Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #18

[alleyoop24]

LE put out a warning about hikers, bike riders others being stopped by a perp in a car? around that time. Foggy recollection.

I found it odd that as LE passed out flyers in the business district no questions were asked of the shopkeepers, customers. You’re already out, canvassing the area but not asking questions? Duh?

I think you are thinking about this vehicle - from another part of the state. It could be relevant, but there was no specific canvas in Chaffee County about this. It was just on news and social media in Colorado. It was in Front Range (e.g., Boulder, Denver, Co Springs area) sources, not Salida news sources that I could see.

I really don't think it's a logical conclusion that LE did not ask people questions in Salida. The flyer canvas may have had a different purpose, but at that point, they'd been working the case for weeks, asking for tips, etc. Maybe people are just quiet about it.

 

[FelicityLemon]

Regarding updates on people missing in National Parks: I'm including some quotes that specifically mention the subjects that we've been discussing about a lack of updates and physical descriptions (only clothing is mentioned, and that's because they were with people who knew what they were wearing as opposed to SM) and not asking for help with searches, but are asking for the public's information about location.

This article is about three missing hikers in Mount Rainer National Park. They went missing in separate incidents.

Thursday marked the third day of searching for Dije (and he was last seen on June 19).

• The National Park Service won't issue any updates until he is found

• encourage people to call (phone#) with information about his location

• “...Friday was the fifth day of search operations for Sabbagh, and similar to Dije, the Park Service won't release updates...”

• “...The Park Service is also not asking for public assistance in any of the searches....”

Missing hiker's body found at Mount Rainier National Park in Washington; 2 others still missing
Update on Paradise Search Efforts - Mount Rainier National Park (U.S. National Park Service)

 

[Lilypad13]

Here's one article (there are others) and it's not the first time this has happened this year and the article says there've been similar incidents in other cities. It's 100+ miles from Salida and unknown if it's the same creep, but it's possible.

Information sought on man reportedly posing as an officer in Colorado and approaching cyclists

Information sought on man reportedly posing as an officer in Colorado and approaching cyclists

Is the license plate on this Dodge Caravan missing the license plate or it’s just blocked out in the photo? Surely LE could find this man from the license plate. 100 miles away is still pretty close especially if he is trying to spread out to other areas. I tried to zoom in on the stickers but they are blurry...is that a skull and crossbones? Yikes! Also looks like an American flag. A patriotic creeper.

 

[FelicityLemon]

I just had an awful thought (I'm watching a video of missing people in national parks) and so many people who go missing were alone either hiking, biking or camping. What if SM was on her bike ride and she heard something like a cat crying or a person calling for help? Get off the bike, go into the brush or the woods to try and find the source and then whammo! She's taken and her bike pushed off the trail to either delay or divert searchers. A single BG could do it, or it could even be more than one BG partners.

 

[MrsWatson]

My apologies for misunderstanding the original posts regarding the vehicle alert; I thought I had missed an alert issued by LE regarding a vehicle specific to Suzanne's disappearance, which seemed to be implied in the original post. That one seems to be quite a distance away and there have been no reports from the area Suzanne disappeared from that it was seen in that area, have there? I think people would remember, it's quite distinctive.

 

[kkdj]

I just had an awful thought (I'm watching a video of missing people in national parks) and so many people who go missing were alone either hiking, biking or camping. What if SM was on her bike ride and she heard something like a cat crying or a person calling for help? Get off the bike, go into the brush or the woods to try and find the source and then whammo! She's taken and her bike pushed off the trail to either delay or divert searchers. A single BG could do it, or it could even be more than one BG partners.

The thing that sticks in my head the most is LE pulling up that slab from BM's jobsite. They (I assume) would have gotten a SW for that and I think they had to have probable cause to obtain that from a judge.

 

[branmuffin]

Yes, and despite his efforts, tidbits of his true nature have trickled out, however sparingly, both by family in IN via Crime Online and others through “alternate” media. Regardless, of whether he made SM disappear, his recent actions support the “not so nice” things said about him. He is a self absorbed individual, an “Ich Mensch,” as my mother would say. In BM’s world, he comes first. Life is about him, what he wants, what he needs. As long as you go along with his wishes, life is “good,” sort of, until you stand up to him and then I strongly suspect, it isn’t. That kind of control is malignant.

BBM

“The relative said they have never seen or heard about any specific issues in the Morphew’s marriage, and that the couple seemed happy. But they did indicate that Barry could be somewhat controlling.”

“He’s been in charge of what happens for a long time,” they said.

