Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #20

[girlhasnoname]

Would Suzanne ride her bike without a helmet according to BM? What better way to cement she was on a ride and perhaps abducted, since the bike was down by the creek and the helmet was near HWY 50 (the way out)? In a struggle, I would imagine a helmet would come off fairly easily.

I hope you all know I don't believe the bike ride story either, just thinking about evidence planted to make it look like an abduction.

I don't believe any serious or responsible rider would mountain bike without a helmet, I know I wouldn't.

I had a bad bike accident about 3 years ago and ended up in the emergency room, the Doc told me my helmet probably saved me. If wearing it properly, it would not be easy to come off.

MOO

 

[JnRyan]

I don’t think it’s the absence of evidence of an animal attack that is causing law enforcement to focus on BM, rather, I think there is specific evidence that he did something to her.

I just want to know what was found in the house during those two searches.

It was a week or so before LE searched the house. I think LE went to the area around the bike on Monday and/or Tuesday and brought at least two dog/handler teams and found no scent. If she had been bike riding and that was the crash site her scent would be there somewhere. I'm thinking LE didn't find any and that was first sign that something was off before LE even went to the house. Either something happened at the home and the bike was a plant or something happened while bike riding and her assailant threw the bike there to lead LE away from the crime scene. On that second theory, that has happened in 3 cases I can think of, Tara Calico, Mickey Schunick and Jill Behrman.

 

[al66pine]

LE. Ever Keep Mum on Remains Recovery?

This question to you professionals in law enforcement and elsewhere in the legal system: to your knowledge, has it ever happened that someone's body has been found, but the information isn't released to the public? One of the reasons being to allow them to continue investigating to put together a case if it's been determined that it wasn't a natural death or an accident?

@FelicityLemon I'm not LE, don't play one on TV, not even the interwebbbzzz, but good question. Since reading this post several hours ago, I've racked 'ze little grey cells' trying to recall a case in which -
--- LE recovered remains of MisPers,
--- Autopsy was conducted,
--- Autopsy report concluded CoD,
--- MoD was ruled homicide,
--- LE continued investigation & evidence gathering,
but LE & MedExaminer did not release any of that info to public. <--- IIUC, that's your question.

Seems in recent yrs, news of remains recovery gets spread within a few hrs, 24-48 hrs at most.
It could just be my sometimes foggy memory, but coming up w zip, zero, nada on ^.
I hope asking again jogs memories of LEOs (or others?) you posed question to.

 

[FelicityLemon]

IMO, we didn't hear all the details of that conversation with the neighbor or with the girls. I'm betting BM mentioned Suzanne's bike somewhere prior to the neighbor going to the house. Finding that bike was important and I'm fairly certain the personal item LE found will turn out to be her helmet.

This makes sense to me: "If her car is there, but she's not answering the phone, texts or doorbell, she may have gone for a bike ride. Her bike should be _______ can you see it?"

To think of and suggest that she went on a bike ride is a perfectly normal option in this family because she's known to love mountain biking and they live near trails. The neighbor calls him, explains what's going on then he mentions the possibility of a bike ride. It's not suspicious to me at that point.

To think of a bike ride in relation to me, if I was out of communication, would be outrageously suspicious since it's not my thing.

 

[Boxer]

This was discussed on a previous thread and I think it was @Dave F. who pointed out that CDOT cameras don't record.

Road Conditions, Speeds, Travel Times, Traffic Cameras, Live Streaming Traffic Cameras, Road Closures and Road Work Information provided by Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) a branch of Colorado Department of Transportation

Can I get a recording of a specific camera on a certain date and time?

As per CDOT policy, no camera images are recorded.

MOO was thinking gas stations, homes ans businesses along the highway etc.

