Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #15

[Megnut]

Zero evidence that BM and SM had a very happy marriage; we have one vague statement by BM's uncle, who may not even know them other than seeing them once a year at a family picnic. And one comment by an unnamed relative who claims Barry was in charge. (Paraphrased.) Oh and social media pictures which mean absolutely nothing.

Leticia filled her social media with Happy Family pictures. So did Shannan Watts.

I keep remembering that interview Scott Peterson did,I think it was with Diane Sawyer. He described his marriage as "amazing." Yet he called his mistress from the candlelight vigil held for his wife.

I'm still waiting to hear about all those searches BM did with his "team." Including his buddy who served 400 tours. Surely that eager reporter, Lauren Scharf? Is that her name? She must have someone on speed dial in town who would have let her know about any search activity. She's been pretty thorough in covering the case with what little sparse news there has been.

Yet not a peep. It must be a very clandestine search.

MOO

Oh, his searches were impossibly thorough. 200 square mile radius, ALL the mountains. And he did this, he told us himself, by looking this way and then that way.

AND, let us not forget, the additional searches out the window.

TS said she wasn't going to trouble herself with searching ditches. And added freely that the little boy was probably already out of that state. Almost prophetic. Except that she knew where he was (indeed out of state) because that's where she put him.

You don't have to look real hard if you know exactly where what you're looking for is. Especially if you have every smug confidence that no one will find your hidey holes.

JMO

 

[gitana1]

We had attorneys on here say you can’t have a gag order without charges.

Yeah. There has to be a court case to anchor a gag order. Otherwise the court lacks jurisdiction to compel parties and possible witnesses to shut up.

 

[gitana1]

On May 16, 2020 Eleventh District Attorney Kaitlyn Turner, who is locked in a heated election campaign against the former Assistant DA, posted on her campaign Facebook page that she had spent 14 hours helping with the CSSO general search of the area of the disappearance.
It doesn't seem likely to me that she shared information about the case, no matter how innocuous, to enhance her campaign if she had requested a gag order. IMO
Kaitlin Turner for District Attorney

You can’t have gag orders without a case being filed.

 

[Feistyomi]

Feistyomi, you are not alone. Once I saw the TD video, I couldn't get it out of my thoughts that he wasn't responsible. It's upsetting, because it's not neat and tidy for me. She is gone, there is foul play. I think those are both facts. When I can't seem to get comfortable w/ Barry being guilty of murder, or being involved in any way, that only leaves some evil unknown......likely abduction. That is so horrific on every level. Your thoughts that LE does have a case, but it's just not BM takes that feeling down a notch or two. Ultimately, I am happy LE is portraying confidence.

Thank you, <modsnip>
I am curious about clusters of disappearances, and how SM fits into one. I have googled one local BAD GUY in particular, but there are other SOs in the area. It takes just as much time and energy for LE to be ruling them out, and I am confident LE has been checking them while fully investigating BM. The BG I mentioned has been described as somewhat inept, but I guess he could have stepped up his game or gotten lucky. He appears to drift around.
I am just an amateur, but LE has probably been investigating random abductions as well as BM and local known characters, therefore I don’t need to.
This has left me to research the clusters.
Random unexplained disappearances aren’t rare, there are far too many on the FBIs 100 missing, plus NAM US, site, Charley Project, etc.
The rarity here is Suzanne’s risk factor. Simply this, her ordinary everyday life and her mountain trail riding, where did they intersect w/ evil.
MOO this is a very real possibility, but it is incredibly difficult, especially w/o a body.

 

[Leigh80]

Who knows where he was in Denver to have left around 5:45 and gotten home at 9. I've rarely gotten anywhere in the amount of time Google Maps says it should take. It's usually 20+ minutes over their time, for me anyways, and that's not driving slow. Maybe while getting out of Denever he hit every red light, or maybe there was a hold up on one the roads. Maybe he drives a different route than the fastest route shown in the map because he's familiar with that route.

Also, I don't know how locked down it was there, but where I'm at the stay at home order didn't make any less traffic. Restaurants were still open for takeout, half the stores stayed open, and a lot businesses got exemptions to stay open. People were out fishing and hiking, going to the store everyday, etc.