“Barry always seemed to be a good guy and a supportive husband,” the relative said. “I’d be surprised if anything happened. But sometimes we don’t know people as well as we think we do.”

‘We’re in the dark’: Missing Suzanne Morphew’s family waits and worries two weeks after Colorado mom’s mysterious disappearance [EXCLUSIVE]

Well, it appears the relative KNEW he was controlling. I can only imagine what went on “behind closed doors!”

I don't want to think of BM as a killer. But after 7 weeks, I don't think Suzanne is coming back. One of the sadder facts about murder is that so many are committed by individuals known to the deceased and usually fall within the domestic violence parameter.

There is a former police officer in England who is a lecturer and a forensic psychologist, Dr. Jane Monkton Smith, who has made an eight step road map of murder by a partner. Link:Killers 'follow pattern' in domestic abuse cases

There is a four year age gap between the M's. Which is not significant when you're an older adult but is pretty significant when you are in high school. Based on their birthdays it would suggest that BM did not meet SM in high school because he would have already graduated when SM started. (Although it's possible he repeated a year) It's quite likely that BM's control of Suzanne started very early in their relationship.

I'm in agreement that the disposal of a body happened fairly close to home. I've followed the route to Denver on Google and there isn't many opportunities to do it successfully without going off road. Perhaps @Dave F. could provide the topography of Hwy 285 as it winds its way to Denver. It's surrounded by mountains and appears to be a high plain for the most part and any areas that do have steep inclines at the side of the highway have barriers to clear. And just because BM is numero uno for my personal POI doesn't mean I think he is cool enough to travel many, many miles with a DB in his vehicle; there are too many variables that could increase his level of anxiety that could lead to mistakes or just getting caught.

I have always felt that the area of search is based on BM's narrative of her bike riding preferences. Whether subsequent searches took place to the north, east or south of the original area of search I am not aware of them. There is a wealth of places very close to the M's home just off hwy 50, more specifically going east.
MOO

 

[FelicityLemon]

The thing that sticks in my head the most is LE pulling up that slab from BM's jobsite. They (I assume) would have gotten a SW for that and I think they had to have probable cause to obtain that from a judge.

Yes, that is concerning!

A question for lawyers – is this possible in real life or just in my too-much-tv mind:

---------- LE received credible tips that would have qualified a search warrant and for whatever reason, chose not to go for a warrant, investigate/scan, sift and dig a property where the spouse had been working
---------- Someone (not the spouse) who really did kill the victim is put on trial
---------- The defense attorney asks LE “isn't it true that you originally had another suspect?” yes “Didn't you receive tips credible enough that you could have gotten a search warrant?” yes “Did you search the property?” The witness admits they did not follow up on the tip or search the property.

Could this – in conjunction with other testimony – be the basis for a juror to think of reasonable doubt because the police originally thought the spouse did it, but never pursued it (for whatever reason).

Long story short: LE doing their due diligence following up on a credible lead and searching the property to get that aspect out of the way and move on.

 

[kay74]

The silence is terrible.
Sounds like the family thinks it's BM.

BBM: Or they do not want to hurt their tourism as someone mentioned awhile back.

 

[MrsWatson]

I think Suzanne's family is being silent because they have a good idea of what happened. They also have two young ladies to think about, who are no doubt heartbroken and very worried and scared right now.

MOO

 

[Cassady]

Could you explain why the TD video will be inadmissible please? Because he videotaped BM without permission? I don’t think TD would say BM was acting nervous and suspicious if they set it up together. But maybe you mean setup because he lied and told BM he was there to help. I was hoping that video could be used at trial to show all BM’s theories and lack of emotion if BM is arrested and tried. Can LE call TD to testify about his interactions with BM? Sorry I’m not a legal Eagle! TIA

If the missing person's spouse became a defendant in a case involving her disappearance, the secretly recorded video of him would be admissible based on what is known about the person recording it...IMO

 

[Boxer]

BBM: Or they do not want to hurt their tourism as someone mentioned awhile back.

Really hope not!

But here is a woman just gone and no police or family attempt to keep her case in the public attention. VGs family is trying to move heaven and earth to find her.

 

[FelicityLemon]

Is the license plate on this Dodge Caravan missing the license plate or it’s just blocked out in the photo? Surely LE could find this man from the license plate. 100 miles away is still pretty close especially if he is trying to spread out to other areas. I tried to zoom in on the stickers but they are blurry...is that a skull and crossbones? Yikes! Also looks like an American flag. A patriotic creeper.

