Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #4

[Summit1964]

I'm not sure the bike ride was "fiction" so much as "misunderstanding." (unless that's where you're going, too) After reading the Daily Mail piece, in which it was reported that SM's daughters notified Jeanne Ritter, one of the neighbors, that they couldn't reach their mom and could she go check on her -- I'm wondering if perhaps the "bike ride" idea came up because it was one possibility but not necessarily probability as to what SM had been doing since the last time she communicated with her daughters.

I've been puzzling about that for a few days, now. Maybe SM hadn't gone on a bike ride (but maybe her daughters thought she had), which means maybe there's a different timeline at play here, too, as to when SM was last heard from. And by that, I mean, actually spoke with someone because texts can be faked.

JMO

This is a head scratcher. According to the Daily Mail article, she was last heard from on May 9. Her daughters became concerned on May 10 when they couldn't reach her for Mother's Day. So why would anyone assume that she went on a bike ride? Unless she told someone on the 9th that she was planning on riding the next day.

 

[lonetraveler]

Re: the request for video. I saw a post elsewhere that mentioned how they’d picked up on how they were asking for doorbell recordings, security camera recordings and trail cam recordings, and the trail cam part made them wonder if LE is looking for someone sneaking up to the house on foot.

Its definitely a possibility - we’ve all been caught up thinking about vehicles due to the rural area but hmmmmm...

If someone was sneaking up to the house to harm her, they may not have thought about trail cams.

BBM: IMO, someone sneaking up to the house to harm her would not have thought about staging the bike at the bridge.

 

[TristanP]

Yes- apologies my post meant to say it is the nephew of SM and BM. I see it in the media threads pretty consistently as “ the nephew of SM” and then on WS he is identified as “the nephew of BM”. The different emphasis just struck me as odd.

It’s been mentioned here because there was an incident where he referred to Suzanne as “my aunt” and Barry as “the husband” or “her husband” and we thought it odd that he didn’t refer to Barry as his uncle. It may mean nothing, it may mean he was closer to Suzanne than Barry, it may mean he suspects Barry...obviously we have no way to know, but it’s what we do when we don’t have info...speculate!

 

[MntnHiker]

Hmm. Something said upthread got me thinking. I do wonder if this is someone known to her and BM. This person has a slight against them for whatever reason. Maybe it was just Suzanne and they knew she'd be alone OR maybe it was her AND her husband and they had ideally wanted to kill both of them but then whoops! Husband is out of town, so they just end up killing Suzanne.

Perhaps they showed up at her house Saturday night, after dark. She is a bit taken aback at them being there, but knowing them, opens the door willingly. However it transpires, she is killed in the home and they take her body somewhere where she has not yet been found. Before doing so, they might clean up and panic, and figure, people will know she's missing and need a story. So they take her bike (they're already in her house so they can access her bike which MAY be in the garage--that's where I keep mine!) and in the middle of the night/cover of darkness, stage the bike, and on their way to wherever they are going to hide her, with Suzanne in the car, they throw "personal belongings" out the window to make it look like she either had an accident while biking or was abducted while biking. IMO the personal belongings may include her phone and/or helmet - things she'd have with her on a bike ride.

This is all MOO/my own speculation.

 

[JLouiseB]

One scenario that explains LE's need for access to the house is if this was not perpetrated by someone other than the missing person. I do not believe this is the case but if a person wanted to leave the life they have for a new one, they might leave the bike and stage it to look like an abduction. If someone else, who was part of the new life came to pick them up, there would not be any evidence except for information on a computer or other indications of what the person might have been thinking about. LE has a said this is an open investigation and a missing person investigation, and this would fit. I do not personally feel that this the case but it could explain why LE has to have access to the house, to investigate all possibilities to determine what the evidence says.
opinion

 

[whitelilac]

I regret saying this, but could the perp be so egotistical he/she would think they wouldn’t get caught?

Imo - it’s murder for hire with staging imo or just some mid-life crisis stereotypical SO waiting in the wings and mad after she beat all these treatments. I actually paused quite a few times b4 typing this ugg

I've considered this.
Extreme jealousy.
Look at the Heidi Broussard case....her flipping best friend killed her. Granted, she wanted the baby, but someone else might want Barry.

eta...oh, and that astronaut....remember the extremes she went to?