 

[Seratonin]

We're the same here, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Valentine's Day - not extra special because of how we live our lives, every day is precious and becomes more so as we age. We kidlets may be "senior citizens", but she is our Mom and she's always special.

I'll add that since both kidlets are girls, it could have been appreciated as a totally-girls' day leaving everyone to be fine with BM not being there. We don't know what time the girls were scheduled to be there, so it's possible that SM wouldn't have been alone that long if there'd been no delay. My Mom's DH has no problem leaving us girls (*sigh* even though we're in our 50s and 60s now) alone to laugh and play like loons while he leaves us alone all day. The perfect guilt-free day of golf and BBQ and buddies. BM was working in preparation for a long-scheduled cement pour and with the girls coming for Mom's Day, no problem.

* I love your choice of name!

Lol thanks

 

[Deleted member 718]

Stephanie (Butzer) Rose

@stephaniebutzer

Checked in with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation this morning. As of now, #SuzanneMorphew has not been located and no arrests have been made in the case. The family is cooperating. Nothing else new to report, CBI says.

9:44 AM · Jun 17, 2020

 

[10ofRods]

I do not think nor have I seen any proof that BM had "staff." I can't find any evidence that BM had established a business according to CO law, that would have enabled him to have salaried employees. If anyone else has that information or knows how to research it better than I do, please let me know.

In fact, just to tie this to the week's events, it's possible that BM was self-employed and even that he organized a crew of other self-employed persons, to do the dirt and some hard landscape work. If so, going door to door in Salida might turn up information about more people who would be in contact with BM and perhaps knew Suzanne.

Personally, I don't think he had enough of these types of associates to do a huge job in Denver. If there was ever a landscaping job in Denver (I don't believe there was), it could not have been a massive corporate job IMO. Even if he was paying workers out of money collected from clients, that doesn't make them employees unless he contributes to their SS, etc. That's called "under the table." Very common.

At any rate, I do believe he went to Denver on the morning of May 10. He had his phone and it was turned on. It provides his alibi for that day.

I now believe the analysis presented here that it's likely that the bike wasn't found until BM came home and led LE to it. The manner in which he did this may have aroused suspicion and things he said during that search may also have been significant evidence. He slips up in the Ty video and he probably slipped up when talking to LE that fateful night.

His strong desire to get the public to ask about the condition of the bike (conveyed through his nephew) needs an explanation.

The bike story was part of the neighbor's original 911 call, so I believe she was given that as a starting explanation by someone. Almost immediately, LE says "reportedly" on a bike ride.

I also believe the girls tried to phone their mother earlier on MD, and then, as they realized they were running late in getting back to the house, and she didn't pick up, they became very concerned. It would seem that the daughters would have also showed up at the house, probably before BM did. Perhaps they were supposed to be there by around 5 pm, resulting in a flurry of phone calls among BM, the daughters and the neighbor, with the neighbor doing a quick check and dialing 911 at the logged time of 5:47 pm.

Another line of questioning for the residents of Salida must surely be how often people saw Suzanne in town and when was the last time anyone saw her. Ever since LE asked for video starting from May 8, it seems to me that it's safe to assume it's not clear when Suzanne went missing.

 

[PaulaDC]

I'll bet many of the men/women who had affairs before the pandemic were "home free" but during the pandemic, that would be a very difficult thing to keep secret unless you turned off your phone. I can imagine the "other woman / man" continually barraging a phone with calls or messages of love. moo

 

[Feistyomi]

At this link is an excellent 6 minute, 9 second ride on a speeding motorcycle from the base on Monarch Pass to the summit. My estimation is that the traffic was fairly light that day, but the motorcyclist was in more of a hurry than the general flow. It gives a good idea of Colorado mountain driving conditions when weather is good and there are no construction delays.
Note: 2 lane roads with a third periodic "passing lane" are common in the Colorado Rockies, but high traffic passes like Monarch have more of them than most roads. As you can see, there is great disparity between fast and slow traffic.
IMO

RVs, the new serial killers’ vehicle of choice. I stopped video halfway thru, how many RVs on that road...how do you track RVs and how many RV parks in the area? hidden subculture in plain sight.

