Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #7

[Seattle1]

I have read two different things regarding husband being out of town. Was he gone because of fire fighting conference or because of landscaping business? Have not seen much information on conflicting alibi.

I think this story about the husband's whereabouts on Mother's Day really evolved on its own without any verification. Since firefighter training during the pandemic made no sense to me, I'm inclined to believe that if in fact, the husband was in Denver, it was for personal reasons including landscaping work:

On May 13, three days after his wife reported missing, the family announced (by nephew spokesperson TN) that the husband, still unnamed, was offering a $100,000 reward for the safe return of his wife, with no questions asked.

They also announced a separate campaign to raise money for search efforts to locate SM. On this date, the only information about the husband came from the family:

Family says her husband was out of town on a trip to Denver at the time of the neighbor reporting her missing.

On the same date, the Chaffee County Sheriff John Spezze was cited as telling The New York Post that the search is being treated as 'an open criminal investigation,' and he did not disclose whether Morphew's husband, Barry, was cooperating with police.

On May 14, the family spokesperson TN spoke with Fox21 to announce an increase in the reward for the safe return of SM at $200,000. He also confirmed that SM's bike was recovered on Sunday (although CCSO has not confirmed this information). TN declined to comment if SM had children or who she lived with. No further details were provided.

Friday, May 15, CCS Spezzee held a press conference and confirmed that a personal item believed to belong to SM was recovered during their search but provided no details. He also confirmed that the husband was cooperating and that he hoped he'd continue to do so.

May 17, the husband made a FB video plea for the safe return of his wife.

May 19, CCSO PIO confirmed to Fox 21 that the home was being held for the open investigation and that they are looking at all possibilities. PIO provided they were not searching the home.

May 20, On the same day CSI was seen taking evidence from the residence, Daily Mail reported for the first time that the husband was away at firefighter training when SM vanished:

Barry Morphew, 52, has said he was away on a training course for his job as a volunteer firefighter in Denver, Colorado, when she vanished. The 52-year-old is currently staying at a property close to the marital home and has been joined by friends who have flown in from his native Indiana. Morphew was pictured leaving the property along with Davis shortly before the CSI investigators arrived to search his home on Tuesday.

Given no evidence that BM has talked to anybody, it doesn't follow that the husband or family would tell DM his whereabouts on Sunday.

It seems to me that after ten days of consistently hearing only that the husband was in Denver, somebody took creative license to add that the husband was attending firefighter training on Mother's Day -- without verification.

CCSO has never commented on the husband's location on Mother's Day.

May 20, local Denver CBS continues to report only that the husband was in Denver when SM went missing:

Morphew’s husband was in Denver, her family says, and a neighbor reported her missing when she didn’t return from her bike ride. Morphew’s bicycle was recovered but investigators have not said anything about its condition. Investigators are now following up on tips — and holding her home.

May 21, Crimeonline reached Fire Chief Bob Bertram to confirm whether BM was attending firefighter training on Mother's Day -- this news was a first for him:

“Due to [the coronavirus pandemic], our firefighters have not been attending any trainings sponsored by us,” Bertram said, adding that sometimes firefighters will pay for training courses on their own. The fire chief said he had heard, rather, that Morphew had been working a landscaping job in Denver on May 10.

If the Fire Chief believes the husband was doing landscaping versus firefighter training in Denver, I'll take his word for it over the DM.

MOO

‘Pacing around, staring out windows’: Chaffee County Fire Chief addresses questions about missing Suzanne Morphew’s husband Barry Morphew

Missing Mother: Video Shows Remote Area Where Suzanne Morphew Was Reportedly Biking When She Disappeared

Police search and carry out evidence bags from the $1.5M home of missing Colorado mom | Daily Mail Online

WATCH: Chaffee County Sheriff gives update about missing woman

Family offers $200k reward for missing woman’s ‘safe return, no questions asked’

Police have not ruled out foul play in search for missing Colorado woman as husband offers $100,000 reward [VIDEO]

Family: Suzanne Morphew's Husband Offers $100,000 Reward In Disappearance Investigation

 

[Melrose]

An older person home alone, it makes a lot of sense. Just less sense in this particular case, IMO. Why didn't he say, as presumably they called him, don't worry kids I'll send Bob Smith over, he's a paramedic, just in case!

IMO it's normal behaviour. Neighbours in country locations support each other.

 

[Dave F.]

BBM:

If that's what you're saying, then what you're saying is factually incorrect.

I've not seen it reported anywhere that "the neighbor witnessed SM leaving on her bike ride and later reported her missing to LE."

If you have an MSM article that states the the neighbor witnessed SM leaving on her bike ride, I'd love to see that link.

JMO.

Sure.
Missing Person - Chaffee County Sheriff

 

[BoatyMcboatface]

Sure.
Missing Person - Chaffee County Sheriff

This doesn’t say she saw Suzanne leave.

 

[RickshawFan]

I don't buy into that. I believe that the "unfortunately nobody saw her leave on her bike" version is an outright lie originating in the propensity for some tabloids and foreign news publications to pay generously for first person stories without verification. IMO

I’m not sure I’m understanding, since at this point, there aren’t any lies out there (few facts, either) as far as the public knows. Just rumor and speculation. There’s no way to say if “information” is fact or a guess, but deliberately perpetrating a falsehood? We have no way to know...

 

[katydid23]

Sure.
Missing Person - Chaffee County Sheriff

"They advised that their neighbor, Suzanne Morphew, age 49, from the Maysville area had reportedly gone for a bike ride in the area and failed to return home."


That^^^ says nothing about the neighbour 'witnessing' SM riding her bike that morning.

