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

[gitana1]

Word. I would not listen to a SOUL if my child/mate were "missing". I would gladly offer myself up for 'sacrifice' and any/all public scrutiny. I don't know a single 'innocent' soul that would handle it differently. It would be all emotion, 24/7, and screaming from the rooftops, giving up all privacy to find my loved one.

The world would stop from the second of their disappearance. No real estate deals, not even if initiated before the 'disappearance'. I am befuddled, really, at how ANY semblance of business transactions, normal life, etc. could occur so close to a disappearance.

I cannot get past the following:

"Too soon..."

"Oh Suzanne..."

What? Nothing I could say would be "too soon" and "oh suzanne?!?" still SOOOO weird to me to start off like that. I CANNOT discount the tone of his voice in the "Oh Suzanne..." almost if placing blame on dear SM. IMO, as always. I have ZERO insight into this case, and can only comment from personal opinion.

Never 'too soon' to say, "I love you, I miss you, please come home", "give me my wife back", "i hate pumas", or whatever the sentiment may be...

This is what I aways try to explain. When people start lecturing on what our rights are and the “smart” thing to do (I.e. get a lawyer, don’t take a lie detector test and make no public statements), that is NOT what innocent people do, in this kind of situation (except maybe .01% when it comes to not making public statements).

 

[FelicityLemon]

MOO SM very attractive, and by all reports, nice, so MOO really could be someone's obsession, but there is no evidence that there is a stalker so far doing stalking actions, like being seen on surveillance cameras, car around when it shouldn't be, neighbors noticing a person out of place.

Not to be argumentative, but we don't know what evidence there is beyond what's been published from the Sheriff. :/. While the odds are against it, we just don't know what all evidence and of what that LE hasn't announced publicly. And there's been no leaking...durnit.

 

[branmuffin]

My apol

I apologize, I was focusing on the unexplained disappearance aspect. White was a totally unsolved missing persons, imo, she met someone connected to her move, selling furniture, throwing things out, etc, her husband WAS out of town, and was under suspicion and cleared. She was 52, IIRC
Katherine Smith is in Charley Project, as a Silver Alert. Red Feather Lakes CO, Smith was 69 yo, and a silver alert issued, however she had just bought some sort of travel conversion van, her pets disappeared w/ her. She appeared to be a vibrant lady, attractive for her age. If you want to take it further, there are more of this age demographic going back thru older cold cases.
I am ooooolllldddd, therefore I think my risk of stalking for sexual assault are much lower, LOL, however, robbery, murder, still a risk.

Stalking in SMs case may not be your standard stalker scenario, nevertheless,BG had to know about her bike rides, and the fact she was alone that day.

There are cases of older women being raped and murdered, more frequently than a disappearance, and some attackers even have attractions for older, even elderly women.
What’s intriguing to me, is this; I went thru about 8 of the bordering states on CP, the three I did find are in a relatively small geographic area. Taos NM, Red feather Lakes, CO, Salidas, CO. Smith may have been on the road, all three are tourist areas.

But I’m leaning more toward there being one local BG, in the vicinity of Mayesville and Salidas, and I’m confident the local people have been wary of him before SM disappeared. He may have gone off the grid before SM disappeared. ( spying or surveilling or stalking)MOO

Rape isn't about attraction, it's about power and subjugation. Maybe date rape could be classified as an attraction turned into a show of power but abduction or home invasion-type rapes are about finding vulnerable people and exploiting that vulnerability regardless of age or attractiveness. .

 

[K9Enzo]

I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination but I have read that tracking dogs used to find living individuals are trained differently than cadaver dogs.

Some SAR dogs are cross trained but I don't know if the dogs used in the initial search were cross trained.

IMO, some dogs are dual purpose (live find & cadaver). Many handlers prefer to focus on one discipline & craft it. You can see trained & certified dual purpose dogs in Wilderness SAR, as an example. Some handlers will have a single purpose dog only, dual purpose or a handler with a live find and a HRD dog and depending on the call determines which dog they bring. Depending on the circumstances for a handler that has both, the other dog could be crated in a vehicle on standby. IMO

This was a mouthful (I know) and could literally have a dedicated forum around it. It's interesting how these handlers bring these dogs in and out of target odor. They train, train and train some more and if they're lucky, have a genetic hard-charger that gets it and wants to work. IMO

 

[FairIsle]

@gitana, I am an attorney as well.