 

[susiQ]

Not knowing where your mother is must be maddening. Mother. Wife. Friend. Family in general. I’ve seen close up the absolute terror family and friends go through. A living nightmare. I just hope there are answers to her exact location. Hope this isn’t another situation where there are no answers in whereabouts for years. Depends on how well she is hidden. Either by accident or foul play. Uggggg
Hope for answers tomorrow.

Yes, and “how well she is hidden,” may depend on what implements/equipment were at the disposal of the perpetrator. Not pointing a finger, just speculating.

 

[Pak31]

CBS4 Denver has a cool aerial video of the Morphew house and property that I saw on YouTube. It’s such a large piece of land and it’s so remote. They literally live out in the middle of nowhere.

 

[Jo in Calif]

Salida, Colorado
PRESS RELEASE
May 21, 2020


There are no new updates on May 21, 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 missing person search for Suzanne Morphew.

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

On Thursday, May 21, investigators continued to review and follow-up on tips reported to the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office. As reported yesterday, there have been approximately 200 tips reported to the designated phone line for information about Ms. Morphew’s disappearance.

The public is asked to continue to report any information about this case by calling (719) 312-7530.

Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office will release information related to the investigation as it becomes available.

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


Chaffee County Sheriff's Office

 

[Dave F.]

How possible is the following scenario? With Covid-19 restrictions, job losses, economy tanked, could it be that some desperate person took advantage of a small woman on a bike, knew or figured out where she lived, and had her take them there to rob her and then took her from or harmed her there in the home? It seems that these times have brought out the worst in some people.

I realize that a popular theory right now is that the bike was planted and crime done in the home in a non-stranger fashion, so I'm trying to play devil's advocate (my usual) and think about another scenario that might explain stranger perp but still linking in the bike ride and the home as a crime scene. I guess one thing I can think that goes against this thought is the fact that dogs did not find a scent at the trail--am I recalling that detail correctly?

That detail is not known to anyone byt LE at this time. <modsnip: snark>

 

[LietKynes]

I believe it was reported that Suzanne was last in CONTACT on May 9. A significant difference between when last sighted (physically seen alive) and when she made contact as we know too well how others can act as imposters making contact on your behalf.

As with much of this case, the last contact cited in MSM has not been verified by LE.

bbm
No, it has not.

Would be nice to get an update from LE but I'm confident they're working diligently behind the scenes.

 

[oviedo]

Wow! You just took me right back to the Kelsey Berreth case.

Is it possible a perpetrator followed that case and learned some things? Let’s hope not! MOO

Yes
Imo

 

[Boxer]

Yes, and “how well she is hidden,” may depend on what implements/equipment were at the disposal of the perpetrator. Not pointing a finger, just speculating.

Well if transported by car she hopefully left a trail for the dogs.

 

[Gigi3]

Yes
Imo

Now my mind is playing with the scenario that two people could be involved in this disappearance.
One with the plan. The other to carry it out. MOO

 

[citygirl]

Not knowing where your mother is must be maddening. Mother. Wife. Friend. Family in general. I’ve seen close up the absolute terror family and friends go through. A living nightmare. I just hope there are answers to her exact location. Hope this isn’t another situation where there are no answers in whereabouts for years. Depends on how well she is hidden. Either by accident or foul play. Uggggg
Hope for answers tomorrow.

The girls, they are so young, must be frantic. Doubt they are able to sleep. If the husband did this what could be worse for his young daughters?

 

[sumzero]

In my opinion, the bike was not planted. I think she was grabbed at that location, taken, and probably (by now) killed. Of course, staging is possible. But that theory is probably more persuasive (only?) to those who want to blame the husband. As Freud once said, "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar."

