Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #11

[10ofRods]

In the YouTube video I'm wondering if BM mispoke about the 200 mile radius and he meant a 200 square mile area. An area with an 8 mile radius would yield 200 sq. miles. (Formula: Area of circle = 3.1416 x radius squared)

Still an impossibly large area for a grid search, especially in that terrain. In fact, I cannot find any searches (for missing children or any others) that were a well-organized thorough (grid) search of 200 square miles.

That, plus the 400 "tours of duty" remark leave me thinking that BM is not careful about his speech, especially when it concerns numbers.

The number of people it would take to do a thorough search of 200 square miles would be enormous. They searched 4-5 square miles for Barbara Thomas in much less challenging terrain, had 40-80 people in grid formation daily, took 10 days. Some areas, of course, they searched twice. They had to bring in technical teams.

They would need technical teams to search every cave, well, mine, ravine and crevice near where Suzanne went missing.

I wonder what BM was doing at that exact spot. I haven't seen the full video, but I understand from reading here that he had apparently been wading or swimming. Is that correct?

 

[OzzieB]

A few things stood out to me when listening to BM's conversation with TD on youtube. This is subjective, and I know there will be people who don't see it the same as I do, but I thought these were worth pointing out. I've colored them red to discuss below. I've colored words blue which I consider to be 'normal' usage, in contrast.


BM: Let me tell you what happened. Um, and I do have a reward, $210,000 reward. Um, the bike was found at the bottom of the hill by that tree…

TD: So they found her bike just right against that tree down there?

BM: …we had cars over here well the sheriff let everybody drive through here covering all, messing up all the evidence, they were walking all over this area which if somebody abducted her they would have had foot tracks, they would have had fingerprints on the bike. They let 10 other people touch the bike.

BM: …so, I told my wife, I said listen the girls are gonna be home, they want to spend Mother’s Day with you, mind if I go [inaudible] that’s what we thought was gonna happen. The girls were running late so they texted her Happy Mother’s Day, she didn’t text back. So we went to, well they called my neighbors and said listen, it’s Mother’s Day, I’m a little worried and will you go check the house. And the neighbour went and checked the house, saw that her car was there but the bike was gone. She called me in Denver and said hey we’re just a little worried and I go well, I am too, why don’t we just call the police to be safe…

1. Not 'let me tell you what we think happened', but 'what happened'. This is impossible and it's sales talk.
2. the bike. I expected to hear 'her' bike here and in the last paragraph right after saying 'her car'. The fact he uses 'the' bike and never 'her' bike tells me he has distanced Suzanne from it. He is not imagining Suzanne on or with her bike. I would say there is a reason for distancing language and the bike is a red herring. Notice TD says 'her bike' because he naturally associates her with it and he's not even close to her. A few other places where BM says 'the bike' seem appropriate for the context he is using, because that is when the police have it.
3. the evidence. He's talked evidence into existence that there is no proof of. I think this sounds like a defense and he knows they won't find stranger evidence on the bike.
4. my wife. I expected to hear him say Suzanne's name here. He is distancing himself from her. And he 'told' her 'mind if I go'? I would say this is a construction because he doesn't retell it as asking her.
5. late - so. Why is he explaining why his daughters texted Suzanne 'Happy Mother's Day'? I think this reveals he had his eye on the time that day.
6. We have the daughters and the neighbor both saying "a little worried", according to him. It doesn't sound like a reliable report to me. Why would anyone minimize worry about Suzanne, unless they wanted to minimize that they anticipated a problem? Even though it's attributed to other people HE feels it's important to relay that. Calling the police suggests it had escalated beyond a little worry, imo.
7. check the house. Again there is no mention of Suzanne, just bricks, so I have to conclude he is distancing himself from her. Why doesn't he say check on Suzanne? It sounds like he is saying it from the memory of knowing the neighbor will find an empty house.

My opinion.

Wow that was insane and so so good. I agree with 90 percent of what you interpreted. The only pieces I don't agree with are him saying my wife or the girls or daughters. I just think it is just a way people speak. I do very much agree with "the bike" comment it just sounds strange.

 

[MyBelle]

He made the video with abduction in the back of his mind. Would be a weird opening to do. Abductors don't usually allow people to watch video's on the internet.

Wasn't he using that video to announce the reward? I believe he thought she was still alive and would be returned if he offered money. Families make video pleas all the time in cases such as this one. Mollie Tibbett's mom did one and I don't recall anyone on WS found it weird.

JMO

Missing Iowa student Molly Tibbett's mother pleads with potential abductor

 

[Ontario Mom]

What about this case is remotely similar to the Hart case which was a murder/suicide that followed child abuse allegations?