I blew it up and it's blacked out on the photo, not the van itself. Someone else said they recognized one of the decals as from a local church.

 

[Fireflize]

I think Suzanne's family is being silent because they have a good idea of what happened. They also have two young ladies to think about, who are no doubt heartbroken and very worried and scared right now.

MOO

ITA with that. Moo

 

[Hatfield]

Yes, that is concerning!

A question for lawyers – is this possible in real life or just in my too-much-tv mind:

---------- LE received credible tips that would have qualified a search warrant and for whatever reason, chose not to go for a warrant, investigate/scan, sift and dig a property where the spouse had been working
---------- Someone (not the spouse) who really did kill the victim is put on trial
---------- The defense attorney asks LE “isn't it true that you originally had another suspect?” yes “Didn't you receive tips credible enough that you could have gotten a search warrant?” yes “Did you search the property?” The witness admits they did not follow up on the tip or search the property.

Could this – in conjunction with other testimony – be the basis for a juror to think of reasonable doubt because the police originally thought the spouse did it, but never pursued it (for whatever reason).

Long story short: LE doing their due diligence following up on a credible lead and searching the property to get that aspect out of the way and move on.

JMO
Not a lawyer but Im pretty sure LE will go where the evidence takes them and it is not uncommon nor is it wrong that the direction of the an investigation and POIs can change as new evidence is uncovered.

It is good that we are all different and we bring different theories to cases because it helps us to look at all possibilities and to hopefully narrow them down to the rightmost one.

The way I tend to look at a case like this one where there is very little to go on is to use one of the old Scales that you would see in the gold miners times where they weighed chunks of gold on one side and had a known weight on the other. I try to put one theory on one side and another theory on the other and when one theory tends to easily tip the scale then it is usually the one I will focus on over the other one.

So for example if we put things on one side like the spouse just happened to be supposedly out of town on Mothers Day Sunday, the children just happened to be away from the home that same weekend, the way the Give me fund was created and all the administrative changes to it, the lack of a statement of any kind when given the opportunity to make a statement and all we got was "its too soon", the eventual home video which was unusual to me, and the offer of the 100K with the stipulation that SM needs to be a safe return, and most importantly the way LE tore up a concrete slab on a job site, etc. etc.

And on the other side of that same scale, I have......???......hmmmm.......not a lot there, so my scale tipped in a certain direction.

So time and energy spent looking at a case I would normally tend to focus on what things weigh more than others and which things are more likely to have happened.

But that is just me and I am thankful we are all diffierent and come into these cases with different ideas. It was not long ago for the below case when our initial direction was the totally wrong direction. So its good to bring all ideas to the table.

https://nypost.com/2020/01/29/best-...-mom-heidi-broussard-charged-with-her-murder/

 

[Synergizer Bunny]

I think Suzanne's family is being silent because they have a good idea of what happened...

The only reason that I would remain silent is if the police asked me to do so and explained to me what they were doing to investigate.

Otherwise, I would be talking, asking questions, putting up flyers and doing whatever I could to investigate what happened to my relative.

To do so shows that you care about your missing relative, that you love him/her and will do whatever you can do to find him/her.

 

[gitana1]

Maybe, maybe not. We have only one account, that of Barry Morphew. I'll admit that mishandling of the bike is unlikely, but I wouldn't deem it "preposterous" or "impossible."

I’m not following you. Of course the question as to whether she really rode the bike that day is at issue. However, the question is whether SAR would not perceive a bike they’ve found as evidence after being told that a woman who went on a bike ride is missing, and looking for that woman on the trails she would ostensibly ride on.

That makes zero sense.

 

[TKG]

Why could you hear a PIN DROP in Chaffee County?
Suzanne's family must be going out of their minds!
Anyone in Salida see Suzanne at Church that Sunday? has ANYTHING been confirmed around the last definite sighting / contact with Suzanne? What was the point of the door knock a week or so ago? anything being released about that? anyone get asked any questions? what were they? is this just a complete balls up, or is something so cocamamie fishy going on that it would boggle the mind?

Church was only operating via online service that Sunday due to the pandemic. I don’t think anyone would disagree that this case seems unusually quiet. Normally there is at least a handful of people looking for attention and come forward to speak. This? Nada.

 

[gliving]

Suzanne's missing photo shows her wearing AirPods which can be tracked similar to an iPhone.

How to find your lost AirPods

How to find your lost AirPods

 

[gitana1]

Right. I'd really like to know what percentage of the 88% had confessions of the suspect as an aspect of the case.

Probably a lot. Or confessions to a third party.