 

[FelicityLemon]

LE. Ever Keep Mum on Remains Recovery?
@FelicityLemon I'm not LE, don't play one on TV, not even the interwebbbzzz, but good question. Since I read this post several hours ago, I've racked 'ze little grey cells' trying to recall a case in which -
--- LE recovered remains of MisPers,
--- Autopsy was conducted,
--- Autopsy report concluded CoD,
--- MoD was homicide,
--- LE continued investigation & evidence gathering,
but LE & MedExaminer did not release any of that info to public. <--- IIUC, that's your question.

Seems in recent yrs, news of remains recovery gets spread within a few hrs, 24-48 hrs at most.
It could just be my sometimes foggy memory, but coming up w zip, zero, nada on ^.
I hope asking again jogs memories of LEOs you posed question to (or others?).

I have to agree that it would be extremely difficult to keep quiet. Especially given that a few weeks ago a body, two bodies? were found and reported almost immediately it seemed.

 

[Nerissa]

It was a week or so before LE searched the house. I think LE went to the area around the bike on Monday and/or Tuesday and brought at least two dog/handler teams and found no scent. If she had been bike riding and that was the crash site her scent would be there somewhere. I'm thinking LE didn't find any and that was first sign that something was off before LE even went to the house. Either something happened at the home and the bike was a plant or something happened while bike riding and her assailant threw the bike there to lead LE away from the crime scene. On that second theory, that has happened in 3 cases I can think of, Tara Calico, Mickey Schunick and Jill Behrman.

The family was not allowed to enter the house that Sunday she was reported missing...so: it was not 'a week or so' before LE searched: it was off-limits for a good bit of time.....

Again: what missing person case can you specify wherein LE did not allow access to the house for family of said person within around 4 hours or so.....??

Otherwise, carry on, carry on: absolutely agree with your points.....

Going to check out those cases...thanks

JMO
Police and FBI wrap up search at property where missing mom Suzanne Morphew's husband worked | Daily Mail Online

 

[Tate123]

If there is no evidence left behind we won't know the person's demise. (I actually wonder how many 'lost' hikers, especially in ID, western MT and northwest WY were not actually victims of grizzly bears.) On that topic, if I suspected wild life, a mountain lion would not be my first thought but rather a bear. CO had seven bear - black bears, as CO is too far south for grizzlys - attacks in 2019 per the Colorado Sun. Still, bears and mountain lions can sense humans through scent and sound long before we know they are in the vicinity and will almost always avoid humans. While a bear attack is possible, with no evidence in the area of the bike, it would not be high on my list of possible outcomes.

A bear is possible but I would imagine there would be some gruesome evidence of someone attacked by a bear. I'm sure the dogs would have picked up on it.

 

[Nerissa]

A bear is possible but I would imagine there would be some gruesome evidence of someone attacked by a bear. I'm sure the dogs would have picked up on it.

Exactly: & if it were wild-life: how utterly irresponsible of LE to not to warn the public...

And IF an unknown abductor: how irresponsible of LE to not warn the public...

LE knows their job

There is NO wild animal attack (not the non-human kind anyway)

There is NO unknown abductor....

Tres simple

JMO

 

[JnRyan]

The family was not allowed to enter the house that Sunday she was reported missing...so: it was not 'a week or so' before LE searched: it was off-limits for a good bit of time.....

Again: what missing person case can you specify wherein LE did not allow access to the house for family of said person within around 4 hours or so.....??

Otherwise, carry on, carry on: absolutely agree with your points.....

Going to check out those cases...thanks

JMO
Police and FBI wrap up search at property where missing mom Suzanne Morphew's husband worked | Daily Mail Online

That Sunday? The 10th? Every media article I read states that LE did their search starting 24 May and turned the house back over to the family on 26 May. Where is it said LE took control of the house on 10 May?

 

[FelicityLemon]

The phone calls might also be this:

Girls: “Dad, we're running late and we've been trying to call Mom all day, but keep getting her voicemail and she hasn't called or texted us. We're worried; have you talked to her today, was she going somewhere?”

