DizzyB]

Not discussing religion but it appears that this is a devout family. I do wonder about a wife’s role and also how divorce is considered. I see some family and friends still regularly sharing info and prayer for Suzanne. While the general public may suspect BM, many of them still seem to support him and are silent or upset about the apparent focus on him. BTW Suzanne did work out at a gym in Colorado so I think we can assume she was active. Obviously things changed during pandemic but I’m going with she continued some sort of physical activity like bike riding.

 

[Dave F.]

In my opinion, Chaffee county doesn't really have neighborhoods like one would find in an urban area. The population for census purposes is broken down into one city, two towns, 4 census designated places (villages), the rest of the county including seventeen unincorporated communities. The population is broken down as:
Salida 5,963
Buena Vista 2.195
Poncha Springs 466
Garfield 15
Johnson Village 246
Maysville 135
Smeltertown 120
Unincorporated areas 10,887
Total Population 20,027
My own opinion and assessment is that to accomplish a true 100% canvas, each of the 24 officers would have to contact 834 people. 453 of those contacts wouldn't be in neighborhoods at all, but scattered in the unincorporated areas. That's a daunting task. The high traffic grocery store in Salida was a really good place to begin. MOO
Chaffee County, Colorado - Wikipedia

 

[Hoosierfan72]

Just a couple of random observations:

I agree with the sentiment that there is very little we actually know about this case. I also agree with those that have pointed out multiple things that are concerning (which clearly doesn't equal guilt) re: BM.

Given the variety of opinions on this forum (which I think the participants here are smarter than your average joe citizen), it helps me understand why these cases take a lot of time - especially if there is no body. All it takes is one person out of twelve to not be convinced of guilt - and you can clearly see from the dialogue here that everyone's bar is set at a different height when it comes to being convinced. I've seen a circumstantial case described this way - each concerning fact is like a pencil - by itself, it's not all that strong and can be broken. Two or three pencils, the same thing. But if you have a handful of 20 pencils, you can't break them with your hands, they collectively carry a lot of strength. To build a circumstantial case, you have to have enough concerning facts that not one out of 12 people can reasonably explain them away and come to a different conclusion. I think from LEs perspective, the worst outcome on this would be to rush to arrest/trial and lose the case because they didn't have enough of that evidence (which is even worse than believing that a guilty perp is living free for the time being).

Also, one other thing I've been thinking about. I watch a lot of Dateline and they often show police interrogation videos. From my perspective, there are certain people that are interviewed that you can tell - with a high degree of accuracy - within the first 30 seconds of them opening their mouth if they are telling the truth or lying (without really having to listen to what they are saying, but in listening to how they are saying it). From watching BM on the Ty video and the FB plea, I don't think he falls into that category (not for me anyway). I think he's a hard read from that standpoint (others may disagree, but when I first watched the video, I didn't have a strong reaction of "he's lying" or "he's telling the truth") - but as you dig into the words he chooses and what he actually says (the distancing language, exaggerations, extraneous details provided, etc.) I do find it concerning. That said by itself it is, at most, a pencil. How many others does LE have? I wish I knew! JMO, MOO.

 

[vaporlass]

That too makes me wonder if she could have gone missing of her own accord and LE has evidence to support that but it's not concrete enough to say for certain so they need to keep looking into it and into other possibilities until they are able to locate or make contact with her. But it could explain the sudden quiet from the family and their urgency in locating her. And not many would publicly gush over their wonderful friend or family member, or want to answer tricky questions when it's probable she is living her best life far from Salida with her lover.
I don't want to believe she'd abandon her children but I don't know what their relationship is. It appears they are close but those pictures are able lie just as well as her photos with BM. < modsnip> Maybe they weren't very close?

If I thought my spouse had left me because
1.) She was trying to find herself, she had been saying she needed space, time away, etc OR
2.) I had suspicions there was another man

I certainly wouldn’t tell the neighbor to call the police immediately and then proceed to insinuate she was kidnapped or killed by a mountain lion.
I would do my own investigating.
The immediate conclusion that SM was in danger and help was needed to find her is what waves red flags at me.
I don’t get that response to her unanswered texts/calls at all, especially in an area known for lack of reception ... as a matter of a fact, I would think a woman who bikes alone, enjoys being in Colorado mountain wilderness, is spiritual/religious, and who has had 2 bouts with cancer WOULD be more likely to take off for a retreat or a few days to do spiritual searching.
Nope, I don’t believe ANYONE thinks she took off on her own. I don’t think that is WHY they are being quiet. I believe BM has kept her isolated through careful manipulations from her family and others over the years. I think they don’t know what to think or believe and none of them feel confident expressing an opinion one way or the other because none of them had been able to get close to her over the past few years.
I think he’s controlling and knew every move SM made.
I think calling LE immediately (or what appeared to be immediately after her disappearance) was just part of his plan.

 

[gitana1]

He was the ONLY suspect for eighteen years. It ruined his marriage to her mother, and understandably made him a very bitter man.
Dugard stepfather wonders why it took 18 years to find Jaycee

That’s not quite true. He may have felt that way but the facts don’t show that. The kidnapping was witnessed by some of her classmates. He was quickly given a lie detector test and passed it. He was not the only suspect. So was her bio-dad:

“Carl Probyn witnessed the abduction of his stepdaughter from within sight of their home. He saw two people in a mid-sized gray car – possibly a Mercury Monarch[22] – make a U-turn at the school bus stop where Dugard was waiting, and a woman forcing Dugard into the car. Probyn gave chase on a bicycle, but was unable to overtake the vehicle. Some of Dugard's classmates were also witnesses to the abduction. Initial suspects included Probyn and Ken Slayton, Dugard's biological father, though they did not know each other and Slayton had only had a brief relationship with Terry in 1979, not knowing he had a child. Probyn took and passed several polygraphtests, and Slayton was also quickly cleared of suspicion.[23]”

Kidnapping of Jaycee Dugard - Wikipedia


No, I’ve never seen a case where there’s this level of searching and focus (I mean digging up ground?) and the person who is the focus was innocent. I think the closest was the Celis family, as some have pointed out. But while their house was heavily searched, I don’t recall anything being dug up. They were certainly the focus but the extent of the search in this case is different to me.

None of the cases mentioned have come close to this.

 

[gitana1]

What about the Heidi Broussard case? IIRC there was abuse and he didn’t come off well in the media and we all (myself included) had him convicted. That’s one case that has caused me to fence sit more than I used to.

Also the Daniella Vian case

I didn’t want to say!

But one thing to note- there is no evidence in that case that he was the focus of the LE investigation.

 

[gitana1]

Okay.



I honestly don't thinkt is what happened with Suzanne. But when it was suggested that she just up and left her life I thought about that, and tried to think of reasons she may have simply left her life behind. Just another perspective. Stranger things have happened (Heidi Broussard!?! I didn't suspect SC but never expected it'd turn out to be a close friend.)
I don't see we have enough information yet to be hanging BM in haste, and aside from that I can only see a man in pain and out of his element. I'm guessing that with BM being a busy contractor that SM was the partner who ran everything else in their household. Not in a controlling way but because she was good at it, and it was her "thing". But as I said, I wouldn't be surprised if he's found to be responsible if only because "statistics". And because otherwise I'm throwing darts and seeing what sticks.

Thank you so much. I appreciate that. I'm doing so well. I have my next 6 week check up soon and I'm very optimistic that I will be in the clear! I was fortunate I had access to one of the best oncology teams in the world or the outcome may have been much different.

Wow!! That’s a lot to go through. I’m sure we are all rooting for you to be in the clear!