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

[Topppps]

I’m leaning to this not being a suicide. If you read her Twitter account you clearly see she was a very spiritual and religious person. IMO If she did consider this as a way out, at least she would have left a suicide note.

Unless, someone is covering up her suicide and staging it as a disappearance for insurance reasons?

I don't think it's a big possibility maybe 5-10% still something I would consider.

 

[rainbowshummingbird]

Friendships require effort. It’s possible the move occurred soon after the latest cancer treatment, and SM didn’t have the energy to do that yet. She may have embarked on her own continued healing process, and felt her biking community supported her as much as she needed for now.
Friendships require time. The Ms had not been in the Salidas area all that long. I’m sure the genuine friends they have made in Salidas are probably reluctant to over ride the Indiana friends and family, however they have been very positive in their comments.
Given the distance of their new home from town, it’s not as simple as walking a dog and striking a conversation with another dog walker.
When my kids were at home, many of my closest friends were the moms of THEIR friends, car pooling, etc.
What I suspect is that SM was happy in her new home. She didn’t feel any urgency to develop new friendships beyond her church and biking community, she was content.
I have observed this also, in my own and my friends marriages. Retirements, empty nests, couples seem to be get back to those days when you first met, spending time together.
IMO we diminish Suzanne, when we speculate on BMs guilt. I continue to think, she is a strong kind woman. She raised two strong daughters and beat cancer, twice. She would not have stayed in an abusive marriage, for her daughters sake.
SHE is the best judge of BMs character. She was with him, longer than the 27 years they were married.
Perhaps, Barry was her best friend, and it’s as simple as that.

The name of the city is Salida. Salida, Colorado - Wikipedia

 

[10ofRods]

Scenarios and speculation, MOO, in no particular order:

1. husband is involved.

2. Left on her own. Highly unlikely she’d stage the bike. Even more unlikely that she’d leave her girls on Mother’s Day.

3. Cat—there would be a carcass. Pretty much rules this out.

4. accident and “got in the river”—possible. Also possible that she had a seizure or other acute medical attack, got disoriented and “got in the river”. Or wandered farther into the woods and became lost.

5. Abducted by Bad Guy. Possible, especially with the RV site and sex offender fugitives.

IMO, only 1, 4 and 5 are real possibilities.

IMO, LE is acting like they are focusing on #1. I am not privy to their evidence, so I don’t actually know.

IMO—and this is where I get anxious and concerned—#4 and #5 hold a chance for her to be found alive. From past experiences, #5 might require lots of publicity and recognition of her face and story to bring her home. I’m thinking of the area, and the “mountain man” scenario like Elizabeth Smart. People should know to be looking for her in faces in the crowd, in areas away from Salida. But it’s been weeks without a public comment from anyone who loves SM. This feels either like she had no one to keep her face in the news, or that no one is taking #5 as a serious scenario.

MOO

After this length of time, 4 and 5 do not offer much more than a shred of a glimmer that she's still alive.

There's a dam just downstream. The stream has been searched (and much of it, is not very deep - say knee to thigh deep). I assume they searched the boulders along the way too. But she couldn't have gone past the dam.

If she went into the woods, dogs would have been able to trace her scent under all but the most unusual circumstances but...well, after almost 2 months, how could she still be alive out there? Overnight temps that first week were 40-45°F, for an injured person with no camping equipment, that's not good. She would have had to be very, very disoriented not to just head back to home - which is what, a quarter of a mile away either by road or by following the river?

Abduction seems to me the only way she's still alive. I agree that if that's the case, the family needs to keep her face in the media, which it could do it they spoke to Dateline or similar.

If she wandered into the woods, that means she had to have a head injury or something else impairing her thinking.

 

[Truecolors]

If this were my friend, and I suspected stranger abduction, I’d want a photo of her released in a mask. Photoshop if needed. Remember that Elizabeth Smart’s abductor took her into town wearing a veil. In 2020, it would be so easy for her to be missing in plain sight wearing a mask.

People should know to look out for a woman who meets her physical description who might show subtle signs of distress. I don’t understand why this isn’t being done, unless they are already pretty sure they have their guy.