Dad: “I'm sure she's fine honey, but why don't you give Neighbor a call and ask her to go check on her. Your mom probably just got wrapped up in something and didn't notice the time or maybe her phone is misplaced.” Most dads would say something like that not wanting to worry their children

Neighbor looks around and sees SM's car, but she's not answering the door or her phone calls. Neighbor calls either the girls or Dad, probably both.

Dad tells Neighbor to “call 911, tell them what's going on and I'll be on my way and should be there in 3 hours. Have the sheriff call me, and please, if you could keep me updated and let me know what's going on. My ETA is _______.”

Or Dad tells the girls to “have Neighbor call 911, I'm on my way home. Don't worry, I'm sure she's fine.”

It makes sense to have a neighbor check on her because of literal proximity and time. Maybe the next closest volunteer firefighter is miles away. Maybe he would have called them if the neighbor wasn't available.

It also makes sense to have the neighbor or whoever it is who has spoken with the girls, spoken with the husband and is physically at the location waiting for help at that moment. It would only be wasting time for BM to call 911, try and explain everything said by the girls, said by the neighbor, seen or not seen by the neighbor, think of all the things people think of in this situation. There would be time to talk to BM after talking to the neighbor who is physically at the location and has so far been the person who has talked to the girls, talked to the husband and is physically at the house right now. Why on earth wouldn't it be the best for the neighbor or whomever to call the police at that time? Why? That's rhetorical because there is no other answer that makes sense to me. If they didn't want to take a report from the neighbor, she'd have called BM and then he would have called. Was he supposed to take the time to stay at the job site and call LE to explain and then get in and drive? Was he supposed to call while he was driving and try to get through to 911 in near his home, try to explain what was going on, each phone call, why he was worried about his wife not returning the girls' calls or the neighbors knocks, blah blah blah. Upset and extremely stressed trying to drive home on a straight flat road would be bad enough, but under those conditions on twisty, mountain roads would be more dangerous.

Time.

 

[JnRyan]

A bear is possible but I would imagine there would be some gruesome evidence of someone attacked by a bear. I'm sure the dogs would have picked up on it.

Yes, the dogs not finding her scent or there being no evidence of ANY wild animal attack leads me to believe LE had that ruled out wild animal by the 11th or 12th if not on Sunday. Of course, LE has never stated what the results exactly were from using dogs, that's just a supposition on my part.

 

[Truecolors]

So are you saying instead of asking the neighbor that he was already talking with to make the call, he should have hung up with her and started calling friends, hoping one of them would pick up the phone and make the call? At a time when every second counts?

I can imagine the reaction to those interviews-

Neighbor: I offered to call 911 but BM said no. He would call a friend.

Good grief.

If your friends are LE, then yes.

Was it really a 911 situation at that point? I just rewatched the TD video, and BM says that the neighbor was a “little worried” and BM said “I am, too. Why don’t we call the police to be safe.”

Yes, I think at that point, with that level of worry, it would be completely appropriate for him to call a friend in LE to go by the house and check on Suzanne.

MOO

 

[Goldenseal]

One thing that I would like to hear WS folks chime in on: How likely is it that a full-fledged search party would go out immediately after receiving a missing persons report? Is this standard procedure in wilderness areas where the elements or wildlife could pose a threat to the individual? I have no SAR background, but thought LE might take more time to assess the situation before bringing out the "big guns". Also, it seems I must have read somewhere (possibly seen on TV, though I don't watch much) that a person had to be missing so many hours before a formal report could be filed. I have wondered whether there wasn't something more at the scene--house or along alleged route--that warranted 2 dog teams + 100 people in relatively short order.

If the bike and the one item had not been found at the scene of the purported bike ride, I don't think there would have been a search party that night by LE. Where would you start looking, other than perhaps up and down a few nearby trails? I would think it would be friends, family, firefighter coworkers, neighbors -- with LE maybe coming in the next day if SM ( an adult who doesn't have to report to anybody) didn't come home that night.

