Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #50

[kittythehare]

Thank you for bringing the snowpack data @On Track. Poor Suzanne. If a snowmobile was involved, she could be anywhere.

Here is another link to info about ATV and backcountry routes around Salida and Maysville. Points out routes 240, 210, 220, Green’s Creek Rd, Marshalls Pass. But these may not have been passable, even with ATV or 4wd, with the snowpack still in place in May. Ugh.

Colorado Mountain Vacations

jmo

The beauty is startling.
If I ever get back to USA I really want to see these mountains.

 

[Hoosierfan72]

Some really good theories have been posited about disposal somewhere off Monarch Pass.

If SM not thrown over the edge off Monarch Pass/Old Monarch Pass, could another possibility be SM was disposed (dropped) down into an old abandoned mine shaft. If mine is deep enough, the chances would be great that remains hidden as such, likely/probable would never be found. I wonder if a snowmobile would be able to get to some of the mines around Monarch Pass in May.

I searched mines/abandoned mines/Monarch Pass, Madonna mine (abandoned) populated on the map at link below, as well as several other mines off US Route 50.

Just another thought/possibility.

Madonna Mine


ETA: Jinx @NoSI


Hoping and Praying that Suzanne is found soon!!

IMHO

#FindSuzanne
#BringSuzanneHome
#JusticeForSuzanne

I appreciate the speculation, and tend to agree that SM is close to home and well hidden. I just keep coming back to BM sticking with what is familiar, which is why him choosing a random spot between Salida and Denver doesn't resonate with me. I believe she's somewhere that BM had been hiking/working/hunting before - somewhere that he had a reasonable degree of certainty that he wouldn't be disturbed and she wouldn't be easily found.

That said - and as much as we all want SMs remains to be found for many reasons - I still remain hopeful that there is sufficient evidence to move forward without a body. Ultimately, I agree with others and think BM painted himself into a corner on this by staging the bike ride and disposing of her phone. Those two things by themselves cast significant doubt on any other reasonable scenario, IMO. I think when you start with those and add whatever other circumstantial evidence they have (which is likely significant in its own right) - I'm hopeful that there is a strong case for the new prosecutor to take forward. Maybe an arrest by Valentine's Day?? MOO, JMO.

 

[oviedo]

I appreciate the speculation, and tend to agree that SM is close to home and well hidden. I just keep coming back to BM sticking with what is familiar, which is why him choosing a random spot between Salida and Denver doesn't resonate with me. I believe she's somewhere that BM had been hiking/working/hunting before - somewhere that he had a reasonable degree of certainty that he wouldn't be disturbed and she wouldn't be easily found.

That said - and as much as we all want SMs remains to be found for many reasons - I still remain hopeful that there is sufficient evidence to move forward without a body. Ultimately, I agree with others and think BM painted himself into a corner on this by staging the bike ride and disposing of her phone. Those two things by themselves cast significant doubt on any other reasonable scenario, IMO. I think when you start with those and add whatever other circumstantial evidence they have (which is likely significant in its own right) - I'm hopeful that there is a strong case for the new prosecutor to take forward. Maybe an arrest by Valentine's Day?? MOO, JMO.

I have wondered if he set up a trail camera at the location if that's what he did with her - (not my personal theory) but by now surely it would have been found? Unless it was removed during the searches and is now back up? I just feel the husband is one who has to know what is going on all the time IMO.

 

[Quiet Time]

I have wondered if he set up a trail camera at the location if that's what he did with her - (not my personal theory) but by now surely it would have been found? Unless it was removed during the searches and is now back up? I just feel the husband is one who has to know what is going on all the time IMO.

Like what Scott Peterson kept doing...going back to the bay to chk on Laci.

Maybe that's what BM was doing, if he put her close by.

jmo

 

[10ofRods]

Did he have to think quickly though?
I'm not sure how long in advance the camping trip had been planned, probably quite some time before.
I'm not getting a sense it was a sudden thing either.
Looking at the landscape below in the above 2 files made me shudder.
But it would have been accessible to heavy machinery.
If planned in advance, well in advance, maybe up to a year or more, a place could have been created off The monarch Pass?

How would it have been accessible to heavy machinery (i.e., a Bobcat)? Those big rocks on the side of the road prevent almost all vehicles from going over the edge, and a Bobcat (slow moving at best) would need some kind of track or trail, as breaking a new track would be super obvious.

I do not think it's possible to tow a Bobcat behind a snowmobile or an ATV (IMO). There's no way any regular heavy machinery could have gone off road on Monarch pass (would have had to take one of the mining roads, but one doesn't need heavy machinery to do that).

Anyway, if a person wanted to use the 50 (shown in the pictures) to get up there, they'd then take one of the trails or roads off the 50 (a snowmobile would be ideal if there was still snowpack). Lower down (nearer to Puma Path), perhaps some other vehicle could tackle the trails. If someone did decide to deposit a body in the snowy sections, they'd have left tracks. IMO.