I believe the OP was referring to the "perfect family" social media narrative that many dysfunctional family members attempt to create.
Only focusing on the best pics, the brightest smiles, the happiest of moments, etc.
It's EXTREMELY common. I think we all know folks that do this exact same thing.

jmo

 

[kay74]

BM does not seem worried at all about him being a suspect. He's not intellectual or articulate because he works with tradespeople. That's the way they talk. He is very very successful and has built them a wonderful life. I am glad his mother came there for support.

 

[MyBelle]

Still an impossibly large area for a grid search, especially in that terrain. In fact, I cannot find any searches (for missing children or any others) that were a well-organized thorough (grid) search of 200 square miles.

That, plus the 400 "tours of duty" remark leave me thinking that BM is not careful about his speech, especially when it concerns numbers.

The number of people it would take to do a thorough search of 200 square miles would be enormous. They searched 4-5 square miles for Barbara Thomas in much less challenging terrain, had 40-80 people in grid formation daily, took 10 days. Some areas, of course, they searched twice. They had to bring in technical teams.

They would need technical teams to search every cave, well, mine, ravine and crevice near where Suzanne went missing.

I wonder what BM was doing at that exact spot. I haven't seen the full video, but I understand from reading here that he had apparently been wading or swimming. Is that correct?

It was raining. If he took off his shirt he may have done so because it was soaking wet.

I think BM was using hyperbole and wasn't expecting his every word was going to be taken literally by a guy secretly using social media to play a game of "gotcha!"

JMO

 

[Truecolors]

I believe the OP was referring to the "perfect family" social media narrative that many dysfunctional family members attempt to create.
Only focusing on the best pics, the brightest smiles, the happiest of moments, etc.
It's EXTREMELY common. I think we all know folks that do this exact same thing.

jmo

It’s also common for functional families to only post the happiest moments.

They may have posted less shiny things on private settings.

 

[OzzieB]

Interesting thought. I like it.

Perhaps BM was suspect of this guy and wanted to keep him around to talk to him, stall him. Meanwhile LE is being called. Everyone is side eyeing everyone. Anyone can be a suspect. If you didn't mean this by your statement, then I apologize for taking it off track.

You might be right. Perhaps the mother was calling LE since Tyson claimed he was being watched. Maybe BM went to confront him and did end up holding him there till LE came. When you think about it BM didn't give him any new information... Everything he said we already knew. Tyson mentioned in a video that he had talked to the sheriff and was told the truck that was parked there was BM's. If the sheriff was there it was probably because he was called.

 

[osu]

In the DWAP interview with YouTube guy, TD and he said when BM and his mom pulled up in the truck he was near the bridge. I assume he was referring to Foose’s Creek bridge? the same bridge where he was filming the day before.

TD said BM’s truck was parked right by the bridge during their interview and they walked just a short way up the hill where BM showed him where SM’s bike was found.

TD referred to it as a steep ravine with water down below. Later in the interview he said there were large boulders at the bottom of the ravine which would cause serious injuries if someone went down it on a bike.

Here’s a few photos from Google Earth. I marked Foose’s Creek bridge in blue in the second photo. The red arrows show where it looks like the road goes uphill with a ravine on the opposite side. The Morphew house is marked with a red pin.

JMO

 

[carbuff]

Somebody in the previous thread mentioned no wedding ring. I didn't see a response; if I missed it while skimming, I apologize.

But I did want to mention that it's very common for men in the hands-on trades to not wear a wedding ring, or to put it on only for special occasions. The ring can easily become caught in tools and equipment or snag on a rock or log and turn a minor bruise into a major accident and possible loss of finger. It doesn't surprise me at all that he isn't wearing one.

 

[MyBelle]

I believe the OP was referring to the "perfect family" social media narrative that many dysfunctional family members attempt to create.
Only focusing on the best pics, the brightest smiles, the happiest of moments, etc.
It's EXTREMELY common. I think we all know folks that do this exact same thing.

jmo

Some people may do that but there has not been any indication whatsoever the Morphews are a dysfunctional family.

JMO

 

[Feistyomi]

Distancing language:

We heard this in BM's 25 second plea recording when he said, "your daughters need you..." (um, they are his daughters too.)

