Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #16

[Itsapuzzle]

Spontaneous random thought ..... why didn't BM say to TD how odd it was that the bike was found where it was? He seemed very accepting of its location. I have to say as soon as I saw where it was located, only seconds away from Hwy 50 I found it decidedly odd because it means she was either heading onto the Freeway to ride home, on that single lane where there's hardly any room for a bike, and big Mac trucks filling the lane ...... noooooo ..... or if she had just arrived from the Hwy 50 heading down to CR225 that makes no sense either. That hwy, who would choose to ride it for a Sunday ride to get to where she was ...... nooooo ...... the risk of being skittled ...... why didn't Barry mention this, just a thought, because now I know where everything's positioned that's the first thing I think of. End of spontaneous random thought.

 

[Tate123]

Spontaneous random thought ..... why didn't BM say to TD how odd it was that the bike was found where it was? He seemed very accepting of its location. I have to say as soon as I saw where it was located, only seconds away from Hwy 50 I found it decidedly odd because it means she was either heading onto the Freeway to ride home, on that single lane where there's hardly any room for a bike, and big Mac trucks filling the lane ...... noooooo ..... or if she had just arrived from the Hwy 50 heading down to CR225 that makes no sense either. That hwy, who would choose to ride it for a Sunday ride to get to where she was ...... nooooo ...... the risk of being skittled ...... why didn't Barry mention this, just a thought, because now I know where everything's positioned that's the first thing I think of. End of spontaneous random thought.

looking up "skittled"

 

[scapa]

looking up "skittled"

Skittled >>> knocked over, spilled from, struck by, prob derived from the British term for older forms of (non-lawn) pin-bowling.

Example: Fancy a pint and skittles down the pub? Or: Used to love a game a skittles wi' me nan/mam/fella/mate (true story).

 

[Nerissa]

I'm wondering sorta chicken/egg thingy

Did LE find enough red flags before BM even returned that night, May 10th, outside the home.....

OR

Did they have access to the house (perhaps via daughter's permission to look for SM) immediately....AND that is what led to the red flags...?

I just have this funny feeling BM was NOT expecting a massive search effort, K9 dogs, & LE in his house & denying him access that Sunday night.......

I don't think that was part of his plan......

My gut feeling is LE had access to the Morphew residence immediately- & there was a pretty convincing scene/evidence of a woman who was not 'missing'....

JMO

 

[Murphy1950]

I have been hearing about this email. Is there a copy of it somewhere?

As good as it gets, no copy available to the public

CrimeOnline has viewed a message that was sent to members of the Morphew’s former church in Indiana, requesting prayers following the news of her disappearance. The message notes that Morphew’s bike was found “crashed,” and mentions that a mountain lion had been seen in the area where the bike was discovered.

‘They can’t find her’: Message to church group shows desperate plea in early days of search for missing Colorado mom Suzanne Morphew [REPORT]

 

[alleyoop24]

So...what is your impression of the state of the economy in Chaffee County right now? Are there people out of work? Are people having to compete for work, given the collapse of travel and tourism? Is it really true that some people are camping out due to homelessness (temporary or otherwise)? Would you personally feel safe (for example) going 5 miles off road on a hike - or bike ride? Have you heard about those boards with the nails in them that were found on mountain bike trails near Salida?.

Source: Me, lots of time in the area in the last several months. MOO etc.

People out of work - yes, but there are also some jobs becoming available. I've seen local places advertising. In general, the industry is outdoor tourism. The jobs I've seen most are in stores.

Travel and tourism are coming back. Downtown has streets blocked off for restaurant seating. Takeout has been alive for a while. Hotels and VRBOs were told they could open in the last few weeks. Rafting is open. Trails and camping are open. Traffic has been picking up through town over the past few weeks with people stopping for supplies, food, beer, etc on their way to camp and more recently staying in hotels. When the county opened for business, people had already been coming in, but it really picked up speed now that it's legal and encouraged. As a customer, I've felt that people seemed generally optimistic since things were opening again.

I have in the past 3 months felt very safe skiing, biking, and hiking, within and outside of 5 miles from main roadways. The trails that were vandalized are a small portion of trails available, close to town. Local bike and trail groups have posted on Facebook cleanup and warnings, etc. The vandalism is of course bad but it's not widespread, afik. I'm not in town proper enough to get the scuttlebutt on what everyone thinks, but in general, there does not seem to be a cloud of fear, danger, or despair.

Housing, even to rent, is expensive, and that's been a persistent problem for a few years that city/county leadership are trying to address. There's unmet demand for affordable rentals. The Chaffee County Community Foundation raised a lot of money to help people out in the past couple of months with housing, food, etc. No idea how much was given out.