Pictures taken near to the time Suzanne disappeared show snow-less forest not far from Puma Path.

At any rate, to get a Bobcat up to where those pictures were taken would (IMO) require it to be towed by a trailer and then onto a side road, for use. It is interesting that LE closed the 50 for a day to search in an undisclosed location, I wish we knew more about exactly where.

I can't think of any way for someone to leave the road at Monarch Pass, unless it's on an already-created side road. Even road construction crews would find it very difficult. That's some steep terrain! Highway 228 would be an option (and possibly below the snow line - the ski resort area at the top of the pass would have been crowded, IMO).

My hunch is that BM did not use his truck or trailer until Sunday morning. I think LE helped AM and volunteers organize that big search and placed the searchers in areas they thought were promising - much closer to Puma Path.

 

[HongKongPhooey]

Unable to see in photo but it just goes straight down...

Thanks for sharing these and oh wow

 

[scapa]

Like what Scott Peterson kept doing...going back to the bay to chk on Laci.

Maybe that's what BM was doing, if he put her close by.

jmo

I'm not that familiar with the Peterson case, but I wonder if BM is the type to return to the scene, always assuming the scene is somewhere else.

My strictly dilettante take on BM is that he will have undergone profound stress at the time of the murder (if murder there was) but will by now have found ways to distance, rationalize or stow away that stress in a "job done" kind of way.

In a sense, then, I wonder to what extent SM has become like that botched wall job in terms of her place at the top of his mind -- it's still there, still needs fixing, but there's no rush to get back to it. Sort of like those letters he insisted on making public in that strange and unsettling interview, those letters without reply.

JMO, MOO, YMMV, etc.

 

[NoSocks]

I was attempting to cross Monarch on a motorcycle May 19, 2015... 75degrees in Gunnison at 6:30 pm... snow was freezing at the top when I fell at walking speed 9:00 pm. I've been thru many times since then and count my blessings that I didn't slide off the road into the abyss on the Salida side. On another note, there is a abandoned Marble quarry between BM residence and the old mining town of Turret. Would it have been searched?

 

[spaceycasey]

I was wondering what people's general theories were in regards to no charges being filed. I know without a body, murder charges are usually unlikely. My only big question mark is: why the repeat trips to their house? Shouldn't they have found something? JMO. This case makes my heart ache.

IDK. A lot of questions and still few answers. Hope everyone is doing well, and not giving up hope there is justice sooner rather than later

 

[MassGuy]

I was wondering what people's general theories were in regards to no charges being filed. I know without a body, murder charges are usually unlikely. My only big question mark is: why the repeat trips to their house? Shouldn't they have found something? JMO. This case makes my heart ache.

IDK. A lot of questions and still few answers. Hope everyone is doing well, and not giving up hope there is justice sooner rather than later

So far, it’s been right in line with my expectations. I never anticipated they’d have a body to work with, and no-body cases generally take a great deal of time.

I think it’s a safe bet that they haven’t found physical evidence that proves for a fact that Suzanne is dead. Common sense says that she is, but the defense can always argue that Suzanne ran off.

The longer she is missing and there are no sightings, financial activity, or any other evidence of her being alive, then the easier it is for the prosecution to overcome that burden.

Namely, that Suzanne is dead, and a certain person killed her.

My hope is that the new DA feels that the case is there, and files charges in the next few months.

Time will tell.

 

[spaceycasey]

So far, it’s been right in line with my expectations. I never anticipated they’d have a body to work with, and no-body cases generally take a great deal of time.

I think it’s a safe bet that they haven’t found physical evidence that proves for a fact that Suzanne is dead. Common sense says that she is, but the defense can always argue that Suzanne ran off.

The longer she is missing and there are no sightings, financial activity, or any other evidence of her being alive, then the easier it is for the prosecution to overcome that burden.

Namely, that Suzanne is dead, and a certain person killed her.

My hope is that the new DA feels that the case is there, and files charges in the next few months.

Time will tell.

Thank you for your reply. I completely agree. Sometimes it's disheartening when a case seems to draw out with no conclusion, but I agree, everything since her disappearance can add towards evidence.

What do you think an alleged motive would be? A random dispute? Money? She seemed like the sweetest woman, as proven by AM and their dad displaying their demeanor

 

[MassGuy]

Thank you for your reply. I completely agree. Sometimes it's disheartening when a case seems to draw out with no conclusion, but I agree, everything since her disappearance can add towards evidence.

What do you think an alleged motive would be? A random dispute? Money? She seemed like the sweetest woman, as proven by AM and their dad displaying their demeanor

I think that one way or the other, money is at the heart of this.

Let’s say that Suzanne made it known that she wanted a divorce. That could have spurred an argument that resulted in her death, yet the underlying motive would still have been about money.

Being forced to split marital assets could have significantly impacted the lifestyle that BM had become accustomed.

He couldn’t have that.