 

[Feistyomi]

At this link is an excellent 6 minute, 9 second ride on a speeding motorcycle from the base on Monarch Pass to the summit. My estimation is that the traffic was fairly light that day, but the motorcyclist was in more of a hurry than the general flow. It gives a good idea of Colorado mountain driving conditions when weather is good and there are no construction delays.
Note: 2 lane roads with a third periodic "passing lane" are common in the Colorado Rockies, but high traffic passes like Monarch have more of them than most roads. As you can see, there is great disparity between fast and slow traffic.
IMO

RVs, the new serial killers’ vehicle of choice. I stopped video halfway thru, how many RVs on that road...how do you track RVs and how many RV parks in the area? hidden subculture in plain sight.

 

[TIGER0822]

And, in his defense, the urgency doesn't set in right away. Who thinks that as soon as they can't contact their spouse something terrible has happened? He may have thought she would turn up any minute and she'll call me and tell me not to worry; but I'll just start cleaning up in case I need to get home.
Personally I think LE has some info about BM and they are laser focused on him; however, my mind is always open. It is literally so open stuff falls out.

I believe the job. Per previous posts it was arranged three weeks in advance! Now if the crime was commited on May 9th or earlier, he has the perfect alibis. Leave his phone at home, maybe S could not ‘find’ her Phone. Go for a drive together.... one comes back.... Drives to Denver the next day. Alibi checks out. No reason to be suspicious if they were seen together before May 10th. Now for that item that was found near the bike that LE refused to tell (per Dad with a phone). BM what it was? I am struggling... why would they shut up and not talk with him on the first evening. That item is hugely important. What in the heck was it? Phone with his fingerprints???

 

[Hatfield]

BLM's pickup truck has been identified in numerous news photos. That make has integral GPS tracking which cannot be defeated without disabling the vehicle. It's a common feature on full-sized luxury trucks. IMO

That is good to know.
If he did somehow disable it from functioning then LE should be able to tell it was manually disabled and they may even be able to tell what date the disabling happened.

 

[djondjon]

Depending on what type of treatment she had, she might not have the typical side effects that people associate cancer treatment with, such as hair loss.

My hair only thinned out when I had chemo, and if a person didn't know me, they might never have guessed.

 

[Lilypad13]

One thing. Apparently the girls were attending an organized camp not solo camping with friends.

Oh I didn’t know that! Yay...thanks for the new information! <modsnip: Do not sleuth or ask for information on the daughters> Years ago when my daughter went to camp for a week they did not allow them to keep their cell phones with them (or they would probably be on the internet constantly instead of immersing themselves in nature). We had a number we could call in case of emergency but I didn’t speak or text with my daughter all week. They kept the campers’ cell phones locked up in the office until the night before their departure. So she called us the night before we picked her up and I couldn’t wait to talk to her and hear all about her camp experiences. Maybe this camp didn’t allow the daughters to have their phones either and they also got their phones back on the last night. Speculating...maybe they charged up their phones and one of them said hey let’s call home and then their mom didn’t answer (because she was already gone). I would be curious to know if they called home Saturday evening if BM was home and if so did he make an excuse as to why mom couldn’t come to the phone such as she is in the bathtub or asleep? Or maybe SM was still alive Saturday night and they spoke to her and they said we will call you to let you know when we get on the road in the morning and then she didn’t answer. I am leaning more towards thinking SM was already missing/dead by Saturday night and BM was in Denver by Saturday night (but in the TD video it sounds like he is saying he left for Denver on Sunday). And when the girls still couldn’t reach their mom on their way home the next morning they became very worried because it wasn’t the first time they tried to reach her and it wouldn’t be normal for her not to answer their call especially on MD. Perhaps they also texted her multiple times with no response which would have added to their concern. BM could have used SM’s phone to impersonate her and texted the girls that she was going on a bike ride - or it could be that BM told them that SM told him she was going on a bike ride. I would really really like to know how all of this played out because I suspect something caused LE to suspect right away that the bike ride was staged - possibly phone pings or daughters statements or how the bike was positioned or how the decision came about to call the neighbor to check instead of the police or fellow firefighter?? Or it could be a combination of things or something BM said conflicted with the daughters’ version? I wish we knew if BM suggest calling the neighbor or the daughters. And I feel like IF SM actually did go for a bike ride on MD would she not have taken her phone with her in case her daughters called? Due to spotty cell phone coverage she might not have been able to receive their call depending on where she was on the trail. And if she hadn’t seen or spoken to her daughters all week and she knew they would be calling on their way home to wish her Happy MD and tell her about camp do you think she would have left for a bike ride before she talked to them and gone somewhere where she might not have cell service??? Wouldn’t it make more sense that she would want to talk to her daughters first and find out what time they would get home and make their MD plans for later that afternoon or evening and then go for a bike ride?? Perhaps they spoke to BM on Sunday morning after SM didn’t answer and he said she was fine last night...she told me she was going to take a bike ride today... setting up the bike ride scenario in their minds. And on top of everything else having recently gone through her second round of cancer treatment she might have been weaker or more frail than normal (speculation - because she might have had her full strength back we just don’t know yet). So I can understand why they were worried and unfortunately I think BM meant for them to get home and find their mom still not home from her bike but when BM found out the daughters were running late he may have then suggested calling the neighbor because he needed someone to find out that her car was there and the bike was gone in order to set up the she left on a bike ride—>abduction->river->mountain lion scenarios. Anyway didn’t mean to get carried away again with that darn bike ride!! Thanks for the camp tidbit - it actually makes more sense to me now thinking the daughters might have been out of touch with SM all week. And it also gives more reason to believe this was not a crime of passion but crime of opportunity and planning that hit a snag.