MOO

 

[10ofRods]

There's already been someone that reported a suspicious van in the area at the time of the bike ride on mother's day. Also in neighboring Jefferson county there was a van posing as a sheriff.

Yes. And since those were tips, I'm sure LE has checked them out. I guess a van, in and of itself, is "suspicious."

Naturally, the person who made that claim would need to talk to police.

 

[MassGuy]

If this were my friend, and I suspected stranger abduction, I’d want a photo of her released in a mask. Photoshop if needed. Remember that Elizabeth Smart’s abductor took her into town wearing a veil. In 2020, it would be so easy for her to be missing in plain sight wearing a mask.

People should know to look out for a woman who meets her physical description who might show subtle signs of distress. I don’t understand why this isn’t being done, unless they are already pretty sure they have their guy.

MOO

Minus the mask thing, if they were looking for a living woman, I have no doubt they would have released a physical description.

If they didn’t do that then, then I can’t imagine them doing that now, let alone releasing an image of her in a mask.

They have to be positive they know what happened, as we’ve seen the CBI and FBI release these things even when abduction is a remote possibility.

One day in the future, we will likely understand how this all came to be.

 

[Madeleine74]

I agree. The internet, the media, - and even the best intentioned people who believe they are helping- can be very hurtful when a family is suffering. There is a reason Nancy Grace lost her prime time show and there are reasons LE now discourages sharing a lot of information with the public. People tend to be burned at the stake as what ifs turn into must haves.

I know a family that endured this kind of horrible speculation and in the end the missing person was the victim of a horrible accident and was not recovered for several months. Reputations were ruined, a marriage was destroyed and the business the victim built with her husband did not survive- not because of facts, but because people had to invent facts or possibilities, assume law enforcement wasn't doing a good job, and push a narrative that was fictional.

I would and I do counsel any person that has any degree of connection to a missing person to avoid engaging with anybody they do not personally know and trust, including all types of media. They should not talk with anybody other than law enforcement.

So well said! The erosion of privacy and the proliferation of Internet stalking is not something to take lightly. People can get really obsessed with things, a crime case is no exception. Anyone who gets in front of a camera or gets media exposure can easily become a target from otherwise well-meaning but intrusive strangers. I watched it happen to a number of people in a murder case and I saw how crazy it can get.

IMO

 

[Madeleine74]

Just pointing out there are other, legitimate reasons why folks are expressing a concern over the apparent lack of comments from friends, other than the idea that they just wanted to hear some dirt, as you suggested.
Nothing more.

IMO

I said in my prior post, "It's driving people crazy who want and expect to hear all the details, all the dirt, and whatever rumors exist." Implied in that statement: there are those who do not want or expect to hear all the details, all the dirt, and whatever rumors exist. The word "dirt" caused a reaction, as you've now mentioned it twice. I've personally seen some who do want and expect to be told everything that's happening in a criminal case.

/IMO

 

[Madeleine74]

IMO:

The chance of SM being a suicide is: 0.0%

The chance of SM running away from her life is: 0.0%

The chance of SM being missing due to other reasons, not involving her spouse: 5%

The chance of SM being a victim, involving her spouse is: 95%.


If there was a suicide, tracking dogs would have been able to follow SM's scent. If SM ran away tracking dogs would find a scent to indicate she left, maybe then losing the scent. SM did not drive away; her car was still at the house. She didn't ride her bike off to a new life, as the bike was found nearby. If she didn't ride that bike, it was staged by someone.

/IMO

 

[MassGuy]

IMO:

The chance of SM being a suicide is: 0.0%

The chance of SM running away from her life is: 0.0%

The chance of SM being missing due to other reasons, not involving her spouse: 5%

The chance of SM being a victim, involving her spouse is: 95%.

/IMO

I’m in total agreement with your odds here.

 

[GordianKnot]

IMO:

The chance of SM being a suicide is: 0.0%

The chance of SM running away from her life is: 0.0%

The chance of SM being missing due to other reasons, not involving her spouse: 5%

The chance of SM being a victim, involving her spouse is: 95%.


