Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #41

[Goldenseal]

I don't think it's true that LE doesn't care. They have had more than 15 agencies involved in this investigation from the beginning.

PE claims that LE could only "muster" 100 people in the search for the first three months. How could they know this? They don't know what cell phone and GPS data has been analyzed, they don't know how many hours of surveillance footage LE have poured over, or how many people they have interviewed. They don't know the 10 other locations they have searched, they don't know what other leads they have, and they probably don't know the details about the up-coming search that LE is planning for. I don't think they have even mentioned it.

They said they have established the timeline, but how do they know it matches up with LE's timeline? This isn't their investigation. Maybe there is a good reason investigators don't think the body is in the two locations the dogs alerted to. They knew about the beach site early on. They said they searched several locations on that property. Maybe they already used their own search dogs in that area.

This search isn't over yet, and detectives haven't finished investigating the new leads yet. Like the PE guys said, sometimes you have to be patient.

But there were serious sit-down alerts on that one spot, by 3 veteran CADAVER dogs with their handlers, and just because LE says the body can't be Suzanne's, that means we don't dig up the BODIES?? This makes no sense. These are human remains we are talking about here. So what if they aren't Suzanne's? They are someone's remains!

 

[PaulaDC]

Threats have been made.
Local news not covering case.
No search warrants issued where dogs picked up scent, per Andy.
LE not really helping those 500 to 700 folks who turned out to help Andy.
Andy now on his own.
This stinks.

Maybe tomorrow the site to visit would be the Salida Sheriffs Station. Demand some action.

 

[Boxer]

Can someone tell me how quickly the FBI was called onto the case in the very beginning? She disappeared “Mother’s Day” then when did fbi come in. Thx.

MOO the morning of 5/13.
Thats the day they declared it a criminal investigation, which would necessitate confirming alibis out of the county.

 

[MassGuy]

I don’t for a second believe that the FBI, CBI, or the Sheriff’s Department, wouldn’t investigate a location where Suzanne’s remains could plausibly be.

They spent three days painstakingly sifting dirt at that construction site.

They brought in SAR teams from across Colorado.

They’ve utilized sonar, drones, divers, searchers, aircraft, and God knows what else.

They brought in the best body finders in the world, in Necrosearch International.

They know things that Andy and his team do not, and are acutely aware of how important it is to find Suzanne.

I have no idea what they have or have not done when it comes to these locations of interest. I also don’t know what they may be planning to do, and have not yet done.

But I’ve seen how CBI and FBI operate, and I’m not concerned. They’ve been involved since the beginning, and continue to be involved.

Patience.

 

[MsBetsy]

Another thought is that LE could literally KNOW SM is not in the location’s that AM’s team found. So they aren’t wasting their time digging.

True. For all we know, based on the timeline and GPS data, it's just not possible.

 

[303gmf]

Have not yet figured out reposting images. I’m referring to pic of tree(s) on p 26.

the ‘main’ tree looks like a lodge pole or ponderosa Pine (not 100% on this, hard to tell with younger trees) and the two smaller behind are Aspens. It is weird for a lot of reasons - to me, the rocks look placed but the trees don’t really look ‘planted’ - more like volunteers. Nobody plants trees that close together and honestly, aspens are sort of like weeds, they are not typically used (at this size anyway) in landscape planting. The tree could be planted but the Aspens would not have been able to get that big in one season and if the tree was planted, it would’ve disturbed Aspens.

I want to be wrong. I want to find Suzanne and I want this to be a hasty planting job but it just doesn’t look like it was planted this year. This is my own (somewhat educated but I’m not verified) opinion.

Looks a young Austrian Pine to me

 

[*Verdigris]

Another thought is that LE could literally KNOW SM is not in the location’s that AM’s team found. So they aren’t wasting their time digging.

That's a good point, but then there could be articles there which might help with the investigation.

Or maybe even a different body there, that we don't even know is missing.

The human cadaver dogs alerted on something.

And if they think SM is buried somewhere else, maybe only part of her is where they think.


jmoo

 

[Seattle1]

Just jumping off your post - wondering how many properties he/BM owns? It's said just 2, then 5, so does anybody know how many properties BM owns??

