Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #16

[Murphy1950]

A cursory Google search turns up a surprising number of "hit the bike/abduct the woman" stories. Some of them lived, some of them didn't, and some were never found. I certainly don't rule that out in SM's case, and that would also cause LE to lock everything down in order to hide what they know for a while.

I would think just the opposite. Seems LE's job would be to warn the public to exercise caution and put out a bolo with Suzanne's description. And certainly they would have a clue from paint chips as to the vehicle color, where it might have sustained damage.
ETA...never have figured why No bolo, height, weight, age. Someone mentioned that people just needed to see her picture. Oddly in one picture she is a dead ringer for her daughter...so are we looking for a 20 year old or a woman almost 50? Until I saw her Namus description , I thought she was much taller. And like the rest of the people hitting close to 50, she must have had some grey hair, especially in light of the virus lockdown and no salons. How spiffy was her hair? We were appx 2 months in by MD.

 

[OldCop]

The exact path of the Colorado Trail varies slightly over time. In my last Google Earth Map (repeated below) the red line travels from SM's residence over to the current Highway 50 south trailhead of the Colorado Trail, and follows the Colorado Trail upward and toward the south. The trailhead is lowest tip of the red line, just above Hwy 50. The blue line is a very popular biking descent. The lower part, in this map, is the original Colorado trail. A popular alternate is to park at the original trailhead just below Fooses Lake Dam, cross the dam and join the current Colorado trail in the power line clear cut. IMO

Hi, @Dave F. , hope you don’t mind. I took the liberty of flipping your map upside down. The way my brain works I have to have N pointing up or it’s upside down to me and I can’t visualize it properly.
I drew three possible routes that SM may take on a bike ride from her home without having to go on the highway. The first 2 (red and green) you already mentioned and the third (yellow) shows a dirt road that goes to the campground several people have discussed. I was under the impression that the unknown personal items that LE found during their search on Thursday 5/14 were located up close to HWY 50. This led LE to close 50 westbound towards Monarch Pass on Friday 5/15 to search along that road. This may indicate that she took the green route you suggested. Or she could have started that way and then crossed Hwy 50 there and continued on the northern zigzag trail.
If the bike was found down where you indicated BM and TD were talking and the personal items were up by HWY 50, the only likely scenario is that she was abducted, the bike was thrown down where it was found, and the personal items were thrown out by her abductor or by SM herself trying to leave a clue OR the objects were planted in those areas by someone who wanted you to think that is what happened.

 

[susiQ]

A cursory Google search turns up a surprising number of "hit the bike/abduct the woman" stories. Some of them lived, some of them didn't, and some were never found. I certainly don't rule that out in SM's case, and that would also cause LE to lock everything down in order to hide what they know for a while.

I honestly don’t understand why, if LE believed this hit & run scenario that they would “lock it down.....for a while.” If this is what they truly believed, they would need to alert the public of such an incident to make people aware and to be extra cautious and vigilant when out riding. This they have not done. Their lack of action in that direction tells me they are firmly fixed in another direction. JMHO

 

[Deleted member 718]

What led LE to close down Highway 50 for seven hours if Suzanne was biking on a trail?


U.S. 50 closed as search for Morphew intensifies

"Spezze said the sheriff’s office and its partners will work to ensure the roads are opened as quickly as possible to reduce the impacts of drivers and those living in the area.

More than 50 searchers and investigators will comb the area searching for additional items or clues that may identify the whereabouts of Morphew, Spezze said."

 

[trujac]

If we're wagering, my money is on that, too. But I have to say I was aghast at how many abductions there were where a woman or child disappeared while biking, with the bike being found in a mangled condition.

yes...it is a shocking the number of women and children who have disappeared while bicycling or have been found dead with their bicycling missing...

 

[Truecolors]

Watch the video. TD says he is on CR 225. He even shows us the road marker, near the bridge. When he meets up with BLM, occasionally you can clearly see the sign in the back that says "Y". It's the only "Y" in CR225. The camera flops all around, giving a lot of views, but at no time can you see the sides of the bridge over Fooses Creek. That means the bridge has to be well around the bend in the road. Plug all of that worthless information and you have exactly where they were standing, give or take twenty feet . IMO
To be sure, I checked it against the videos taken by AI. It all fits. IMO
(I'm proud of myself! I entered that whole explanation and never once used the word "geo-location"!) also MOO

Thank you. I’m trying.

Wouldn’t that put the location of the found personal items due north, and not west?

