Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #17

[CuriousBystander]

It seems like it would have leaked out in the MSM whether or not BM was actually in Denver or at a volunteer training session. I'm a CPA and I know we always schedule continuing education classes on Mother's Day

 

[MassGuy]

I was surprised by this DM quote, “So far, detectives have been unable to find any information to help the solve a mystery that has attracted national attention. ” AND this quote, “On the day Suzanne vanished, Barry was reportedly in Denver at a training course for his job as a volunteer firefighter.”

How would DM know if detectives had any information? Also, I thought the firefighter training wasn’t real and that Barry said he was at a Denver job site preparing for a landscaping job.

Because they aren’t citing anyone close to the investigation, I imagine they are taking liberties with the line about detectives being unable to find any information to solve this.

Basically, no arrest has been made, no one has said they’ve found something, so they must be completely lost.

This is just what they do.

 

[Goldenseal]

I think it was noted somewhere earlier in this thread that there are indeed abandoned mines in the area. (I'm too lazy to find it, so I'll say IMO for that.)

If someone was hunting, how likely would they would be to run across these abandoned mines? How obvious are they? Only there if you know where to look? Stick out like a sore thumb? Is there some sort of topographical map that shows them? Would that be something you could research online?

Answers:
Quite likely. Along with ghost towns, too.
Sometimes obvious, sometimes not obvious.
Sometimes hidden.
Sometimes stick out.
Yes, there are maps, from places like Colorado School of Mines, trail maps, and ghost town maps.
Online is fabulous for research, and although I have not tried to look for mine maps on the internet, I'm sure they are there.

 

[Madeleine74]

I was surprised by this DM quote, “So far, detectives have been unable to find any information to help the solve a mystery that has attracted national attention. ” AND this quote, “On the day Suzanne vanished, Barry was reportedly in Denver at a training course for his job as a volunteer firefighter.”

How would DM know if detectives had any information? Also, I thought the firefighter training wasn’t real and that Barry said he was at a Denver job site preparing for a landscaping job.

BBM

IMO

DM is a pseudo-gossip publication. They are known for clickbait articles. Don't be surprised to see assumptions, speculation, or misinformation/mistakes made on articles. Just like social media posts in which rumors and speculation are rife.

/IMO

 

[MsBetsy]

They also “profile” the victim. And that can lead to a perp. I think early on they could’ve profiled her to see what may have happened.

“Forensic victimology is the scientific study of victims for the purpose of addressing investigative and forensic issues. It has been especially useful to criminal profilers in analyzing crimes scenes for the purpose of identifying the offender profile characteristics. (Turvey, 2008) The victim (S) may possess a trait, characteristic, locality, or even social accessibility that allows conclusions to be added to the criminal profile.”
The Relevance of Victimology to Criminal Profiling

Yes, looking at common characteristics among victims is all part of the profiling. It's just as important to determine the type of victim the perp is drawn to or is most likely to target. In fact that's usually the first step. Not only do they analyze the crime scenes but they look extensively into the victims pasts.

Many serial killers have a preference or may choose victims such as prostitutes, drug addicts, or those they think won't be missed, others target younger vulnerable victims, some don't seem to have a preference at all.

Others are known for picking random victims, or stalking them and attacking them in isolated areas, such as Israel Keyes.

However, in this case as far as we know they are only looking at one victim and possibly one suspect. If investigators suspect BM is involved, they would likely be investigating an intimate-partner homicide. I don't doubt they look at other cases to look for similarities. I'm sure they do. Once they have exhausted all leads, they may move on to a different approach.

Imo

 

[al66pine]

Someone asked about life insurance as a possible motive in SM's disappearance.
Death benefit is not likely to be paid soon, imo and as some posters noted, not for years.
{ETA: See post 473, re court determination & presumed death. In CO =Five years.}
As always, I welcome comment, clarification, correction, esply from our legal professionals.