 

[TxGidget]

BBM

Yes, BM says that the girls were spending the day with her.

The question is, when did BM realize that the girls were running so late that they wouldn’t be spending MD with her, and she was spending the day alone? That’s the part that makes no sense to me.

Kids of this age group aren’t exactly known for their time management skills. Barry was probably well into his day in Denver before SM found out they we running late. Probably hours late.

 

[10ofRods]

We are pondering whether or not this was a happy marriage. What if SM thought it was, and then found out about a philandering BLM? Could there have been an argument, a threat to leave? Which BLM wasn’t prepared for? Just tossing it out there. Plenty of cheaters go on and on about their fabulous spouses, all the while slinking around. Could go to motive if someone thought their facade would crumble, along with at least half of their finances.

As a person who grew up in a town of 8,000 people, it definitely stays on my mind that if BM was in anyway messing around or socializing with other women in a way that could be perceived as even vaguely improper, several people in Salida will be willing to tell LE the tale. If I were LE, I'd want to hear similar details from more than one person, each of them an actual eyewitness to whatever this impropriety might be. Then, I'd want BM to talk to the investigators about what had been said (with lawyer present of course).

Cheaters do very often do their level best to make things look great on the outside. Finding out one's husband was cheating (or very flirtatious with, say, younger women who were living that single lifestyle) would make many wives reconsider the marriage. If there were already financial issues (and I believe there were), then the wife would do her level best to make sure she and her daughters got the appropriate share of the family resources.

 

[Feistyomi]

As a person who grew up in a town of 8,000 people, it definitely stays on my mind that if BM was in anyway messing around or socializing with other women in a way that could be perceived as even vaguely improper, several people in Salida will be willing to tell LE the tale. If I were LE, I'd want to hear similar details from more than one person, each of them an actual eyewitness to whatever this impropriety might be. Then, I'd want BM to talk to the investigators about what had been said (with lawyer present of course).

Cheaters do very often do their level best to make things look great on the outside. Finding out one's husband was cheating (or very flirtatious with, say, younger women who were living that single lifestyle) would make many wives reconsider the marriage. If there were already financial issues (and I believe there were), then the wife would do her level best to make sure she and her daughters got the appropriate share of the family resources.

Levity, in my small town, people knew what you did, before you even thought about it. This will be something that will come out, if true, but IME the rumors take much longer to erase, sadly.

 

[10ofRods]

My hair only thinned out when I had chemo, and if a person didn't know me, they might never have guessed.

I hope you are feeling well now and thank you for this post. Not only do many people keep most of their hair these days, but there are so many cute ways to augment one's hair or wear hats/scarves etc - a woman can go through chemo and remain attractive.

As far as we know, Suzanne had hit the 1 year mark of completing treatment (the way I understand the MSM). I bet she looked as radiant as ever.

<modsnip: Quoted post was removed>

 

[DizzyB]

BM did have some employees-or people who considered themselves his employees. When everything blew up with false information out there, some came to his defense while others lamented having to find a new job. I still wonder if any of that will come back around again.