Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #2

[djondjon]

I posted that on the previous thread, yes. It is the first time the mainstream media has mentioned her side of the family. They have made no public statements to date.

Gene's is like any other seasonal rootbeer stand in a small city. The town loves it, but it's not 'rolling in the dough'.

 

[SleuthBee]

I found the presser to be quite telling, and firmly believe they have a good working theory. Here are my big areas of consideration, for now:

• So much that is not said is important, as well as body language. When asked if if they thought Suzanne was alive, while shaking his head no, Spezze said (which we expect) that they hope she is alive etc. That may be me overreaching but I found it interesting as it’s not an uncommon giveaway, for someone to shake their head no while affirming in the positive when they don’t believe something is true.

• Regarding a stranger attack - unless an abduction occurred and the UNSUB had reason to keep SM alive, IF this was a stranger abduction I’d expect to find her body near the abduction site. When someone disappears, it’s often because either the UNSUB has reason to keep them alive (whether that be to take them elsewhere to continue the assault or other nefarious reasons), or because it’s not in fact an act committed by a stranger at all. Remember, transporting someone and holding them hostage or killing them later and disposing of them takes a lot more work/risk/effort than leaving them in the location. And if you are not known to the victim, well no need to make them disappear as LE will not immediately (or ever) tie you to them.

• I’d love to know when the last known sighting of Suzanne was, and who saw her. We don’t know for sure she disappeared on Sunday, per quotes from Spezze. That’s concerning.

• We (the public) have not been asked to look for a woman wearing xyz, no description of possible clothing or other items. That’s concerning.

• The family has not spoken out publicly pleading for her return. If she had been abducted by a stranger, and with the FBI/CBI assisting in particular, I’d expect LE to encourage the family to make some statements humanizing/personalizing Suzanne, as we know sometimes that’s the only way to reach an abductor. Make the victim a person, do not allow them to be depersonalized.

There’s more that troubles me but this post is already far too long. I for one fear Suzanne is already deceased, and they’re looking for her body. The FBI’s ERT (evidence recovery team) is who they chose to bring into this case, likely for good reason.

^^^^^ 5 likes

... and the husband may be cooperating more than we realize. Its seems likely (to me) that the perp was known:

• They knew she was home alone and gained access without alarm.
  
• They knew she might be on a bike ride, and could easily lure her away from the bike.

 

[Inthedetails]

Anyone know if searches are happening today?

jmo

 

[RickshawFan]

Yes. I woulds like to know who last saw her and when.
The neighbors at noon or earlier?

I can't figure out where the "neighbors" are, because there's, like, no neighborhood. This house is remote and on a big piece of land. That area seems to be a bunch of canyons with interspersed swathes of trees.

Also, "drive by curiosity" on my part....Is that area a bedroom community for somewhere? Vacation homes? Why is it getting developed? Is there work of some sort nearby? Are owners technology tele-commuters? Are there special services nearby? Why are there houses out there? In other words, "What is this place?"
Maybe you could say the country is running out of places to put houses so they're in more and more unlikely places, but...

 

[Inthedetails]

I can't figure out where the "neighbors" are, because there's, like, no neighborhood. This house is remote and on a big piece of land. That area seems to be a bunch of canyons with interspersed swathes of trees.

Also, "drive by curiosity" on my part....Is that area a bedroom community for somewhere? Vacation homes? Why is it getting developed? Is there work of some sort nearby? Are owners technology tele-commuters? Are there special services nearby? Why are there houses out there? In other words, "What is this place?"
Maybe you could say the country is running out of places to put houses so they're in more and more unlikely places, but...

I am assuming "neighbors" means people living nearby.

I'm in the densely-populated city and I wouldn't consider a neighbor someone beyond half a block of my home (and that would cover hundreds of people)....but in a rural setting, neighbors would be spaced further apart.

jmo

 

[Ontario Mom]

Is there a MSM that I missed that say's the location of the bike and the location of the other items? Were they all together at one location or different locations?

AFAIK, there has not been a MSM link disclosing the location of the found bike or the other items.
There IS however, an annoying youtuber with a droning voice posting whatever rumors she's hearing as if they're fact.
So, there's that.

 

[NervousNellie]

Another reason may be liability due to the rough terrain, and the need to enforce social distancing guidelines due to COVID. But none of this explains the vague details released about when she left or her physical appearance.

I thought that initially as well, but his explanation during the PC that they are using “trained” personnel led me to believe they are more concerned about the integrity of the investigation than safety. JMO

This case is so similar to Gannon’s (And so many others) in that they keep saying one thing but are moving forward with crime departments/orgs/teams as if they know exactly what happened. I imagine if we are seeing all these red flags without any real info, they are probably seeing even more than we are.