"When a Missing Person Is Presumed Dead*
In the United States, four things must happen before a court will declare a missing person dead:

1. The person has been missing without explanation or communication for a continuous specific amount of time (typically seven years),
2. There must be no reasonable explanation for the disappearance (i.e. a fugitive from the law would not meet this criteria),
3. There must be total absence of communication from the missing person during these years,
4. A diligent search for the missing person needs to have been conducted.

The beneficiary of a life insurance policy can then go to the insurance company with the court’s declaration. The insurance company will then pay out the death benefit proceeds under a rebuttable presumption of death.
A rebuttable presumption of death is important to understand in this situation. This means that evidence can be brought at any time to prove the missing person is still alive. If the person who was declared dead later on is discovered alive, the insurance company has the right to take back the death benefit proceeds plus interest.
However, if the insurance company and beneficiary previously compromised on a settlement less than the full death benefit amount then the insurance company does not have the right to take it back.
Example:
John’s mother Linda lives in a memory care facility because she has Alzheimer’s disease. Linda owns a $500,000 life insurance policy and John is the primary beneficiary.
One day, Linda wandered away from the facility and could not be found even after extensive searches. After three years, John reached a $300,000 settlement with the life insurance company.
A few months after reaching the settlement, Linda is found miles away in a home for the poor. In this situation, the insurance company cannot request the $300,000 from John; however, John also won’t receive any more funds when Linda does eventually pass away.
A Beneficiary’s Options if an Insured Is Missing
While the beneficiary waits, it’s advisable to keep the policy inforce, in other words, keep paying the policy’s premiums. This is because in order for an insurance company to be required to pay the death benefit, the policy must be inforce when the insured dies. If the beneficiary stops paying the premiums while the insured is missing, it’s very difficult for the beneficiary to argue that the insured did indeed die while the policy was active. If it’s discovered that the insured died many years earlier, the beneficiary will be refunded the premiums that were paid after this actual date of death.
When an insured person goes missing and the beneficiary assumes the person to be dead, the beneficiary will usually file a death claim with the insurance company. If the insurance company doesn’t think the case is strong enough to presume the insured dead and denies the claim, the beneficiary has some options. The beneficiary can:

• Petition the court to declare the missing person dead.
• Sue the insurance company for payment of the death benefit.

If neither of these routes is successful, the beneficiary has no choice but to wait until enough time has passed for the state to declare the insured dead."

* ^ Life Insurance Claims for a Missing Person | Death Benefit Claims ^ (some)bbm
* This website is an "online marketplace to offer life insurance quotes."

 

[Deleted member 102539]

Yes, I saw that someone said she had some angst over the move, but that doesn't necessarily mean she didn't want to move.

Moving can be very stressful. In fact I've had more than "angst" whenever I've had to pack up and prepare to move from one place to the next. I don't truly relax until I'm unpacked and most of the work is done. In some cases moving can be a refreshing change and for all we know Suzanne may have welcomed it.


But I can also see why both would find Colorado a great place to live.

We don't know what their marriage was like, but from what little we have heard they seemed to be happy.

I'm sure that there was a lot more to their marriage than the people around them saw. That's usually the case with every marriage. But we know even less.

We don't know for a fact that Suzanne was submissive, but some women are and many men are controlling.

It might be a clue as to what their marriage was like, but it doesn't mean that she didn't want to move or that he was unfaithful or that she was not happy.

Imo

bbm
It might be, that Colorado from the start didn't seem to be a great place to live, but Indiana seemed to be a less good place to live further. Perhaps we should ask: What happened in Indiana, before the Ms bought their new home or before the older daughter wanted to study in Colorado. MOO
ETA: If there are many photos of "nice Colorado" on the M's SocialM, then I would believe, the change took place purely out of love for this new state. But I don't know.

 

[alleyoop24]

I think it was noted somewhere earlier in this thread that there are indeed abandoned mines in the area. (I'm too lazy to find it, so I'll say IMO for that.)