If there was a suicide, tracking dogs would have been able to follow SM's scent. If SM ran away tracking dogs would find a scent to indicate she left, maybe then losing the scent. SM did not drive away; her car was still at the house. She didn't ride her bike off to a new life, as the bike was found nearby. If she didn't ride that bike, it was staged by someone.

/IMO

I’m in total agreement with your odds here.

BBM:

Agree that there's 0% chance we're looking at anything other than foul play.

Because of LE's firm and fast posturing in this case, I think the odds are more like 99% foul play involving spouse, 1% foul play not involving spouse.

LE has left virtually no doubt as to whom their evidence is leading them to suspect.

I'm only leaving a 1% possibility open because we don't yet know the strength of their evidence.

Looking at LE's actions, the writing is on the wall…and I ain't illiterate.

I can read what it's saying.

JMO.

 

[Madeleine74]

I'm only leaving a 1% possibility open because we don't yet know the strength of their evidence.

I agree it could be 99% or greater.

Since I haven't seen any of the evidence yet, let alone the strength of that evidence, I'm giving a generous 5% chance it could be different from the usual way these cases turn out.

 

[lamlawindy]

I think the only problem is that:
"I knew both of them. They were very popular in school. They seemed to be an ideal couple, leading the perfect life. Wonderful kids, too."
is not newsworthy in today's instant news message byte world, even in the heartland. IMO

Maybe, but it just seems contrary to human experience for all of a couple's family & friends to (a) have the same positive view of them and (b) not speak out.

 

[Minordetails]

IMO:

The chance of SM being a suicide is: 0.0%

The chance of SM running away from her life is: 0.0%

The chance of SM being missing due to other reasons, not involving her spouse: 5%

The chance of SM being a victim, involving her spouse is: 95%.
/IMO

What I’m seeing, based on the number of likes this post is getting, many fellow sleuthers are 95% sure the spouse is guilty.

If there is no arrest in the next 12 months, do the odds drop down from 95% on the spouse?

 

[Truecolors]

I had the theory of her walking off disoriented after an accident or medical episode, but she would’ve needed to walk in the direction of the found personal items, and then beyond. That’s kind of far with no one noticing a person who is hurt.

Or, a medical event could’ve caused her to dump her helmet (?) and other items and continue toward home on the bike? Then there was some sort of escalation and the bike got left behind while she wandered up the mountain or into the river below?

These theories don’t make much sense. The distance between the bike and found items probably makes an accident or medical event unlikely.

Given the lack of continuing effort to keep her story in the news in case she’s seen with her abductor, my money is unfortunately on the husband. Hope I’m wrong.

MOO

 

[MassGuy]

What I’m seeing, based on the number of likes this post is getting, many fellow sleuthers are 95% sure the spouse is guilty.

If there is no arrest in the next 12 months, do the odds drop down from 95% on the spouse?

No. The odds wouldn’t change one bit in my mind. No-body cases tend to take a great deal of time, and that’s if they ever lead to charges.

Knowing someone did something is one thing, but proving that the underlying crime is homicide is another thing entirely.

The only way the odds would decrease for me, is if law enforcement suddenly begins behaving like an abduction is a possibility.

 

[brooks]

Hoping the light of the upcoming full moon will shine on Suzanne and bring her home.

 

[JnRyan]

Scenarios and speculation, MOO, in no particular order:

1. husband is involved.

2. Left on her own. Highly unlikely she’d stage the bike. Even more unlikely that she’d leave her girls on Mother’s Day.

3. Cat—there would be a carcass. Pretty much rules this out.

4. accident and “got in the river”—possible. Also possible that she had a seizure or other acute medical attack, got disoriented and “got in the river”. Or wandered farther into the woods and became lost.

5. Abducted by Bad Guy. Possible, especially with the RV site and sex offender fugitives.

IMO, only 1, 4 and 5 are real possibilities.

IMO, LE is acting like they are focusing on #1. I am not privy to their evidence, so I don’t actually know.