 

[osu]

I can't figure out where the "neighbors" are, because there's, like, no neighborhood. This house is remote and on a big piece of land. That area seems to be a bunch of canyons with interspersed swathes of trees.

Also, "drive by curiosity" on my part....Is that area a bedroom community for somewhere? Vacation homes? Why is it getting developed? Is there work of some sort nearby? Are owners technology tele-commuters? Are there special services nearby? Why are there houses out there? In other words, "What is this place?"
Maybe you could say the country is running out of places to put houses so they're in more and more unlikely places, but...

It appears there is one neighbor nearby but the homes in that area have large parcels of land that are mostly wooded.

The Morphew home is circled in red and a neighboring home is circled in blue.

JMO

 

[lucidtx]

I can't figure out where the "neighbors" are, because there's, like, no neighborhood. This house is remote and on a big piece of land. That area seems to be a bunch of canyons with interspersed swathes of trees.

Also, "drive by curiosity" on my part....Is that area a bedroom community for somewhere? Vacation homes? Why is it getting developed? Is there work of some sort nearby? Are owners technology tele-commuters? Are there special services nearby? Why are there houses out there? In other words, "What is this place?"
Maybe you could say the country is running out of places to put houses so they're in more and more unlikely places, but...

It's not really a bedroom community, Salida is the nearest real town and that's still tiny. People who live in this area are mostly wealthy or they work in something like service or recreation nearby. It's a mountain town surrounded by world-class whitewater and trails so it attracts a lot of serious recreationists. Highway 50 (which their home is just off of, and where searches have been focused) is one of the only main routes across our mountains so it's pretty busy.

 

[kay74]

As far as the nephew being so concerned and not calling the husband his uncle, instead "the husband" which sounds kind of snide, I'm wondering if he is part of this landscaping company and they don't get along on issues.

 

[UnderstandBlue]

It appears there is one neighbor nearby but the homes in that area have large parcels of land that are mostly wooded.

The Mophew home is circled in red and a neighboring home is circled in blue.

JMO

And this is why I was curious about noticing someone hadn't returned from a bike ride. They exit to two different roads. So they wouldn't (the closest neighbor) pass each other near the houses coming and going.

 

[SleuthBee]

I might be misremembering, but when it was first announced/linked from the "official" FB Find Suzanne missing page, I took a gander and it seemed like the goal then was 25k. I guess they reached that and extended? Again, I don't know for sure and it's probably nothing, but yeah it's pretty easy to get sketchy whenever crowdfunding is involved.

I won't quote the exact figure, but their real estate holdings alone are valued at almost 2.5 million. I suggest that he ask his uncle to take a loan or someone rein him in. If I seem uncaring, please know that I know people who are really struggling right now and they are not sitting on that kind of real estate.

Is the nephew acting on behalf of the family or is he stepping out on his own?

 

[303gmf]

I can't figure out where the "neighbors" are, because there's, like, no neighborhood. This house is remote and on a big piece of land. That area seems to be a bunch of canyons with interspersed swathes of trees.

Also, "drive by curiosity" on my part....Is that area a bedroom community for somewhere? Vacation homes? Why is it getting developed? Is there work of some sort nearby? Are owners technology tele-commuters? Are there special services nearby? Why are there houses out there? In other words, "What is this place?"
Maybe you could say the country is running out of places to put houses so they're in more and more unlikely places, but...

There is much tourism and relocation information about the nearby town of Salida as well as the ski area even closer to their home in Maysville called Monarch.

 

[Ontario Mom]

Is the nephew acting on behalf of the family or is he stepping out on his own?

RSBM

Good question. I don't think it's been stated either way, in any of the articles he's interviewed or quoted in.

 

[kay74]

I won't quote the exact figure, but their real estate holdings alone are valued at almost 2.5 million. I suggest that he ask his uncle to take a loan or someone rein him in. If I seem uncaring, please know that I know people who are really struggling right now and they are not sitting on that kind of real estate.

Is the nephew acting on behalf of the family or is he stepping out on his own?

Read my post #171 Just guessing.

 

[Seattle1]

*If not okay to post please let me know and I’ll remove.

Yesterday at 11:50AM

Please join us in prayer today @ 11AM for Suzanne Morphew and her family...
Grace Church Salida

Thursday at 3:14PM

Please join us in prayer @ 3PM today for Suzanne Morphew and her family...
Grace Church Salida

To be clear, it appears from their website that Grace Church Salida is streaming services live or hosting study on their youtube channel. I'm assuming prayers for SM are the same.