If someone was hunting, how likely would they would be to run across these abandoned mines? How obvious are they? Only there if you know where to look? Stick out like a sore thumb? Is there some sort of topographical map that shows them? Would that be something you could research online?

There is this: Mining In Chaffee County, Colorado

MOO etc ...
It doesn't show every adit [entrance] or every attempt.
They are all over the place within a few mile radius.
Some would be good for hiding things, but I don't think they would be easy to get to if you were carrying those things. All the ones I've found that are sort of obscure require leaving well-defined trails and bushwhacking a bit. I don't think I could carry a person to the hidden away ones I've seen because they are on steeper terrain w/difficult footing. If you were really strong and had a buddy, you probably could but that seems super risky.

The easy-to-find ones are on more travelled trails, but you'd lose cover, and a few of those I've seen are mostly filled in to keep people out.

The big abandoned mine structures you can get to w/AWD or one of those ATV type vehicles, but I've stayed out of them because they are rickety as heck looking.

So - yes - there are lots of options around for that. I would assume (?) they looked at any obvious ones but maybe not the obscure ones because they are so hard to get to. I figure if I know about them they aren't super secret, so dogs would have picked up a trail. I've always, maybe incorrectly, assumed that they'd have tracked BM's scent along with SM's, right?

I think this would be one of those things that if you called the tip line and said "Hey, check the mines" it would be right up there in helpfulness with "Hey, did you check the phone records?"

 

[Acorunadepor]

Answers:
Quite likely. Along with ghost towns, too.
Sometimes obvious, sometimes not obvious.
Sometimes hidden.
Sometimes stick out.
Yes, there are maps, from places like Colorado School of Mines, trail maps, and ghost town maps.
Online is fabulous for research, and although I have not tried to look for mine maps on the internet, I'm sure they are there.

https://westernmininghistory.com/mine_county/colorado/chaffee/ An extensive list.

Chaffee County, Colorado Mining Claim Updates Mining claims.

 

[al66pine]

Presumed Dead?
In Colorado, absent for five years, before ct could determine presumed death.
As always, I welcome comment, clarification, correction, esp'ly from our legal professionals.

Colorado Statute. 15-10-107. Evidence of death or status
"(1) ...the following rules relating to a court determination of death and status apply:...
...
(b) An authenticated copy of a death certificate purporting to be issued by an official or agency of the place where the death purportedly occurred is prima facie evidence of the fact, place, date, and time of death and the identity of the decedent.
(c) An authenticated copy of any record or report of a governmental agency, domestic or foreign, that an individual is missing, detained, dead, or alive is prima facie evidence of the status and of the dates, circumstances, and places disclosed by the record or report.
(d) In the absence of prima facie evidence of death under paragraph (b) or (c) of this subsection (1), the fact of death shall be established by clear and convincing evidence, including circumstantial evidence.
(e) An individual whose death is not established under paragraphs (a) to (d) of this subsection (1) or under section 15-10-106.5 who is absent for a continuous period of five years, during which he or she has not been heard from, and whose absence is not satisfactorily explained after diligent search or inquiry, is presumed to be dead. His or her death is presumed to have occurred at the end of the period ...." bbm ubm jmo

 

[MrsWatson]

Thank you for the interesting information on abandoned mines. I'm thinking that while the ones that aren't blocked off are a very good option for a hidey hole, getting there could be a very big issue.

 

[MsBetsy]

I was surprised by this DM quote, “So far, detectives have been unable to find any information to help the solve a mystery that has attracted national attention. ” AND this quote, “On the day Suzanne vanished, Barry was reportedly in Denver at a training course for his job as a volunteer firefighter.”

How would DM know if detectives had any information? Also, I thought the firefighter training wasn’t real and that Barry said he was at a Denver job site preparing for a landscaping job.

Apparently they researched the wrong articles to find their "source." I think they were the ones who claimed BM was at a training course for firefighting to begin with.