Public records indicate two properties in Chaffee County. Both previously known and identified here.

 

[branmuffin]

Have not yet figured out reposting images. I’m referring to pic of tree(s) on p 26.

the ‘main’ tree looks like a lodge pole or ponderosa Pine (not 100% on this, hard to tell with younger trees) and the two smaller behind are Aspens. It is weird for a lot of reasons - to me, the rocks look placed but the trees don’t really look ‘planted’ - more like volunteers. Nobody plants trees that close together and honestly, aspens are sort of like weeds, they are not typically used (at this size anyway) in landscape planting. The tree could be planted but the Aspens would not have been able to get that big in one season and if the tree was planted, it would’ve disturbed Aspens.

I want to be wrong. I want to find Suzanne and I want this to be a hasty planting job but it just doesn’t look like it was planted this year. This is my own (somewhat educated but I’m not verified) opinion.

I agree they haven't been planted this year. I also believe if human remains, especially of a substantial size, were to decompose underneath those little trees, the nitrogen given off the remains would have effectively killed them. The aspens look iffy but the pine seems pretty robust. IMO

 

[10ofRods]

I second this... Was told that Salida is full of drugs by ex-local this weekend.

Somewhere's an interview with Sheriff Spezze where he says the same thing. Says he was surprised because he thought the drug issues were mostly in Denver and not in his little hometown.

Sheriff-elect John Spezze returns to hometown with big-city experience

One thing I need to do is look more into Chaffee County politics and press. .Because there is a tiny hometown newspaper - that keeps up with Suzanne's story, including publishing Barry's claims that LE ruined the crime scene.

It's the chaffeecountytimes.com of course. It has Suzanne's case under free content and appears to have only one reporter (Maisy). It also shares news with an online publication (also with one regular reporter) called The Mountain Mail. I'd say the Mail looks to be a crime blotter report publisher, and the Times attends press conferences and publishes press releases.

The Times accepts comments if you are willing to create an account, and it also accepts letters to the editor. But I don't see any track record of investigative reporting nor do I think they look like they have people assigned to beats, so it's unlikely that the reporters even know much about what has happened in the past 3-4 days, unless they are here on WS or watching PE (which I bet they are not).

I will say that the 2018 contest between Spezze and his opponent, Stephen Hall, for the job of Sheriff was heated and made some headlines in the Chaffee County Times (who, IMO, seems to favor Sheriff Spezze - I need to dig some more). During the run-up to the election, I see the fairly lengthy article I linked above, and for Hall, there's a picture and just a statement that he's running - no facts, no interview.

But if you look into the situation there in Salida...it's a rabbit hole.

 

[MsBetsy]

I'm late to the party, as usual.

<modsnip>

Scent of human remains found on land owned by missing mom Suzanne Morphew's husband: reports

AM reported it, not the husband. The title makes it sound like BM reported it himself.

 

[Topppps]

I don’t for a second believe that the FBI, CBI, or the Sheriff’s Department, wouldn’t investigate a location where Suzanne’s remains could plausibly be.

They spent three days painstakingly sifting dirt at that construction site.

They brought in SAR teams from across Colorado.

They’ve utilized sonar, drones, divers, searchers, aircraft, and God knows what else.

They brought in the best body finders in the world, in Necrosearch International.

They know things that Andy and his team do not, and are acutely aware of how important it is to find Suzanne.

I have no idea what they have or have not done when it comes to these locations of interest. I also don’t know what they may be planning to do, and have not yet done.

But I’ve seen how CBI and FBI operate, and I’m not concerned. They’ve been involved since the beginning, and continue to be involved.

Patience.

Why wouldnt they process those scenes though?

 

[LClapper]

Yes, they told Andy he should stay at the site until investigators process the scene. Probably not good advice. I think this has been physically and mentally exhausting for him.

It's pretty incredible that multiple dogs hit in the same spot in two different locations. Her body can't be in both places.

Depending on what happened to her, she could be in both places, as well as many other locations.

