Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #2

[MichelleBlue]

IMO when it comes down to it, I hope this is just some big misunderstanding & Suzanne is safe. Or maybe injured or lost in the woods. I feel bad for reading too much into the nephew's word choices & the Sheriff's responses. I hope she is alive & well & will be located soon.

 

[Gigi3]

The husband of my Colorado friend's daughter is a firefighter out of Colorado Springs. Training in this state involves staying fit and able to scale mountains at any given time. Some of his training involves climbing Pike's Peak with full gear on. Volunteering for this after living in Indiana, definitely would be challenging pursuit, if indeed he intended to help fight wildfires.

I agree with your post! My husband is a wildland firefighter and travels all over when fires breakout. He has to take a “pack” test every year as just one of the qualifiers to be able to go out. And I can’t tell you how many certification classes he has had- everything from hand crew, dozer crew, sawyer crew, etc... the list is long lol.

All that to say, in his experience, he has never heard of a volunteer firefighter being qualified to go out on major wildland fires. Could be different there, but I think it would be extremely dangerous! MOO

I’m having a hard time deciding what happened in this case. I usually have a gut instinct, but this one is throwing me for a loop. I suppose it could be a kidnapping, but statistically, what are the odds?

 

[MinnyPin]

I agree with everything you wrote except the last part. IMO law enforcement is not sharing details of the investigation with the family. The reason? Someone close to SM is a suspect.

As a result, the family, which does NOT suspect a family member, thinks that law enforcement is wasting time chasing down these silly leads.

This would explain the nephew’s frustration at law enforcement not sharing details of the bike (or broader investigation) and it also explains (for me) why the G F M was started. The family thinks law enforcement isn’t looking where it needs to so the family is going to do its own search based on their thinking she was injured or abducted.

This!

 

[ab01]

CHAFFEE COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
Salida, Colorado
PRESS RELEASE
May 16, 2020

Members of the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) continue the search for Suzanne Morphew.

Ms. Morphew is a Chaffee County woman reported missing on May 10, 2020.

While Saturday’s efforts didn’t involve a large-scale search similar to the one that took place on US Highway 50 on May 15, investigators continued to follow-up on tips and conduct targeted searches in the area based on information provided to those working the case.

To date, there have been more than 100 tips reported to the dedicated phone line as part of Ms. Morphew’s Missing Person case. The Chaffee County Sheriff's Office asks the public to continue to report any information about this case by calling (719) 312-7530.

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

Chaffee County Sheriff's Office

Reminds me of press releases we have seen in the ongoing Colorado Springs case of Gannon Stauch.

Pretty close to the vest

 

[10ofRods]

Thanks so much @10of Rods. I knew there was a connection.

I'm just kinda blown away with the amount of money there is out there for these kinds of places. And that's for a 12 year old home, which, although large and comfortable, looks dated and likely needs a lot of upkeep in those cold winters.

I would think heating it in winter was astronomical. But, location, location, location. Dark night skies, away from city noise and grime. Wonderful air. A rushing river.

However, I don't see anything in the local market that is that sort of open style, which many non-local people really want. Locals know how expensive that much glass is. I'm now looking at the other recent sales in Salida that are near that price range - there's a studio (no bedrooms listed) that's 4000 sf. For a hair under $1M. It has more typical windows (there's another one - gray colored, that is almost 5000 sf and sold for ~$1m, that reminds me of houses built or bought by friends and family at higher altitudes in Colorado, Utah, New Mexico). Minimize windows to keep it cool in summer, warmer in winter.

I didn't realize just how recently Suzanne had moved there. In fact, I wonder if they were in by Christmas. And what that's like, to uproot yourself from your own hometown of many years, your home state, and move to near Salida, CO. Altitude 7008 feet-ish, lots of snow. Skiing nearby. Beautiful outdoor life. But...a bit lonely for newcomers. Nearest neighbor looks to be .2 of a mile away.

It's an adventurous thing to do.

 

[lucidtx]

I agree with your post! My husband is a wildland firefighter and travels all over when fires breakout. He has to take a “pack” test every year as just one of the qualifiers to be able to go out. And I can’t tell you how many certification classes he has had- everything from hand crew, dozer crew, sawyer crew, etc... the list is long lol.