JMO , not defending BM, I believe at this point, the option was still open for SM leaving of her free will. MOO, someone scripted this for BM, and they wanted to cover all the bases...SOL Silence of Lambs, the senator wanted to present her daughter as a person, etc...I am NOT suggesting the FBI had any involvement in the video, however that movie had an extremely large audience...DA(Devils Advocate) If I were being confronted w/all the terrible unknowns in the case of my kids or husband, I would need a script.JMO
I should go back now w/ more suspicion on BM, and view it again.
MVHO, my overall memory was that he was genuinely at a loss, as to what HAD happened to SM...
JMO, the video showed the progression to acceptance, something terrible had happened, but still trying to search for her, because as long as he did that, he had hope.
JMO, I always have a hard time judging someone w/o, some past information on their behaviors and personality.
JMO It was much easier in my first forum here, as LETECIA had so much in common w/ my own family member, they are remarkably similar...
I hesitate to buck the probabilities, but I still have my doubts on BMs guilt...

 

[10ofRods]

and sometimes they do ..
Cheryl Coker case: Riverside police name suspect, call disappearance a homicide

I wonder what leads them to name a POI and what leads them to be silent?
JMO

That's a really good question. Maybe, in the Coker case, LE thought the new woman should be alerted as to his potential.

 

[oviedo]

11 threads and we still know so little about this case. Where could she be?
IMO

 

[MyBelle]

Interesting thought. I like it.

Perhaps BM was suspect of this guy and wanted to keep him around to talk to him, stall him. Meanwhile LE is being called. Everyone is side eyeing everyone. Anyone can be a suspect. If you didn't mean this by your statement, then I apologize for taking it off track.

That's exactly what I meant.

 

[Area52]

I find it odd that the GF$ begging page has only had 2 donations added in the last 2 days. Seems like people aren't really interested anymore. MOO

 

[Tortoise]

Very interesting take....thanks for sharing.

I'm curious, what could be reasons for distancing language like this? Obviously, if BM is responsible for her disappearance, that would be a reason. But could this language also be used if he, for example, felt some level of guilt/responsibility due to not being home when it happened (ie, I should have been here and it wouldn't have happened)? Could it be a coping mechanism for someone who simply doesn't process grief very well?

IMO, we can look for a multitude of reasons, for example imagine what any person in the world might be feeling in this situation, or when we have them - we can pay attention to actions and statements.

1. Guilt about not being there to help her - I don't see any clues to that mindset. I've been back over it to look. He says "we're pretty comfortable she's not in this triangle." One might think he is using the word comfortable in a totally different context there, but it leaks a peaceful frame of mind which would be hard to conjure up by someone feeling that kind of guilt. He also talks of lions and an abduction in a very direct manner. He says "my concerns were this way and that way" - concerns is light language. "My friend's an army ranger and he knows this stuff better than" - he's talking about evidence of what happened to Suzanne and this language gives away the meaning of it to him too. just casual stuff. Guilt doesn't come across anywhere in this that I can see.

2. Not processing grief - iow denial - I think the processing of two scenarios - accident/mountain lions and abduction, is an indication of a mind considering in the first scenario Suzanne's death and in the second scenario much suffering. This doesn't align with denial, imo. Plus it's only specific things - the bike, talking to Suzanne, and checking the house, which reveal distancing, imo. Sensitive areas.


Based only on the statements, I don't think it's either of these.

MOO

 

[oviedo]

I find it odd that the GF$ begging page has only had 2 donations added in the last 2 days. Seems like people aren't really interested anymore. MOO

might the beneficiary have something to do with that? hmmm
IMO

 

[MyBelle]

JMO , not defending BM, I believe at this point, the option was still open for SM leaving of her free will. MOO, someone scripted this for BM, and they wanted to cover all the bases...SOL Silence of Lambs, the senator wanted to present her daughter as a person, etc...I am NOT suggesting the FBI had any involvement in the video, however that movie had an extremely large audience...DA(Devils Advocate) If I were being confronted w/all the terrible unknowns in the case of my kids or husband, I would need a script.JMO
I should go back now w/ more suspicion on BM, and view it again.
MVHO, my overall memory was that he was genuinely at a loss, as to what HAD happened to SM...
JMO, the video showed the progression to acceptance, something terrible had happened, but still trying to search for her, because as long as he did that, he had hope.
JMO, I always have a hard time judging someone w/o, some past information on their behaviors and personality.
JMO It was much easier in my first forum here, as LETECIA had so much in common w/ my own family member, they are remarkably similar...
I hesitate to buck the probabilities, but I still have my doubts on BMs guilt...

Mollie Tibbetts' reward fund grew to nearly $400,000 and her family held out hope she was still alive until her body was found. Every time I travel I-80 and see the perp's trailer, I'm overcome with both sadness and anger at monsters who do this to such innocent, beautiful human beings.

JMO

 

[Ontario Mom]

Some people may do that but there has not been any indication whatsoever the Morphews are a dysfunctional family.

JMO

The OP said "IMO" they suspect there might have been dysfunction going on behind the smiling photos.
It's just another member's opinion.