 

[GordianKnot]

As someone who has lived in this community for 30+ years, it is difficult to read how much misinformation is being spread here. I don’t in any way intend to give anyone a hard time, just hard to see people you know talked about so salaciously.

BBM:

Misinformation about whom, for example?

Care to be specific?

 

[10ofRods]

Yes, I would think so, as well as the truck or whatever vehicle the body was transported in.

Cadaverine doesn't start to form in a human body until about 12 (or more) hours after death. It's not instantaneous.

This is why LE often waits to bring cadaver dogs to a scene (at least a couple of days - scent will keep getting stronger after that and then diminish very slowly). A week is probably better a9d 4 months out would be at a point where dogs should definitely be able to smell it.

I don't know if most perps know that, but some do.

Most articles say cadaverine isn't produced until day 3 or 4, with many criminology texts and sites saying 4 days.

(NFSW; don't click if squeamish; you can find the information elsewhere; but this one is illustrated with pictures of a decomposing animal so do not click unless you're like me and don't mind medical/forensic photos). Click only if you wish to see more about decomposition and cadaverine.

 

[MassGuy]

Why wouldnt they process those scenes though?

There could be any number of reasons:

They may be planning to, and aren’t operating on Andy’s timeline.

They may somehow know that Suzanne definitely isn’t there.

Perhaps LE dogs didn’t respond in the same way.

Maybe they are waiting on warrants.

Maybe they have already searched those locations.

 

[magnetic]

Tree pic from PE

View attachment 265852[/QUOTE

Apparently Andy is at the site with the dog handlers. Thank goodness he’s not alone.

I know! I would be very afraid with BM on the loose.

 

[canteloupe]

Somewhere's an interview with Sheriff Spezze where he says the same thing. Says he was surprised because he thought the drug issues were mostly in Denver and not in his little hometown.

Sheriff-elect John Spezze returns to hometown with big-city experience

One thing I need to do is look more into Chaffee County politics and press. .Because there is a tiny hometown newspaper - that keeps up with Suzanne's story, including publishing Barry's claims that LE ruined the crime scene.

It's the chaffeecountytimes.com of course. It has Suzanne's case under free content and appears to have only one reporter (Maisy). It also shares news with an online publication (also with one regular reporter) called The Mountain Mail. I'd say the Mail looks to be a crime blotter report publisher, and the Times attends press conferences and publishes press releases.

The Times accepts comments if you are willing to create an account, and it also accepts letters to the editor. But I don't see any track record of investigative reporting nor do I think they look like they have people assigned to beats, so it's unlikely that the reporters even know much about what has happened in the past 3-4 days, unless they are here on WS or watching PE (which I bet they are not).

I will say that the 2018 contest between Spezze and his opponent, Stephen Hall, for the job of Sheriff was heated and made some headlines in the Chaffee County Times (who, IMO, seems to favor Sheriff Spezze - I need to dig some more). During the run-up to the election, I see the fairly lengthy article I linked above, and for Hall, there's a picture and just a statement that he's running - no facts, no interview.

But if you look into the situation there in Salida...it's a rabbit hole.

I guess this is what all the cool anthro and history kids are doing...because it is also how I spent my evening.

I’ll say that one must obtain a good deal of string, thumbtacks, and bulletin boards to keep track of this county’s overlapping connections.

 

[LaLou]

Looks a young Austrian Pine to me

@303gmf could be, or a western white pine? Really hard to tell with no cones and being young. But Pinus never been my strongpoint ! Either way, not sure species is relevant other than pine vs Aspen and the way they grow.

 

[Moonchime]

I didn’t watch PE tonight. Kinda glad I didn’t.

Based on everyone’s posts, Andy’s somewhere unknown standing guard over a pitiful tree and a pile of rocks that looks like something out of the Blair Witch Project.

Someone said it last night.
This is feeling like the Twilight Zone.

Funny, as I was just thinking about this. My thoughts were that yesterday we thought this case was veering into the Twilight Zone. Tonight it feels as if we've reached our destination and as it turns out, we truly are in the Twilight Zone.