It would have been accurate if they said, "So far detectives have told us nothing about their investigation to help solve the mystery that has attracted National Attention."

I'm not sure they have even interviewed an LE source at all.

 

[AmandaReckonwith]

It's been a while since I posted this link, and it's been a long time since there has been news.

Suzanne Morphew Case Archive:
Suzanne Morphew -CO- by amanda reckonwith

Cell phone users often have trouble with that link, so try this and scroll:
Suzanne Morphew


There are new names here lately, so you may not know what my Case Archives are. I save everything I can find- pics, articles, screen grabs from videos. From start of the case to the end of the case, no matter how long it takes. (some of my archives are 10+ years old, and there are over 150 cases). The link goes to my photobucket account. Formerly ad-free, but that is no longer an option for me to purchase. I pay for the storage and do not make a profit of any kind, so by clicking you just give me views, not money.

 

[GordianKnot]

There is this: Mining In Chaffee County, Colorado

MOO etc ...
It doesn't show every adit [entrance] or every attempt.
They are all over the place within a few mile radius.
Some would be good for hiding things, but I don't think they would be easy to get to if you were carrying those things. All the ones I've found that are sort of obscure require leaving well-defined trails and bushwhacking a bit. I don't think I could carry a person to the hidden away ones I've seen because they are on steeper terrain w/difficult footing. If you were really strong and had a buddy, you probably could but that seems super risky.

The easy-to-find ones are on more travelled trails, but you'd lose cover, and a few of those I've seen are mostly filled in to keep people out.

The big abandoned mine structures you can get to w/AWD or one of those ATV type vehicles, but I've stayed out of them because they are rickety as heck looking.

So - yes - there are lots of options around for that. I would assume (?) they looked at any obvious ones but maybe not the obscure ones because they are so hard to get to. I figure if I know about them they aren't super secret, so dogs would have picked up a trail. I've always, maybe incorrectly, assumed that they'd have tracked BM's scent along with SM's, right?

I think this would be one of those things that if you called the tip line and said "Hey, check the mines" it would be right up there in helpfulness with "Hey, did you check the phone records?"

BBM:

If this was a spontaneous crime of passion, then for the reasons you've outlined, transporting a body to a remote off-trail location would be difficult.

If this wasn't a crime of passion, the perpetrator might have been able to get SM to a location like that without carrying her there.

If some measure of pre-planning went into SM's disappearance, then someone might have lured her to a remote location on the pretense of a hike, bike ride, or some other type of activity.

I'm really hoping this was a crime of passion, but I'm not convinced that's the case.

JMO.

 

[BuySellTrade]

I did look at the in-state vs. out-of-state tuition for that particular college. Not earth shattering. Some are ridiculously different.
Perhaps the family vacationed there, or hunted there. Maybe there was a business opportunity, or tax opportunity. Maybe that was where they hoped to retire to, and the girls were amenable to the change. In many cases, high school kids do not want to leave before graduating. However, maybe there was something/someone in Colorado who made it more desirable and an easier sell.

IIRC there is an older post on SM's FB (or other social media) where SM types positively about a trip taken by BM and one of the daughters to CO. Can't recall the specific context.

 

[rainbowshummingbird]

BBM:

If this was a spontaneous crime of passion, then for the reasons you've outlined, transporting a body to a remote off-trail location would be difficult.

If this wasn't a crime of passion, the perpetrator might have been able to get SM to a location like that without carrying her there.

If some measure of pre-planning went into SM's disappearance, then someone might have lured her to a remote location on the pretense of a hike, bike ride, or some other type of activity.

I'm really hoping this was a crime of passion, but I'm not convinced that's the case.

JMO.

