Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #21

[skyvoyager]

i have seen straps that attach a wheel to the rack for transporting but never a lock like that.... i am not sure if there is any confirmation of.... 1) bike damaged.... 2) wheel 'locked' .... 3) bike repair the week before mother's day

 

[Hatfield]

If she had her bike in for repairs at the local bike shop, would lock have been set for transporting bike back home?and if she hadn't gone for a ride yet, it would still be set?hmmm. Moo

The interesting thing about the small disc brake locks that prevent the wheel from turning is the wheel can actually spin a little bit before it hits the area where the lock will bind up against the fork area.

So it could fool a perp thinking the wheel is spinning just fine if the perp did not try to spin the wheel all the way around. Its just another thought about how easily a perp could miss a lock like this.

 

[Madeleine74]

If she had her bike in for repairs at the local bike shop, would lock have been set for transporting bike back home?and if she hadn't gone for a ride yet, it would still be set?hmmm. Next question, has it been stated anywhere that we can cite, that her bike was in for repairs recently? Moo

If a wheel lock was set no one could roll the bike so the only way they'd move it would be picking it up and carrying it. It's an intriguing thought--IF SM's bike couldn't be rolled because a wheel lock was on. Sure would make it impossible to go for a bike ride in such a case. Now that would be a Columbo moment.

 

[Poedelini]

If a wheel lock was set no one could roll the bike so the only way they'd move it would be picking it up and carrying it. It's an intriguing thought--IF SM's bike couldn't be rolled because a wheel lock was on. Sure would make it impossible to go for a bike ride in such a case. Now that would be a Columbo moment.

Well he only had to throw the bike in the car and out of the car into the ravine/bushes.

 

[JnRyan]

Yeah I think those disc brake locks are mainly to prevent someone from quickly hopping on and riding off with a bike. Like on a college campus or a place like that where a thief is likely on foot walking around the campus.

I agree that there are better locks for anti-theft and locking the bike to another object is a good way to keep it in its place. I prefer thick cable locks myself. The kind that curl up so I can carry the lock easier when its curled up. The Kryptonite U-shaped steel bar locks are great too and easy to carry around too.

One major rule is lock up according to value. Frame first, rear wheel second and then the front wheel. Never, ever lock up just the front wheel. If more than one bike is a location a thief, I've seen them many times remove the front wheel from another bike and replace with this your wheel. You might think I'm being nit picky, but thieves have done this a many a time in Norfolk and Richmond. I've actually walked out of a coffee shop in Richmond and someone who just secured the front wheel has it still connected but no bike or rear wheel and farther down is the guy who locked up his frame and rear wheel, but his front wheel is gone. This happens over and over. Most cable locks while convenient are the worst. They'll stop an opportunistic thief, but the ones who carry the bolt cutters in a back pack love them - these guys can be off with that bike in less than 5 seconds. One cyclist in downtown Richmond told us the story of being in a store and her bike across the street. She actually saw the thief pull out the bolt cutters. The thief was gone with the bike before she could get to the front door.

When I know I know I'm going to be stopping along the way, I used to wear my Camelbak and hang my Kryptonite from the shoulder or chest strap. It takes a bit of doing but I remove my front wheel and put it next to my rear wheel, then lock up both through the rear triangle and down tube to a secure bike rack. It takes up two bike slots instead of one, but usually there are plenty of spots available.

 

[Hatfield]

In the interview with Lauren, it was interesting to learn of the shared large trash bin that homeowners in the area can use and it sounded real close to the morphew home.

If we can identify when the waiste management company came to pickup the trash from that dumpster it would be very interesting to see if trash pickup was on Mondays or not.

If the trash company picked it up every Monday then I do believe LE should seriously consider putting resources into a full blown trash dump search.

ETA - I suppose a Friday or Saturday pickup would be possible too considering a perp would not want LE to look in the dumpster on Sunday night when she was reported missing.

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[Madeleine74]

Well he only had to throw the bike in the car and out of the car into the ravine/bushes.

Yes. And claiming SM was out on a bike ride could be a "gotcha" because no one's going for a ride on a bike with a wheel lock engaged. That would expose the lie.

IMO

 

[Dave F.]

During the PE interview with LS, she mentioned the neighbor of the Salida property search. The search that was done through concrete and sifted through for days.

Now that we finally have confirmation, I heard the neighbor’s call to DWAP (I’m not linking it as he is not approved). However, the information is now MSM with this interview.

I happened to stumble upon the gentleman she called after the search commenced. It was a live video.. (They are friendly and her call was informal but informative) She stated she had taken some photos and video because there was a man and a woman at the job site very early in the morning on MD weekend. She took the photos to send to the property owner as they live off site. It struck her as odd, both with the holiday and the early hours. She heard the heavy equipment and got up to see what was happening. She did not put this piece with the missing person until she heard the following week.