 

[susiQ]

Hi, @Dave F. , hope you don’t mind. I took the liberty of flipping your map upside down. The way my brain works I have to have N pointing up or it’s upside down to me and I can’t visualize it properly.
I drew three possible routes that SM may take on a bike ride from her home without having to go on the highway. The first 2 (red and green) you already mentioned and the third (yellow) shows a dirt road that goes to the campground several people have discussed. I was under the impression that the unknown personal items that LE found during their search on Thursday 5/14 were located up close to HWY 50. This led LE to close 50 westbound towards Monarch Pass on Friday 5/15 to search along that road. This may indicate that she took the green route you suggested. Or she could have started that way and then crossed Hwy 50 there and continued on the northern zigzag trail.
If the bike was found down where you indicated BM and TD were talking and the personal items were up by HWY 50, the only likely scenario is that she was abducted, the bike was thrown down where it was found, and the personal items were thrown out by her abductor or by SM herself trying to leave a clue OR the objects were planted in those areas by someone who wanted you to think that is what happened.

Agree with everything after OR

 

[Goldenseal]

I honestly don’t understand why, if LE believed this hit & run scenario that they would “lock it down.....for a while.” If this is what they truly believed, they would need to alert the public of such an incident to make people aware and to be extra cautious and vigilant when out riding. This they have not done. Their lack of action in that direction tells me they are firmly fixed in another direction. JMHO

As I said, as a betting person I DON'T believe in this scenario much. I believe the other. But maybe they know the BG and it is not BM? LE wants people to think it's BM when it isn't, so they have more time to get their ducks in a row?

Like someone else upthread said, I'm going to want the read the book on this case when it comes out, just to follow the case and see why LE acted as they have. MOO.

 

[FelicityLemon]

Maps can be confusing to me in the best of times and I'm trying to figure this one out upside down and backwards and using PhotoShop and GoogleMaps, etc. I give up, lol.

Were the items on the highway found in the opposite direction as the bike - sorry,

Items found west of house and bike found east of house?

 

[trujac]

What led LE to close down Highway 50 for seven hours if Suzanne was biking on a trail?


U.S. 50 closed as search for Morphew intensifies

"Spezze said the sheriff’s office and its partners will work to ensure the roads are opened as quickly as possible to reduce the impacts of drivers and those living in the area.

More than 50 searchers and investigators will comb the area searching for additional items or clues that may identify the whereabouts of Morphew, Spezze said."

I think the proximity of numerous hiking trails, dirt roads, etc..linking to various hwy roads would encourage bicyclists with mountain bikes to alter between the various routes available...paved and dirt roads allow for different muscle groups to be primarily used while bicycling--reducing stress in the arms and legs.

 

[susiQ]

As I said, as a betting person I DON'T believe in this scenario much. I believe the other. But maybe they know the BG and it is not BM? LE wants people to think it's BM when it isn't, so they have more time to get their ducks in a row?

Like someone else upthread said, I'm going to want the read the book on this case when it comes out, just to follow the case and see why LE acted as they have. MOO.

I just don’t believe LE operate that way. Many here feel BM is involved because of the direction of the investigation. Otherwise, we don’t have much to go on except BM’s alphabet soup of possible scenarios and his evasiveness. Look over there not here. If LE were interested in some other perp, surely they would warn the public a murderer is on the loose. More likely they know why this happened and there is no danger to the general public. JMO

 

[ReadySet]

Could you please cite the case of women on bikes hit by cars and never found? I'd like to read about that. TIA!

A cursory Google search turns up a surprising number of "hit the bike/abduct the woman" stories. Some of them lived, some of them didn't, and some were never found. I certainly don't rule that out in SM's case, and that would also cause LE to lock everything down in order to hide what they know for a while.

 

[trujac]

I honestly don’t understand why, if LE believed this hit & run scenario that they would “lock it down.....for a while.” If this is what they truly believed, they would need to alert the public of such an incident to make people aware and to be extra cautious and vigilant when out riding. This they have not done. Their lack of action in that direction tells me they are firmly fixed in another direction. JMHO

In cases that I have followed that are similar to this one--where a crime has been committed and a road is involved...LE briefly closes off an area to do a quick sweep but doesn't shut off the flow of traffic long term in hopes that someone significant to the case will continue to travel the road or revisit the area again.

 

[Dave F.]

Hi, @Dave F. , hope you don’t mind. I took the liberty of flipping your map upside down. The way my brain works I have to have N pointing up or it’s upside down to me and I can’t visualize it properly.
I drew three possible routes that SM may take on a bike ride from her home without having to go on the highway. The first 2 (red and green) you already mentioned and the third (yellow) shows a dirt road that goes to the campground several people have discussed. I was under the impression that the unknown personal items that LE found during their search on Thursday 5/14 were located up close to HWY 50. This led LE to close 50 westbound towards Monarch Pass on Friday 5/15 to search along that road. This may indicate that she took the green route you suggested. Or she could have started that way and then crossed Hwy 50 there and continued on the northern zigzag trail.
If the bike was found down where you indicated BM and TD were talking and the personal items were up by HWY 50, the only likely scenario is that she was abducted, the bike was thrown down where it was found, and the personal items were thrown out by her abductor or by SM herself trying to leave a clue OR the objects were planted in those areas by someone who wanted you to think that is what happened.