 

[Deleted member 102539]

Thank you for your reply. I completely agree. Sometimes it's disheartening when a case seems to draw out with no conclusion, but I agree, everything since her disappearance can add towards evidence.

What do you think an alleged motive would be? A random dispute? Money? She seemed like the sweetest woman, as proven by AM and their dad displaying their demeanor

bbm

Even that could be a reason for Barry, namely to be jealous of Suzanne's popularity and hating her for that in his innermost. If you are a gruffy, rough type and your wife is always the more social one, elegant and noble perhaps, amiable, not selfish, she would have had always the better cards. He certainly was proud of her and liked to show her to a publicum at the holiday destination, but at home she might have had to endure his revenge for her social success. Then add Suzanne's possible wish for divorce (which we don't know of for sure) and the future outlook to half of the money/property - there you have an important reason for something unthinkable, BM might have done to the "love of his life". IMO

 

[LietKynes]

I bet he thought- those guys know me, they're my buddies from the fire department... no way they would suspect me

Hmm.
Good point.

What a pity that you just can't trust anyone these days. *sarcasm intended*

Who knows what those who've interacted with BM in a personal or professional have said to LE ?
Well, there might have been a few who voiced their encounters with BM, to LE.
It's probably a fair guess that BM didn't expect this to blow up the way it has !
Imo.

 

[al66pine]

CoD & MoD? Premeditation? Cart and horse?

Unable to see in photo but it just goes straight down...

@NoSI Thx for posting your pix at 453, 454, et seq. I wonder how many feet that drop is (mostly rhetorical Q).

For the moment ignoring suicide & accident as possible MoD, if perp pushed victim over precipice, and ...
1. ... CoD: blunt force injuries, organ damage, internal bleeding only, that may tend to show premeditation, imo
maybe a longer period of actual planning.
Why? Because if her landing impact was fatal immed'ly or w'in a relatively short time, perp likely scouted locations on maps, in person, etc., to find the 'right' height. IOW, perp looked for a very high site, hhhiiiggghhh enough to ensure her impact w surface would be fatal, not just cause abrasions, a few broken bones.
But
2. ... CoD: blunt force injuries, organ damage, internal bleeding, etc, plus dehydration (or other factor indicating survival for some time post-landing), that CoD may indicate lack of premeditation.
Why? Because if landing impact was not fatal immediately or w'in a short time, maybe perp acted spontaneously, had not preselected the site.

Of course the prob w trying to gin up premeditation is that LE has not yet recovered remains upon which the Med Examiner can rule CoD and MOD. And now, six mo. after disappearance, what are chances that ME could make a definitive ruling on both? Anyone? my2cts.

 

[Deleted member 102539]

I have wondered if he set up a trail camera at the location if that's what he did with her - (not my personal theory) but by now surely it would have been found? Unless it was removed during the searches and is now back up? I just feel the husband is one who has to know what is going on all the time IMO.

bbm
Although it would have been reckless to do so.

 

[Deleted member 102539]

I appreciate the speculation, and tend to agree that SM is close to home and well hidden. I just keep coming back to BM sticking with what is familiar, which is why him choosing a random spot between Salida and Denver doesn't resonate with me. I believe she's somewhere that BM had been hiking/working/hunting before - somewhere that he had a reasonable degree of certainty that he wouldn't be disturbed and she wouldn't be easily found.

That said - and as much as we all want SMs remains to be found for many reasons - I still remain hopeful that there is sufficient evidence to move forward without a body. Ultimately, I agree with others and think BM painted himself into a corner on this by staging the bike ride and disposing of her phone. Those two things by themselves cast significant doubt on any other reasonable scenario, IMO. I think when you start with those and add whatever other circumstantial evidence they have (which is likely significant in its own right) - I'm hopeful that there is a strong case for the new prosecutor to take forward. Maybe an arrest by Valentine's Day?? MOO, JMO.

Do we know, if BM regularly attended church in Maysville/Salida before Corona?
IF he attended church and intended to stay in that area, his church/environment would be a good place to visit inconspicuously on Sundays or on church holidays, weddings, baptisms and so on.
At the beginning of this case I dreamed, Suzanne got lured to a monastery. Excuse me, when I'm repeating this. It was very special, and I seldom have a dream re all the cases, I'm following. It won't let me go completely .....

 

[Deleted member 102539]

I'm hopeful that there is a strong case for the new prosecutor to take forward. Maybe an arrest by Valentine's Day?? MOO, JMO.

bbm
That would be something! IMO

 

[Deleted member 102539]

Monarch Pass...

"steep downhill"

 

[Deleted member 102539]

@Auntie Cipation, I would the expect the yard and grounds of a landscaper's home to be their own best advertisement. And the landscaping that was done after they purchased it seems to be more like maintenance, not an actual example of BM's own landscaping skills. His poor landscaping skills are that he apparently didn't really do any at his own house. Where are the unique features that show that he is not only a professional landscaper, but also good at it and proud of his work?

But that's just my opinion.

The design is just unattractive, IMO.