Then she heard about SM’s disappearance and immediately called it in. MOO, this is what LS confirmed tonight.

To clarify: This is the neighbor of the building site not the M home.

Spoiler:
The project manager for the construction is a woman. Her partner, who is the actual job foreman, is a man.
The link will take you to a detailed explanation of exactly what was being done that morning, which was inspected the next morning. The screenshot shows a workman unrolling red hot water tubing. The second is the exact same photo, slightly darkened to simulate early morning light.
It looks mighty darn suspicious to me. Yesiree bob! IMO

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[JnRyan]

I go back to several cases where ladies have gone missing while out running or biking. Amy Wroe Bechtel, Rachel Cooke, Tara Calico. But in cases like these, the missing person was actually seen out bike riding or running at some time before they were missing. To the best of my knowledge we don't have that here.

I think one that is closer to this case is the Chandra Levy case. She was last seen a week before she was reported missing and LE find a search on her computer for Rock Creek Park in DC. He remains are found in the park off a jogging/horse trail a year later with her work out clothes nearby. There are no witnesses placing Levy in the park and she could have disappeared any time in that week. So the assumption is that she went jogging in the park and was attacked and killed. (Even though her cell phone, ID and credit cards were in her apartment.) She was, after all, very dedicated to working out and jogging so it seemed to make sense on the surface. Then reporters and writers question her friends and find out that Levy was terrified of running outside in DC. They said she wouldn't even run on the streets around her apartment let alone in a park. ALL of her jogging was on a treadmill at her gym. So now the questions were when was she really last seen, was it her or someone else who searched for Rock Creek Park on her computer and did she really go to Rock Creek Park? Or was her body dumped there and made to look like she was killed there. On LE investigator questioned all of that stating Levy had cancelled her gym membership and with a few days left in town she wanted to run somewhere.
Chandra Levy - Wikipedia

It seems some of the same is true here. When was Suzanne last seen? Was she really out on a bike ride that day? Of course, in the Levy case if there were things LE could have done wrong, they managed to get it wrong and those errors really didn't come out until later. I'm hoping with CBI and FBI, they're getting it right here.

 

[Feistyomi]

As one who does a lot of cycling and carrying my bike in a bike rack this is new to me. How do you 'lock' a wheel?

By the time this is resolved, I may become a cyclist, lol, all this is fascinating, but there has to be an age limit, especially for novices.
I find the toe clips scary, sort of like stirrups on horses and upside down riders.
I do have the old fashioned single speed, pedal brakes bike in my basement, perhaps I should start there.

 

[TxGidget]

bbm
Right.
And how would BM know where LE found the bike unless he was searching with them.
I'm thinking BM wasn't 'invited'.
Wasn't it BM who earlier said that "LE aren't telling me anything..." (paraphrased) ?
MOO

I have to think that the bike was photographed in place, from every angle, where and when it was found by LE. Then I would logically think the family was shown the photo, via text maybe. “Can you identify this as your Mom’s bike.”. I’ve never found it strange that BM, if innocent, would know exactly the condition and position of the bike.
Another bike thought. LS said that it would have been very hard to see from the road. MOO, if I were staging a bike, I think I’d make it visible... defeats the purpose of staging to hide it.

 

[JnRyan]

By the time this is resolved, I may become a cyclist, lol, all this is fascinating, but there has to be an age limit, especially for novices.
I find the toe clips scary, sort of like stirrups on horses and upside down riders.
I do have the old fashioned single speed, pedal brakes bike in my basement, perhaps I should start there.

Ditch those chrome plated toe clips and get yourself some clipless pedals. And if there is an age limit, I haven't hit it yet as every year on my birthday I turn 39 again.

 

[TKG]

Spoiler:
The project manager for the construction is a woman. Her partner, who is the actual job foreman, is a man.
The link will take you to a detailed explanation of exactly what was being done that morning, which was inspected the next morning. The screenshot shows a workman unrolling red hot water tubing. The second is the exact same photo, slightly darkened to simulate early morning light.
It looks mighty darn suspicious to me. Yesiree bob! IMO

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The reason the neighbor called DWAP was two fold:
1. They are acquaintances and it was informal. He happened to be doing a Live video at the time
2. She understood it may have been significant given timing and the odd weekend hours they were working on a MD holiday weekend. Being a man and woman was not the crux of the call. She was simply annoyed a construction crew would be out in the wee hours of the morning on a weekend operating heavy equipment. I had never mentioned it because this fact had never been in MSM.