Were I in this situation, as an innocent, I absolutely would take a lie detector test and would make public statements. If I felt LE scrutiny, just maybe, I might have a bestie from law school stand by my side.

However, that attorney would never get in the way of my pleading for the safe return of my significant other.

Sure, as an attorney, if I had a client in this situation, I’d inform him/her about lie detector reliability, and the possible lashing he/she could get at the hands of the media. And then I’d let the client PROCEED in ANY way he/she chooses.

The client is in charge! BM is not making statements because BM doesn’t want to.

my opinion.

 

[Boxer]

Not to be argumentative, but we don't know what evidence there is beyond what's been published from the Sheriff. :/. While the odds are against it, we just don't know what all evidence and of what that LE hasn't announced publicly. And there's been no leaking...durnit.

True.
If BM knew his wife was being stalked I would expect him to be on a public rampage about it.

 

[branmuffin]

IMO, some dogs are dual purpose (live find & cadaver). Many handlers prefer to focus on one discipline & craft it. You can see trained & certified dual purpose dogs in Wilderness SAR, as an example. Some handlers will have a single purpose dog only, dual purpose or a handler with a live find and a HRD dog and depending on the call determines which dog they bring. Depending on the circumstances for a handler that has both, the other dog could be crated in a vehicle on standby. IMO

This was a mouthful (I know) and could literally have a dedicated forum around it. It's interesting how these handlers bring these dogs in and out of target odor. They train, train and train some more and if they're lucky, have a genetic hard-charger that gets it and wants to work. IMO

Do we know if the SAR dogs used from the Corrections branch were dual purpose dogs? I wondered if they were from Corrections that they were trained to find escaped prisoners.

 

[vaporlass]

The silence is very weird...The only case I can compare is Amy Harding Permann last winter. Not a single family member or a friend uttered a word about Amy, no BOLO, no public appeals or searches or vigils at all. Not a single interview. Lots of people suspected BF.
We found out later that LE and I would assume a family knew exactly where she was from the get go...But the case remained the missing person case till she was found in the river...

Interesting. I just read up on this case. Was wondering did the public know the details about the fight: specifically her intoxication and physical altercation with boyfriend at the time she went missing or was that all kept quiet???
As I read excerpts from the 911 calls, I never suspected the boyfriend to be involved, just from number of calls made and details given.
But, I realize if I had only known there was an argument with boyfriend and she disappeared... I would be suspecting boyfriend during the entire search.

 

[vaporlass]

The Amy Harding Permann investigation was never anything but a missing person case. She was missing in the river, until she was found. Wild speculative accusation was rampant on social media, and there was some "reading between the lines" in this forum, but in the end she was found in the river, where LE had been looking for her the whole time.
There was significant local gossip, but Montanans are not prone to gossip in public. If you don't have a back fence in Montana to lean on, you are probably not in the loop and aren't going to get the memo.
Colorado was never like that, in my opinion, and may never be. I once sneaked into Colorado Springs for the private baptism of a family member. Within days, a more distant family member said he heard gossip that I was seen in that church. I said: "God is the only witness to that, and obviously is the source of that rumor. I can't deny it." (Actually it was the bishop who performed the ceremony that ratted on me). As we saw in the original CBS Denver broadcasts from the neighborhood of the concrete dig, news people might just as well have stood in the middle of the street holding out a microphone and persons with first person comments will get in line and drive by (kind of like firemen with a boot, people like to give). The fact that they have nothing specific to reveal does tend to give me an overall picture that no one has an inside track on what happened. IMO

There is a glaring difference between these 2 cases of “missing” women, and it is that Amy’s boyfriend made several 911 calls while she was still in the home and after she left “twice” according to information that has since been published.
We know BM never made any 911 call.