I don't mind at all @OldCop! You have some great ideas.
The only thing that I need to dsay is that LE has said officially is that personal items were found west of the intersection of Hwy 50 and CR 225.
Just to clarify for other people, the yellow line that @OldCop traces makes it possible for a motor vehicle to drive unseen from CR 225 to the uphill end if the RV Park, and exit through the park onto Hwy 50. The maximum possible extension of that "road" would be access to the pond below the park, which I believe LE divers searched. IMO

 

[OldCop]

What led LE to close down Highway 50 for seven hours if Suzanne was biking on a trail?


U.S. 50 closed as search for Morphew intensifies

"Spezze said the sheriff’s office and its partners will work to ensure the roads are opened as quickly as possible to reduce the impacts of drivers and those living in the area.

More than 50 searchers and investigators will comb the area searching for additional items or clues that may identify the whereabouts of Morphew, Spezze said."

It was because the personal items they found and identified as belonging to SM were found up in the area of 225 and 50. Presumably by then most of the area between HWY 50 and her home had been pretty well searched.

 

[LorLa]

Fireflize, I don't. But if you conceed Barry would not have went to work after his wife went missing, we can assume he finished the dirt prep work for the cement foundation pour BEFORE mothers day ????

Soooo valid @Jimbythelake

 

[Dave F.]

I encourage everyone to get on Google Earth and have a look at the lay of the land. If you copy and paste these coordinates in the GE Search window, a red bubble will drop at the spot that I marked as "TD met BLM here":

38°32'23.61"N, 106°14'33.28"W

The only landmark that is difficult to spot in aerial view is the Fooses Dam Bridge. It's coordinates are:

38°32'15.93"N, 106°15'20.46"W

 

[ReadySet]

Quoting my own post here, because I did find the case of Tara Calico. However, several people actually saw her on her bike, unlike Suzanne's case.

Could you please cite the case of women on bikes hit by cars and never found? I'd like to read about that. TIA!

 

[Fireflize]

You make a good point. However listening to Dad with a phone, I think if BM knew the condition of the bike as he indicated in the video “the bike was found ... with the wheels turned“... (abrupt stop) he would have seized upon the story to ‘Dad’ and would have stopped pushing his ridiculous cat theory.

It is my impression that BM began revealing details that he had no way of knowing, if he were innocent of staging the scene. A big 'oh sh...' moment. Moo

 

[LorLa]

We actually do know exactly when the main concrete slab (that was cut by LE) was poured. The inspection record shows that last items to be inspected before a slab pour of that type........the "Insulation Under Slab" and "Plumbing - In Floor Tube" passed on Monday May 11, 2020. This would be the morning after Suzanne's disappearance. Normally there are two to four days after inspection after a pour, to ensure that there were no post-inspection changes and that everything went well and the dry, finished slab will conform to code. The same inspector did return on Thursday May 14, 2020 and noted some sort of failure in the forming of a future footings pour......."Caissons/Piers". This is usually something that was already set, but got messed up by the work activity of the Monday pour, like a collapsed trench wall. Whatever it was, the timing of the inspection strongly indicates that the concrete pour was begun on Monday. There is a lot of concrete there, requiring the loads of several concrete trucks. It's quite possible that the pour spanned over into Tuesday morning. A different inspector returned on May 15th to pass on the remediation of that Caissons/Piers problem, but there was not a subsequent post-pour inspection, which might indicate that the work had been suspended at that time.
The ground penetrating radar that LE used to narrow their search is only useful to a soil depth of 2 feet below concrete but will detect both objects and voids. The Channel 9 News video taken after the search clearly shows the hole cut by LE, and shows that the LE excavation was at least two feet deep. There is only one conclusion possible, which is that they were looking for something that was buried BEFORE the insulation and plumbing that was inspected on Monday May 11th were installed. This does not match the timeline of SM's disappearance.
My personal opinion is that the timing of the work immediately prior to the pour and the depth of the pour tend to indicate that LE was looking for something that BLM could not have done in the routine course of his landscaping trade. My guess is that LE initiated the search on solid information from an informant (or informants) in a position to know, and may well have been been an observation of the suspicious activities of someone other than BLM. The decision to search the site may have come as early as five days after the report of her disappearance, and if so, probably had no direct connection to discovery the other searches.
Like everything connected with this case, what we don't know greatly exceeds what we do know. IMO

Building Department Permit Detail

Unfortunately we don’t know the real date Suzanne was actually last seen. It could have been days prior to Mother’s Day, hence the timeframe LE asked residents to retain their security camera footage. If it’s accurate, something could’ve been in that dirt.