(I had never heard of him, the video came up as I searched for info on the case)

 

[Feistyomi]

I go back to several cases where ladies have gone missing while out running or biking. Amy Wroe Bechtel, Rachel Cooke, Tara Calico. But in cases like these, the missing person was actually seen out bike riding or running at some time before they were missing. To the best of my knowledge we don't have that here.

I think one that is closer to this case is the Chandra Levy case. She was last seen a week before she was reported missing and LE find a search on her computer for Rock Creek Park in DC. He remains are found in the park off a jogging/horse trail a year later with her work out clothes nearby. There are no witnesses placing Levy in the park and she could have disappeared any time in that week. So the assumption is that she went jogging in the park and was attacked and killed. (Even though her cell phone, ID and credit cards were in her apartment.) She was, after all, very dedicated to working out and jogging so it seemed to make sense on the surface. Then reporters and writers question her friends and find out that Levy was terrified of running outside in DC. They said she wouldn't even run on the streets around her apartment let alone in a park. ALL of her jogging was on a treadmill at her gym. So now the questions were when was she really last seen, was it her or someone else who searched for Rock Creek Park on her computer and did she really go to Rock Creek Park? Or was her body dumped there and made to look like she was killed there. On LE investigator questioned all of that stating Levy had cancelled her gym membership and with a few days left in town she wanted to run somewhere.
Chandra Levy - Wikipedia

It seems some of the same is true here. When was Suzanne last seen? Was she really out on a bike ride that day? Of course, in the Levy case if there were things LE could have done wrong, they managed to get it wrong and those errors really didn't come out until later. I'm hoping with CBI and FBI, they're getting it right here.

LS latest interview, she stated bike was found here, and also front wheel damaged? Pinned the spot, on map. Location was not an issue, damage? More so, source nephew?
I was hoping someone else heard this, and intended to wait on others to bring this up?

 

[Hatfield]

I have to think that the bike was photographed in place, from every angle, where and when it was found by LE. Then I would logically think the family was shown the photo, via text maybe. “Can you identify this as your Mom’s bike.”. I’ve never found it strange that BM, if innocent, would know exactly the condition and position of the bike.
Another bike thought. LS said that it would have been very hard to see from the road. MOO, if I were staging a bike, I think I’d make it visible... defeats the purpose of staging to hide it.

One thing that LE knows that we dont know is who was the first person to find the bike.

We do know the neighbor was asked to do the initial check for SM at her house. What we dont know-did the neighbor also do some road searching after talking with BM or the girls or both before any road searching. Or maybe a nephew or local fire fighter was asked to help search for SM and maybe was given some helpful search instructions to walk certain roads and keep an eye on the ditches or things like that.

We dont know who found the bike and we dont know if that person had any previous discussions with BM or the girls or both right before searching for the bike. But LE would know about that and depending on who found the bike and depending on if they were given helpful search instructions or not by someone, then that could influence what LE thinks happened in this case.

 

[Feistyomi]

Ditch those chrome plated toe clips and get yourself some clipless pedals. And if there is an age limit, I haven't hit it yet as every year on my birthday I turn 39 again.

Thanks for your encouragement, sigh, I am a tad bit older than you. But a little side bet, I WILL be on a bike before this case goes to trial.( I only bet on sure things, lol) Oh, just saw the again? I employ the backwards after 40 for my grandkids, just turned 15, which do you use? lol, they believe less and less of my tales.

 

[Love Never Fails]

Must be a slow news week for this case.

It seems the bike was discussed ad nauseam a few weeks ago.

I like betting on the guilt/innocence better. I came from firmly sitting on the fence to falling off on the guilt side. No, I think I actually jumped off.

 

[JnRyan]

I don't have any idea if LE considers BM the primary suspect, but if they do I wonder if they've put GPS tracking on his vehicle(s) and tapped into his phone since I believe LE had both the house and cell phone at one time? Guilty or innocent, BM has to be feeling some major stress.

 

[Warwick7]

I don't have any idea if LE considers BM the primary suspect, but if they do I wonder if they've put GPS tracking on his vehicle(s) and tapped into his phone since I believe LE had both the house and cell phone at one time? Guilty or innocent, BM has to be feeling some major stress.

God curious question. They did with LS when Gannon disappeared.

 

[MassGuy]

I don't have any idea if LE considers BM the primary suspect, but if they do I wonder if they've put GPS tracking on his vehicle(s) and tapped into his phone since I believe LE had both the house and cell phone at one time? Guilty or innocent, BM has to be feeling some major stress.

That’s exactly what they did with Letecia Stauch, and I think there’s a decent chance they have done the same here.

Ignoring her bizarre behavior, we knew she was the prime suspect when law enforcement conducted multiple searches of her home, seized her vehicle, and conducted several searches for Gannon’s body.

“It’s like déjà vu all over again.”-Yogi Berra