There will not be any on-site services until further notice. View the livestream on our YouTube channel.

 

[osu]

And this is why I was curious about noticing someone hadn't returned from a bike ride. They exit to two different roads. So they wouldn't (the closest neighbor) pass each other near the houses coming and going.

JMO but my theory is that the family was probably out-of-town Sunday and since it was Mother’s Day they became concerned when they couldn’t reach SM by phone. One (or more) of them called the neighbor and asked them to go over to the house to check on her.

Since SM was not found at the house maybe the family asked the neighbor, or the neighbor offered, to drive around the area to see if they could find her? Perhaps SM had mentioned going on a bike ride earlier to one of her family members?

IF SM’s bike was found near the HWY 50 & Co Rd 225 trailhead where the first searches took place on Sunday evening, maybe the neighbor spotted her bike there and called LE?

ETA: I wonder if SM called her mother on Mothers Day?

JMO

 

[Mimi in London]

I found the presser to be quite telling, and firmly believe they have a good working theory. Here are my big areas of consideration, for now:

• So much that is not said is important, as well as body language. When asked if if they thought Suzanne was alive, while shaking his head no, Spezze said (which we expect) that they hope she is alive etc. That may be me overreaching but I found it interesting as it’s not an uncommon giveaway, for someone to shake their head no while affirming in the positive when they don’t believe something is true.

• Regarding a stranger attack - unless an abduction occurred and the UNSUB had reason to keep SM alive, IF this was a stranger abduction I’d expect to find her body near the abduction site. When someone disappears, it’s often because either the UNSUB has reason to keep them alive (whether that be to take them elsewhere to continue the assault or other nefarious reasons), or because it’s not in fact an act committed by a stranger at all. Remember, transporting someone and holding them hostage or killing them later and disposing of them takes a lot more work/risk/effort than leaving them in the location. And if you are not known to the victim, well no need to make them disappear as LE will not immediately (or ever) tie you to them.

• I’d love to know when the last known sighting of Suzanne was, and who saw her. We don’t know for sure she disappeared on Sunday, per quotes from Spezze. That’s concerning.

• We (the public) have not been asked to look for a woman wearing xyz, no description of possible clothing or other items. That’s concerning.

• The family has not spoken out publicly pleading for her return. If she had been abducted by a stranger, and with the FBI/CBI assisting in particular, I’d expect LE to encourage the family to make some statements humanizing/personalizing Suzanne, as we know sometimes that’s the only way to reach an abductor. Make the victim a person, do not allow them to be depersonalized.

There’s more that troubles me but this post is already far too long. I for one fear Suzanne is already deceased, and they’re looking for her body. The FBI’s ERT (evidence recovery team) is who they chose to bring into this case, likely for good reason.

Three additional observations on what the sheriff said and didn’t say.

1. The comment about the husband co-operating was not off-the-cuff, IMO. It was prepared, precise and delivered as planned. He was just waiting for a reporter to ask the question.

2. He didn’t acknowledge the family in the customary way. He didn’t say, “We are working hard to (for eg.) bring her home to her family who are worried sick right now/bring her family some answers.”

3. There were occasions during the presser where he swallowed a word or phrase and said something else instead. The word that he meant, but did not say, IMO was ‘evidence’.

In the Denver 9 coverage, it’s at:

2.02 “We did find e...uh..”

4.08 “any clues or any...uh...anything we found”

6.00 “can’t comment on any...uh...items we found.

I find the latter encouraging. I think it might mean they’ve found evidence.

 

[SleuthBee]

I came in late so I didn’t see the original post. This theory is not “out there.” It’s definitely within the realm of possibility, as you say. Sometimes a WS member calls it early and nails it. I recall a member cited someone “needing” a newborn to fulfill a fake pregnancy in the HB case, and guess what? What no one suspected though was that it was her best friend . I was one who suspected the SO, so, I learned a valuable lesson there.

Please know that my agreement to the possibility of an affair / jealous other woman, is without intent to pass judgement on BM. He is an attractive, apparently wealthy and appealing man. Its not unheard of for a man to give into temptation when his wife becomes ill. With the wrong woman, ending such a relationship could trigger a fatal reaction. Lets hope this is not the case.

My sense is that the perp and/or situation is known to the family.

Its a theory and I am just speculating.

ETA: clarification

 

[SleuthBee]

Who knew she would be out riding her bike.

... Exactly!