Maybe she was lured on a hike to a remote location where there were several mineshafts nearby. That would be a better plan than harming your spouse inside of your home. JMO

 

[Hatfield]

There is this: Mining In Chaffee County, Colorado

MOO etc ...
It doesn't show every adit [entrance] or every attempt.
They are all over the place within a few mile radius.
Some would be good for hiding things, but I don't think they would be easy to get to if you were carrying those things. All the ones I've found that are sort of obscure require leaving well-defined trails and bushwhacking a bit. I don't think I could carry a person to the hidden away ones I've seen because they are on steeper terrain w/difficult footing. If you were really strong and had a buddy, you probably could but that seems super risky.

The easy-to-find ones are on more travelled trails, but you'd lose cover, and a few of those I've seen are mostly filled in to keep people out.

The big abandoned mine structures you can get to w/AWD or one of those ATV type vehicles, but I've stayed out of them because they are rickety as heck looking.

So - yes - there are lots of options around for that. I would assume (?) they looked at any obvious ones but maybe not the obscure ones because they are so hard to get to. I figure if I know about them they aren't super secret, so dogs would have picked up a trail. I've always, maybe incorrectly, assumed that they'd have tracked BM's scent along with SM's, right?

I think this would be one of those things that if you called the tip line and said "Hey, check the mines" it would be right up there in helpfulness with "Hey, did you check the phone records?"

JMO
It would obviously be a monumental task for LE to check as many abandoned mines as they could but maybe based on the Cell Phone records they would only have to check in a certain general area. If LE is still considering BM and if they were able to track his movements on the days in question then maybe the number of abandoned mines would be a handful. It all depends on how accurate they have been able to track his movements.

One way to search an abandoned mine is to consider that a perp is likely just to throw a body down one so by getting a simple camera on the end of a string, they could lower a camera down the shaft and have a look-see around.

I hope LE is able to do that if they are pursuing options like that.

This case for Erin Corwin was a successful mine search that found her. Its another sad case where she was horribly murdered by a selfish male perp trying to keep his affair secret. He fooled her on the day he killed her and made her think he was going to ask her to marry her that day. Another monster perp.

GUILTY - CA - Erin Corwin, 19, pregnant, Twentynine Palms, 28 June 2014 - #14

 

[alleyoop24]

JMO
It would obviously be a monumental task for LE to check as many abandoned mines as they could but maybe based on the Cell Phone records they would only have to check in a certain general area. If LE is still considering BM and if they were able to track his movements on the days in question then maybe the number of abandoned mines would be a handful. It all depends on how accurate they have been able to track his movements.

One way to search an abandoned mine is to consider that a perp is likely just to throw a body down one so by getting a simple camera on the end of a string, they could lower a camera down the shaft and have a look-see around.

RE: phone records, true, and hope so
RE: mine entrances - most of the ones I've seen here are tunnels, not deep wells. The one "drop in" one I've seen was filled in to only 10 or so feet deep, and the sideways portion of it may have only been that deep. The terrain is pretty steep once you leave the area around the river, so it seems most of the mines tunnel in rather than down. Exceptions likelyexist, of course. So you could actually easily hunt w/good lighting and waders.

 

[Dave F.]

I think it was noted somewhere earlier in this thread that there are indeed abandoned mines in the area. (I'm too lazy to find it, so I'll say IMO for that.)

If someone was hunting, how likely would they would be to run across these abandoned mines? How obvious are they? Only there if you know where to look? Stick out like a sore thumb? Is there some sort of topographical map that shows them? Would that be something you could research online?

There are many, working, non-working and abandoned mines. Most abandoned mines are accessible only to determined hikers, but some could be in plain sight and you might not recognize them as a mine. One non-working mine, the Molly Kathleen in Cripple Creek, charges twenty bucks per adult admission. It would take a month to find them all, but it could be done. Here's a good start:
Chaffee County, Colorado Mines

 

[JosieMae]

Maybe she was lured on a hike to a remote location where there were several mineshafts nearby. That would be a better plan than harming your spouse inside of your home. JMO

Good way to avoid the search-dog issue as well.