Construction is pretty active. I don't have ## for comparison. In recent years there's been a great demand for skilled labor.
Lots of professionals I know in the area work remotely.

There aren't that many homeless people visible when you drive through town. I know there are some there, but it's not a huge visible problem.

City leaders and citizens did/are doing a good job of following COVID-19 precautions. Some people might think it's a wild west sort of town but it's been chill, law-abiding, and friendly, IMO.

 

[tmar]

Usually I have an opinion on a case by now but I still waffle on this one. I do think it’s possible something happened that was not premeditated. For example, a fight got out of control - a fight that perhaps would not have happened if the daughters had been home. In other words, someone may have taken that opportunity to address some large issue and discuss it when no one was around. Then later it was convenient the daughters weren’t there, as the scene had to be returned to normal. JMO

I’ve drawn some possible conclusions about the climate of their marriage (can’t discuss here) and think it’s possible SM may have wanted to discuss something, and things went very bad.

I’m not 100% sold on this but I do think it’s very possible.

I agree with your thoughts Stripehaven.
I would also think, if SM wished to discuss 'perhaps a divorce, or her treatment by BM', she would have spoken about this, with close female friends beforehand.
If so, let us hope, these friends have contacted LE.
MOO.

 

[TIGER0822]

As good as it gets, no copy available to the public

CrimeOnline has viewed a message that was sent to members of the Morphew’s former church in Indiana, requesting prayers following the news of her disappearance. The message notes that Morphew’s bike was found “crashed,” and mentions that a mountain lion had been seen in the area where the bike was discovered.

‘They can’t find her’: Message to church group shows desperate plea in early days of search for missing Colorado mom Suzanne Morphew [REPORT]

Thank you!

 

[Madeleine74]

Why would LE be suspicious about the husband of a newly missing wife?

IMO:

It would be foolish and a dereliction of duty for LE not to consider that harm could have come to a spouse by another person, yes even by her intimate partner, especially given various statistics of how harm comes to someone who does not have a history of disappearing.

One of the first things to nail down is if there was something that happened to the wife at her home, when she was last seen, by who, what day, what time, who last talked to her, etc.

Searching doesn't only occur outside, in the wilderness, in the mountains, around town, it also needs to happen where the victim spent most of her time (her home), vehicles she may have used or been in.

Interview(s) with her spouse, children, family, friends would be natural and if anything set off their hinky meter they'd be remiss if they didn't followup and start digging (figuratively and in this case, literally).

Process of elimination, and when someone who is a potential POI cannot be eliminated, more info and evidence is sought and gathered.

/IMO

 

[gitana1]

IMO, I’m having a hard time believing that no one loves, cares or or is insanely concerned about SM right now, with the exception of strangers on the internet.

I believe she was murdered by someone known to her. I’m not putting all my eggs in one basket of a guilty husband just yet. I might eat crow one day with that last statement and that’s okay.

No. Even if he is culpable in the disappearance, you’d have no reason to eat crow. Not much to go on at this point. I’m definitely leaning one direction but I can’t commit with so little to go on.

 

[susiQ]

Lately, I’ve wondered about SM’s beautiful wedding ring set, and if it will be with her when she is found.

Would LE have notified pawn shops? Or visited pawn shops? Does LE send out to pawn shops a list of items that might show up in their store?

Because, you know, an abductor (cough) might be in need of cash.

OR, they were found in the home, because you know, she never wears her diamonds when cycling

 

[marylamby]

Spontaneous random thought ..... why didn't BM say to TD how odd it was that the bike was found where it was? He seemed very accepting of its location. I have to say as soon as I saw where it was located, only seconds away from Hwy 50 I found it decidedly odd because it means she was either heading onto the Freeway to ride home, on that single lane where there's hardly any room for a bike, and big Mac trucks filling the lane ...... noooooo ..... or if she had just arrived from the Hwy 50 heading down to CR225 that makes no sense either. That hwy, who would choose to ride it for a Sunday ride to get to where she was ...... nooooo ...... the risk of being skittled ...... why didn't Barry mention this, just a thought, because now I know where everything's positioned that's the first thing I think of. End of spontaneous random thought.

Absolutely.
IMO, the bike had to be found pronto. It wouldn't have been located immediately if on a trail or off-road.

 

[Puzzles8]

Lately, I’ve wondered about SM’s beautiful wedding ring set, and if it will be with her when she is found.

Would LE have notified pawn shops? Or visited pawn shops? Does LE send out to pawn shops a list of items that might show up in their store?

Because, you know, an abductor (cough) might be in need of cash.