 

[K9Enzo]

Do we know if the SAR dogs used from the Corrections branch were dual purpose dogs? If I wondered if they they were from Corrections that they were trained to find escaped prisoners.

I'm not sure. My best guess is those dogs were narcotics and apprehension (tracking) K9's. They are certainly fantastic at live find, hasty searches. But that's just my opinion.

I'm confident in saying, the resources used to search for her were significant. As far as the dogs go - they were probably well covered even if it was several different dog teams. IMO

 

[10ofRods]

Do we know if the SAR dogs used from the Corrections branch were dual purpose dogs? If I wondered if they they were from Corrections that they were trained to find escaped prisoners.

I've never heard of a dual purpose cadaver/sniffer dog. Does someone know how common these are?

Cadaver dogs are more rare, and I surely hope they did use some - or are planning to. Cadaverine sticks around for a long time and dogs are amazing at sensing it. I do believe they could catch it at the entrance to a mine shaft - but that would be quite the expedition to organize (given how many mines are in the region).

In the Jennifer Dulos case, they had clues about bodies of water and those were searched by cadaver dogs (IIRC), but I'd think they'd need some specific clues about which bodies of water to search (and I'm not convinced that in deeper, colder bodies of water that people can always be found - I don't even think we have a good grasp of the success of such dog searches).

 

[muppethead]

True.
If BM knew his wife was being stalked I would expect him to be on a public rampage about it.

and IMO he darn sure would have made sure that the security system and CCTV was working properly

 

[Boxer]

Yes. Unless he was in charge of that stalker somehow.

 

[LietKynes]

ITA. At first I just thought he had grammar issues or something. But, I experimented telling a personal tragic story of my own. I always say OUR in relation to our kids. He’s definitely a bad speaker so I’m not surprised his lawyer advised him against (speculating) speaking to media.... yet, here he is ... which I find is common in these cases. Controlling people need to be in control ... jmo.
It bothers me that he said YOUR daughters need you, in his plea video, as well.

Agreed.
I'm sensing some sort of blame being passed to another.
It's as if : "If you hadn't done ___; I wouldn't be in this situation."
Imo.

 

[LietKynes]

Yes. Unless he was in charge of that stalker somehow.

This ^^^
Hmm.

Who else knew that Suzanne was alone that day besides her spouse ?
MOO

 

[enelram]

Agreed.
I'm sensing some sort of blame being passed to another.
It's as if : "If you hadn't done ___; I wouldn't be in this situation."
Imo.

.... a common tactic for controlling abusers.
the victim is always blamed for the situation.

 

[vaporlass]

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."

Thank you. I thought it was 7 years for all states. As usual, there are loopholes.
After all who needs to collect on an insurance policy settlement when you can simply have her deemed “incapacitated” and collect $800k on the sale of a joint property. Just speculation, of course.

 

[LietKynes]

Do we know if the SAR dogs used from the Corrections branch were dual purpose dogs? I wondered if they were from Corrections that they were trained to find escaped prisoners.

Good question.^^^

Someone posted upthread that the dogs were solely from the corrections facility; but I don't know if that's accurate ?

I'd think that SAR dogs were used first , and LE hasn't said (& most likely won't now !) if HRD dogs were utilized later on in the investigation.
This is a criminal investigation as well as a missing persons one.

IF LE are 'getting their ducks in a row', they're not going to say if HRD dogs hit on anything at all.
Imo.

 

[Moonchime]

On a scale of 1 - 10, I wonder where BM would rank the probability of himself being arrested in the next 6 months?

Just my opinion, but it seems as if he doesn't expect to be arrested at all. He's wheeling and dealing as if his wife hasn't disappeared off the face of the earth. Who buys land when the love of your life is missing? It's only been, what? seven weeks?!? It takes bones to heal longer than that. What about a broken heart and a devastated spirit?!? He doesn't seem to be bothered at all by that. Therefore, I'll have to go with a 1 on that scale of 1-10. MOO

 

[OldCop]

Moon? That is quite the picture in my mind. Or do you mean swoon?

Maybe swooning while she’s mooning?