All that to say, in his experience, he has never heard of a volunteer firefighter being qualified to go out on major wildland fires. Could be different there, but I think it would be extremely dangerous! MOO

I’m having a hard time deciding what happened in this case. I usually have a gut instinct, but this one is throwing me for a loop. I suppose it could be a kidnapping, but statistically, what are the odds?

Out here many volunteer departments do put their people through wildland fire training, but they often don't deploy out nationally and just respond locally in that capacity.

 

[Gigi3]

Out here many volunteer departments do put their people through wildland fire training, but they often don't deploy out nationally and just respond locally in that capacity.

Good to know... so they just stay within their district?

 

[lucidtx]

Good to know... so they just stay within their district?

Usually, sometimes they'll help neighboring jurisdictions too, but they don't typically go out of state at the request of the feds like our career firefighters do as far as I know.

 

[Dave F.]

For some clarification:
Professional dogs are trained to conduct very specific search types. In the Berreth case, we witnessed Colorado LE employ several different cadaver dogs but never a "live search" animal. In the trial, we found out why a living search was never considered. In this case, LE called out the corrections system search dogs, which are obviously highly trained to detect living persons, moving or stationary. They have little or no experience searching for remains. The sheriff described a grid search, within 2.5 miles of the intersection of County Road 225 and Highway 50. A five mile circle (2.5 mile radius) close grid is standard procedure for searching wooded terrain for a lost, injured or abducted person. Highway 50 is the paved road over Monarch Pass, which is the obvious reason for closing it while the grid was covered. There is a graded gravel area on the south side of Highway 50, which is the only automobile turnout in that stretch of road. The first gravel road taking off of County Road 225 to the left is Puma Path. The distance from the house on Puma Path to the intersection is .78 miles by road / driveway, but the "line-of-sight" distance is exactly 2000 feet, giving a strong clue to where objects belonging to SM were discovered. Source: Google Earth

 

[carbuff]

Well, this is bizarre.

It's pretty clear to mean from the press conference that LE does not believe Suzanne is still alive. The sheriff's body language was quite obvious. But he didn't exactly detail anything at all the public should look for. Just submit tips. Odd.

The nephew gives me all sorts of weird vibes. He doesn't seem to be the designated family spokesperson and seems to be poking at LE, so his involvement seems a bit off.

I'm curious about their source of income and seeming wealth. Is it true the husband was a minor league professional athlete? I don't think that would be a source of such wealth, nor her families business. They don't in any way seem any sort of sketchy, but neither seems to have income that would easily explain their real estate holdings. Money is the root of so many crimes.

At any other time, I would find it very odd that Suzanne was not spending Mother's Day with family. But this is during a pandemic and she had survived cancer twice. I have to imagine she was isolating in a pretty serious way. I'm guessing when no one was able to make contact with her, that led to the neighbor's 911 call after doing a brief search for her.

My current theory is someone known to Suzanne and not a mystery to others. I've also entertained the thought of some mountain man hermit type seeing her, she's a beautiful woman, and snatching her for his companion. Didn't something like that happen in the 70s or 80s to a Olympic skier?

All of this, is of course just my opinion.

Somebody else probably already answered this, but yes: Kari Swenson of Bozeman MT. I went to high school with her. Kari Swenson - Wikipedia

I believe the kidnapper was recently released after serving like 30 years.

 

[GordianKnot]

What family member would LE focus on, the husband? <modsnip: There is no MSM to support training in Denver> I hope they are looking for the real suspect because I highly doubt it is the husband.

Of course LE is going to focus on the husband, at least initially.

That's just good policing.

They'd be grossly negligent and/or derelict in their duties if they did not do so.

Neither LE nor MSM has indicated why the husband went "out of town" to Denver.

Fire-fighting training appears to be rumor and speculation. Not fact.

Any time I hear mention of finding the "real killer," I'm always reminded of OJ's fruitless searches on all those golf courses for the "real killer" of Nicole and Ron.

JMO.

 

[Steelslady]

Here it is again. Beg pardon, it does say Denver.