IMO—and this is where I get anxious and concerned—#4 and #5 hold a chance for her to be found alive. From past experiences, #5 might require lots of publicity and recognition of her face and story to bring her home. I’m thinking of the area, and the “mountain man” scenario like Elizabeth Smart. People should know to be looking for her in faces in the crowd, in areas away from Salida. But it’s been weeks without a public comment from anyone who loves SM. This feels either like she had no one to keep her face in the news, or that no one is taking #5 as a serious scenario.

MOO

I would add a 6th and that is suicide. Since she had cancer and we don't know the details of the treatment it is difficult to ascertain her state of mind that might not be known outside the family or even within the immediate family. That said, I would consider it but since LE has had trained search teams out - with dogs, too, if I remember correctly - I believe a suicide victim would have been found. It's just that suicide victims don't usually hide their bodies on dry land. Even if she did ride her bike I would think tracker dogs could follow her scent from the bike. It does bring one scenario in mind. What if she did commit suicide and BM found her? He hid her and staged the bike. Why? Hid the event from the public and her daughters? Life insurance that may not pay out in the event of a suicide? Possible, but in my mind highly unlikely. And I can't think of any other such case where a loved one has done this.

The bike staged? If a killing happened at the house that would seem to me to be someone very close to her in order to know about her bike riding. BM is the most likely there although it is possible some family acquaintance might also know. If Suzanne actually was on a ride and assaulted it is possible the person could have staged the bike there away from the actual crime scene. Back to the tracker dogs. If LE brought them out it would seem the obvious place to start would where the bike was found. While LE hasn't said anything it seems that if dogs were brought out they could have her trail leading somewhere away from the bike. If that is the case, I could likely place a low probability on #4.

I'm down to #1 and #5. In the case of #1 that scenario has been beat to pieces here. #5? That the abductor/killer would take her is obvious as they would not want her found and have LE possibly find forensic evidence. But the bike? I think back to the Tara Calico case where one scenario is that she was hit while out on a bike ride and they took BOTH her and the bike and neither has ever been found. I suppose the abductor could have thrown the bike there to purposely lead LE away from the actual crime scene. They could just as easily have taken the bike into Denver and parked it alongside a building and walked away from it. We have bikes stolen all the time in our area and even with LE knowing about the theft they are more likely to not be recovered.

A subset of #5 is something not planned as an abduction or killing. An accident between a vehicle and Suzanne. We lost a cyclist about 20 years ago on the Mountain Mama Century when the rider lost control trying to take a high speed descent too fast and crossed over into the other lane and was struck head on by a vehicle. Could Suzanne have been coming down that road too fast and was hit either by crossing over trying to go through a curve or by a distracted driver on their cell phone. Driver then covers up the incident. (Following news feeds in Delphi IN - Delphi murders case - they had a distracted driver kill a cyclist recently.) I would think damage to the bike would be very obvious, though. There is the possibility of a road rage incident gone bad on route 225. The road rage happens far more than non-cyclists might realize and YouTube, Close Call Database and Cycliq have numerous videos and these are just the events that are recorded on video.

 

[Minordetails]

Many fellow sleuthers are 95% sure the spouse is guilty.

One step further, what are the odds on premeditated vs crime of passion?

 

[Madeleine74]

For me one of the biggest indications will be what the search dogs (and cadaver dogs, if used) found or didn't find, among the other evidence.

- If there were zero prints found on SM's bike that to me indicates staging.
- SM didn't drive away, and she didn't ride her bike away to a new life. Did she walk away? Why didn't the K9 searches indicate that and follow the trail?
- Dogs did not find SM; if she was a suicide her body would be out in the open somewhere and the dogs would pick up the scent.
- Search dogs were used less than 24 hrs after it was said SM went missing. If they didn't pick up her scent it means she wasn't there to be able to leave her scent.

Every theory or hypothetical needs to account for what a K9 would reasonably find.

IMO the most valid theory is:

- Disappeared by someone who had control of her, her bike, and was able to get her into a vehicle without any of her scent being found, and without any struggle noted or evidence of an accident.