The value of jewelry is a fraction of it's true worth when sold through pawn shops. Pawn shops generally have a very good idea of jewelry that was recently stolen during a crime and don't want anything to do with it. IMO, LE absolutely has talked to many pawn shops. In addition, local pawn shops probably have a decent relationship with LE.
Oh, and many, so many security cameras.

MOO

 

[gitana1]

Respectfully, I just cannot compare BM’s “love” for SM with AS’s undying love for his son. Maybe that’s just me. I lost a beloved adult son to cancer (can’t imagine what AS and LH are going through) and as much as this may sound cold to some, while losing my husband would be very hard, I just don’t think it would compare. My mother has lots of German sayings, one of which is, “A husband falls from your side, a child from your heart.” There is NO love greater than the love of a parent for their child. JMHO

Gosh. Very sad to know that. I had no idea.

 

[kkdj]

Respectfully, I just cannot compare BM’s “love” for SM with AS’s undying love for his son. Maybe that’s just me. I lost a beloved adult son to cancer (can’t imagine what AS and LH are going through) and as much as this may sound cold to some, while losing my husband would be very hard, I just don’t think it would compare. My mother has lots of German sayings, one of which is, “A husband falls from your side, a child from your heart.” There is NO love greater than the love of a parent for their child. JMHO

I'm so sorry you went thru that SusiQ.

 

[Dave F.]

Absolutely.
IMO, the bike had to be found pronto. It wouldn't have been located immediately if on a trail or off-road.

I disagree. The distance from the spot where TD interviewed BLM to the Fooses Dam Bridge on the old Colorado Trail (or Fooses Lake descent) is 8/10ths of a mile, or 21 minutes walking time uphill. The 911 call was placed at 5:47 pm, so assuming a half hour response time, a search would have begun at about 6:17 pm from a central location, probably that same wide spot in the road.. If any one of the four people involved in reporting had told LE that she usually bikes the Colorado Trail on Sundays, searchers would have arrived at the bridge by 6:38 pm at the earliest.
BLM said he didn't arrive until 9:00 pm, leaving a 2 hour 22 minute time window in which LE could find the bike during the search. IMO
خرائط ‪Google‬‏‏

 

[LietKynes]

Respectfully, I just cannot compare BM’s “love” for SM with AS’s undying love for his son. Maybe that’s just me. I lost a beloved adult son to cancer (can’t imagine what AS and LH are going through) and as much as this may sound cold to some, while losing my husband would be very hard, I just don’t think it would compare. My mother has lots of German sayings, one of which is, “A husband falls from your side, a child from your heart.” There is NO love greater than the love of a parent for their child. JMHO

So sorry to hear that, susiQ !

 

[marylamby]

So sorry to hear that, susiQ !

I too am sorry, susiQ. Much love.

 

[LietKynes]

al66pine said: ↑
Why were CBI & FBI brought in so quickly?
Many posts asked about ^ . I have no basis for wondering if SM & BM were living in separate homes. I recall in other cases, when one of a married couple living in separate homes has gone missing, that 'living separately' stoked LE's investigation. If, a big IF, that was true, it would tend to support local LE's seeking assistance from state & federal agencies.

Noel declined to comment if Suzanne had children or who she lived with. No further details were provided.

snipped for focus
Such a curious detail to hesitate on .

Imo-- it should have been a fairly easy and standard response to address the reporter.

Also --remember his 'terms and conditions' before providing his details to the press. Not showing his face was one of them, iirc.
If you're going to ask for money from the public-- isn't it courteous to let them see you ?


And we know TN wasn't reticent to put Suzanne's daughters' name out there, per his public statement.
MOO

 

[marylamby]

I disagree. The distance from the spot where TD interviewed BLM to the Fooses Dam Bridge on the old Colorado Trail (or Fooses Lake descent) is 8/10ths of a mile, or 21 minutes walking time uphill. The 911 call was placed at 5:47 pm, so assuming a half hour response time, a search would have begun at about 6:17 pm from a central location, probably that same wide spot in the road.. If any one of the four people involved in reporting had told LE that she usually bikes the Colorado Trail on Sundays, searchers would have arrived at the bridge by 6:38 pm at the earliest.
BLM said he didn't arrive until 9:00 pm, leaving a 2 hour 22 minute time window in which LE could find the bike during the search. IMO
خرائط ‪Google‬‏‏

I appreciate all of your detailed maps but, unless I'm mistaken, her bike was found right off 50 next to a tree in a ravine. near a stream or creek.

That's a big difference from finding it on a trail, which could be a mile or miles from the home we assume she lived in.

Please correct me if I'm mistaken.