Husband offers $100,000 reward as search continues for missing Colorado mom, Suzanne Morphew, who mysteriously vanished after going on Mother's Day bike ride

According to a family member, Suzanne Morphew’s husband was out of town on a trip to Denver at the time the Colorado mom was reported missing.

I need to read the article. Just wondering when he left for this trip and when his return from this trip was supposed to be.

 

[Steelslady]

Here it is again. Beg pardon, it does say Denver.

Husband offers $100,000 reward as search continues for missing Colorado mom, Suzanne Morphew, who mysteriously vanished after going on Mother's Day bike ride

According to a family member, Suzanne Morphew’s husband was out of town on a trip to Denver at the time the Colorado mom was reported missing.

Oh, um, this quote here from that article:

Spezze declined to comment on whether Morphew’s husband is cooperating with authorities in the search for the woman or whether investigators believe foul play was involved. “This is an open criminal investigation,” Spezze said during a brief interview.

 

[carbuff]

Things a person would drop themselves in abduction scenario:
chapstick
water bottle
shoe
helmet
fingernails
hair
button
jewelry
?

I'm of the mind that there was no bike ride.
Just making a list in absence of information.
I'm a list maker.

hair scrunchie
cell phone
earbuds
ID/wallet
sock, assuming shoe had been lost
watch/fitbit
energy packets
wristbands
a knee, elbow, ankle support

etc?

My first guess would be that it was her phone or a Fitbit-type device, something that could give them a lot of information. I don't think they'd be quite so cautious about a wristband or water bottle. But that's just MOO.

 

[Steelslady]

If I missed this, apologies. Have they released info on where the item(s) and the bike were found? tia

No, but I wouldn't expect them to, either. Makes sense that they would release the info about the item closest to home, and the nephew did a great disservice to LE and his aunt by blasting it all over social media that her bike was found. LE would keep things like this quiet to try and catch the suspects in a lie- something they would know about the items that an innocent person would not.

 

[LaborDayRN]

Oh, um, this quote here from that article:

Spezze declined to comment on whether Morphew’s husband is cooperating with authorities in the search for the woman or whether investigators believe foul play was involved. “This is an open criminal investigation,” Spezze said during a brief interview.

Very interesting IMO

 

[BoatyMcboatface]

Oh, um, this quote here from that article:

Spezze declined to comment on whether Morphew’s husband is cooperating with authorities in the search for the woman or whether investigators believe foul play was involved. “This is an open criminal investigation,” Spezze said during a brief interview.

Didn’t he also say something about hoping he would continue to cooperate? That seems weird to me.

 

[Steelslady]

Apparently, as noted by others, that post was from 2019. And any picture, old or new, can be posted at any time, by anyone with access to the Facebook page.



Do you have a link for this? I wasn't aware of the husband making any statements. If he did, I do hope it was verified by LE, and not just "reported" as such by the nephew. The husband and daughters should be speaking for themselves, or at least, by a family spokesperson with the husband and daughters standing by.

Kinda like the bike deal. Did LE ever confirm what was said by the nephew, that the bike had been found? Because if that news came only from him, I may have to disregard that info. With so little information being shared by LE, then there's a reason LE is not confirming anything about the bike. IMO

No public family interaction with LE or the press is disturbing to me.

Unless the family thinks it is suicide. But I'm not getting that vibe from LE or any of the reporting. Or the nephew (though at this time, I'm taking what he says with a big grain of salt).

I do believe that the sheriff confirmed the bike was found, but refused to say what condition it was in. It was during yesterday's press conference. I mentioned that he might have been forced into answering about her bike being found because the nephew was telling people to call LE and ask about the condition of the bike- to which, I find a very odd thing to ask people to do.

 

[LietKynes]

Didn’t he also say something about hoping he would continue to cooperate? That seems weird to me.

Yes, at the presser.

 

[clearskies1]

<modsnip: quoted post was removed>

"On May 10, 2020 at 1746 hours the Chaffee County Communications Center received a report of a missing female in the area on County Road 225 and West Highway 50.
Members of the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office responded to the area and contacted the reporting party. They advised that their neighbor, Suzanne Morphew, age 49, from the Maysville area had reportedly gone for a bike ride in the area and failed to return home." Chaffee County Sheriff's Office