 

[IHAVENOCLUE]

Mystery around Suzanne Morphew’s Mother’s Day disappearance grows as friend says 'nobody saw her on bike'
'NOBODY SAW HER'
snipped
Mystery around Suzanne Morphew’s Mother’s Day disappearance grows as friend says ‘nobody saw her on bike’

• Nicole Darrah, News Reporter

• New York
• 21 May 2020, 16:53
• Updated: 21 May 2020, 17:33

A FRIEND of a missing mom who supposedly disappeared during a bike ride on Mother’s Day has claimed “nobody saw her on her bicycle.”

Suzanne Morphew, 49, hasn’t been seen since May 10, when a neighbor reported her missing after she apparently didn’t return home after a bike ride.


5
Suzanna Morphew, 49, hasn't been seen since Mother's DayCredit: Facebook
But her daughter’s friend’s mother claims “nobody actually saw her on her bicycle, sadly,” according to Crime Online.

“The neighbors up there are spread pretty far apart but the only reason they found out [she was missing] is because the girls called the neighbors and said, ‘We never heard from mom — can you go check on her?'” the friend’s stepmother said.

But, per the report, no one actually saw Morphew, who lives in Colorado, on a bike.

The Chaffee County Sheriff's Office has been searching for her with help from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, as well as the FBI.

Just jumping off your post...
I am feeling a bit protective of the neighbor (JR) that allegedly called in the original missing person report...
Since then... She has not shared more knowledge...
And identifying with her... I would do the same (no comment, etc. )
What I DO wonder about is if she has actually been directed by the higher ups NOT to disclose information...
Seems she is stuck between a rock and a hard place...
JMO...

 

[Summit1964]

In my opinion, the bike was not planted. I think she was grabbed at that location, taken, and probably (by now) killed. Of course, staging is possible. But that theory is probably more persuasive (only?) to those who want to blame the husband. As Freud once said, "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar."

Can't argue with that...the only thing that seems strange is that LE hasn't released any information about her being "abducted" by a stranger. For e.g., there's been no missing person's alert describing her appearance, her clothing, or her last known whereabouts. That alone makes me think that LE is looking in another direction.

 

[LietKynes]

The girls, they are so young, must be frantic. Doubt they are able to sleep. If the husband did this what could be worse for his young daughters?

They're not that young; one is in college and the other is a Jr. in HS.

But I still imagine they're extremely sad and worried , and if they know anything that might help locate Suzanne I hope they'll talk to LE.

 

[scdiv]

Looking at my notes from today's Nancy Grace podcast. She had a good point regarding the search warrant. She said that often a search warrant is sealed not because of what the actual search warrant says - but because police have to report what they FIND. That at this point the police likely went before a judge to request a search warrant. (It's not at the point where a DA would have requested.) And that a search warrant can be pretty general and vague-ish - looking for evidence, fingerprints, disheveled home, suggestion of an alercation, etc etc. But then LE has to list and document every item they take out, which begins the initial chain of custody of the items. So that's when it can become problematic and why they are often sealed. ETA: It's called a "return." You have to attach the return - in other words, what you get on the search warrant.

Also noted in the podcast - just how long the house has been cordoned off and not released back to the family. That LE usually processes a scene and then releases it. (And I'm thinking back to the Berreth case - they seemed to be in and of Kelsey's house and the Frazee Franch fairly quickly.) One guest on the show (Sheryl McCollum - Forensics Expert & Cold Case Investigative Research Institute Founder), suggested the reason that this property is taking so long to release is because they could be reenacting potential crimes or analyzing the evidence they found, doing tests, etc. (She didn't say this, but for instance - if someone was possibly killed in the study with a candlestick and they found a candlestick, then maybe the crime scene detectives are conducting tests or re-creating scenarios with candlesticks.) But her main point was that it's unusual for the house to not be processed and released yet and that *could* mean they have found things and are conducting recreations, etc.

ETA: I went back and transcribed. Here is the actual quote:

Sheryl McCollum: Nancy, if I have a crime scene that I have cordoned off for 11 days, I have found something substantial. And what I want to do, is I'm going to use Luminal, I'm gonna recreate what I think I had found, I'm putting strings up (?), I'm doing day and night photography, I'm listing everything, and again, I'm going to use a 360 camera, I'm going to do everything I can to show what I believe ocurred in that house. This is looooong past collecting evidence. This is recreating a crime scene.