Of course, maybe the combination of the very small town, the wealth of the Ms, and the fact that it was Mothers Day may have prompted LE to start a search, bike or no bike. Can't those sort of LE decisions be based on a hunch or bad feeling?

 

[Nerissa]

That Sunday? The 10th? Every media article I read states that LE did their search starting 24 May and turned the house back over to the family on 26 May. Where is it said LE took control of the house on 10 May?

Police and FBI wrap up search at property where missing mom Suzanne Morphew's husband worked | Daily Mail Online

In this article allowed per TOS rules: BM had not entered his home since arriving back from Denver

 

[Goldenseal]

If your friends are LE, then yes.

Was it really a 911 situation at that point? I just rewatched the TD video, and BM says that the neighbor was a “little worried” and BM said “I am, too. Why don’t we call the police to be safe.”

Yes, I think at that point, with that level of worry, it would be completely appropriate for him to call a friend in LE to go by the house and check on Suzanne.

MOO

It would be perfectly appropriate. An acquaintance of mine called me one morning around 6 a.m., worried about a mutual elderly friend whom he could not reach. He asked me to go to the friend's house. I called the police for a welfare check, gave the address, and met them there. You don't have to be LE to ask for and get a welfare check (although I was sorta LE at the time). I did use the non-emergency phone number, but I could have used 911. The police are useful for this because I did not have a key -- they were authorized to break in, when I of course was not authorized.

 

[Nerissa]

DailyMail.com revealed that Barry was not allowed to enter the home he shared with Suzanne since he returned from his trip to Denver.

Police and FBI wrap up search at property where missing mom Suzanne Morphew's husband worked | Daily Mail Online

Embedded quote from Daily Mail...& yeah....they are something to wade through aren't they?

But....still.....

 

[Feistyomi]

BBM:

There's been a discernible degree of both distancing language and distancing behavior by BM.

You and I are agreed on the fact that somewhere, somehow, there was a major, "Whoopsie!" by the perpetrator here that caught LE's attention early on in this case.

Given BM's apparent inclination to distance himself from the events back in Salida that day, I'm wondering if that might not have caused a major unforced error.

Specifically, I'm wondering if he was so concerned with keeping himself at a complete remove from all of the circumstances surrounding her disappearance that he neglected to call her cell phone that day himself.

Methinks someone was so interested in distancing himself that he forgot that the most important single action in playing the role of the concerned husband would have been to reach out to her directly himself, both after his daughters were unable to and after the neighbor reported the car there but the bike missing.

Nowhere have I seen or heard that BM tried to contact SM himself that day.

A purportedly worried husband making no attempt to call his wife after others have tried and failed to make contact with her would be the mother of all mistakes.

I very much wonder about that.

JMO.

How do we know he didn’t try to call her?

 

[GordianKnot]

That Sunday? The 10th? Every media article I read states that LE did their search starting 24 May and turned the house back over to the family on 26 May. Where is it said LE took control of the house on 10 May?

Police search and carry out evidence bags from the $1.5M home of missing Colorado mom | Daily Mail Online

SABBM:

But DailyMail.com can now reveal that Morphew, 52, has not been allowed to enter the home he shared with Suzanne since he returned from his trip to Denver.

Police also have his car and his cell phone – leaving the businessman and volunteer firefighter to communicate through his close friend George Davis, 33.

 

[Tate123]

That Sunday? The 10th? Every media article I read states that LE did their search starting 24 May and turned the house back over to the family on 26 May. Where is it said LE took control of the house on 10 May?

DailyMail.com revealed that Barry was not allowed to enter the home he shared with Suzanne since he returned from his trip to Denver.
Police also have his car and his cell phone – leaving the businessman and volunteer firefighter to communicate through his close friend George Davis, 33.

Police and FBI wrap up search at property where missing mom Suzanne Morphew's husband worked | Daily Mail Online