'Reportedly' means someone reported that to her.


re·port·ed·ly
/rəˈpôrdədlē/

adverb

1. according to what some say (used to express the speaker's belief that the information given is not necessarily true).

 

[ventuc]

I'm thinking it's weird that the girls had the neighbor's number. Unless SM had shared it with them due to her health problems. Presumably they would have called their father first, but why would he have the number? Why wouldn't he have called one of his fire fighter buddies, just in case there was a health concern?

I can't think of a time in my life when any of my relatives knew the number of my neighbors.

FWIW, we have lived in our current home for 6 years, still aren’t close with the neighbors personally, but my husband and I (and our kids) do have the phone numbers of two of them in our phone contacts, for emergency. We also have the numbers of a couple of people I would say are friends but not close friends, that live in our neighborhood. You never know when you might want to contact a neighbor when you’re out of town, or kids are home alone for a couple of hours. I can guarantee you if we lived as remotely or as spread out as the Morphews and their neighbors, I, my husband, and our kids would have our neighbors’ phone numbers in our phones. We might even give those numbers to close relatives for emergency. MOO. That does not seem strange to me at all. Also, while I have my own suspicions as to what happened, I imagine the daughters could have contacted dad and either not been able to reach him, or were recommended by him to call the neighbor since he was out of town.

 

[GordianKnot]

Sure.
Missing Person - Chaffee County Sheriff

From the linked press release:

"Members of the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office responded to the area and contacted the reporting party. They advised that their neighbor, Suzanne Morphew, age 49, from the Maysville area had reportedly gone for a bike ride in the area and failed to return home."

The CCSD does not say in their release that the neighbor reported seeing SM leaving on her bike ride.

Moreover, at no point has the CCSD confirmed when the last known independent sighting of SM actually occurred.

 

[DBLG]

I have a question... Chaffee County and FBI are working on this case. In the event there is an arrest, where would the perp be taken if arrested? Would it definitely be Chaffee County or could it be somewhere else? Does it depend on where the actual crime is determined to have taken place? What if it can be determined that a crime involving SM took place outside Chaffee County? Would that jurisdiction then take over the case with the FBI? Also, I am interested if anyone can comment on how the chain of command works when multiple agencies (County Sheriff & FBI) work on a case together. Who makes the ultimate decision to search an area, etc?

 

[Dave F.]

I’m not sure I’m understanding, since at this point, there aren’t any lies out there (few facts, either) as far as the public knows. Just rumor and speculation. There’s no way to say if “information” is fact or a guess.

She reported it as fact, on a police report. If she qualified that, and said she didn't really know, then the Sheriff's office is reporting something as fact that is not. I refuse to believe that. It's been exactly two weeks, and there has been no correction. In fact, the Sheriff has insisted over and over that this is still a missing persons investigation. IMO

 

[ventuc]

I am well aware that over half of the people on any WS crime thread start out believing someone is guilty before the facts are known. That is what creates lively discussion. I'm also well aware that critical pieces of misinformation are being fed to news media by opportunists out to make a fast buck. In this specific string, I'm saying that the original source of the notion that the neighbor witnessed SM leaving on her bike ride and later reported her missing to LE is the Chaffee County Sheriff's Office. It is not retracted by them in ANY subsequent communications, and I don't see any signal that they might choose to retract it. The sheriff keeps reminding folks that it is still a missing persons case. IMO

The bike ride narrative has not been retracted, but certainly has not been emphasized much recently. IIRC, in the Mollie Tibbetts case, where it was believed that she was last seen going jogging, that info was repeatedly reported, with the public extensively called upon for tips, clues, videos related to the assumed jogging outing. And she was in fact later found to have been attacked and killed while jogging. I think many would agree that this story is not playing out in the same way. MOO.

 

[GordianKnot]

She reported it as fact, on a police report. If she qualified that, and said she didn't really know, then the Sheriff's office is reporting something as fact that is not. I refuse to believe that. It's been exactly two weeks, and there has been no correction. In fact, the Sheriff has insisted over and over that this is still a missing persons investigation. IMO

BBM:

I wouldn't expect them to say anything else at this point.
Suzanne is still missing; hence, it's still a missing person investigation.

In another current Colorado case, Gannon Stauch's, we saw and heard much the same thing.

LE called it a runaway case initially.

We knew it wasn’t a runaway case.

LE also said it wasn’t a criminal investigation.

We knew it was.

LE has their reasons for holding their cards close to the vest.

JMO.

 

[katydid23]

She reported it as fact, on a police report. If she qualified that, and said she didn't really know, then the Sheriff's office is reporting something as fact that is not. I refuse to believe that. It's been exactly two weeks, and there has been no correction. In fact, the Sheriff has insisted over and over that this is still a missing persons investigation. IMO

She did NOT report it as fact. She said her neighbor was 'reportedly' on a bike ride----She never said it was a fact , nor that she SAW her riding her bike...she said it was 'reported' that she had taken a bike ride...

 

[Seattle1]

The news media didn't get the statement from the neighbor. They got it from the Chaffee County Sheriff's Office. I just posted it, in writing, from the sheriff's website. The link to it that I provided works. My statement that CCSO is the source is valid, and I'm standing by it. IMO

I never said that CCSO was not the source to media. Why would I?

I said that I found the statement that "the story originated with CCSO" misleading.

I believe it originated with the neighbor when she called 911 and/or the communications center at about 5:46 pm as reported by the CCSO.

This is my opinion.

 

[bancam]

I feel like we have reached this stage of the investigation!

 

[Dave F.]

I have a question... Chaffee County and FBI are working on this case. In the event there is an arrest, where would the perp be taken if arrested? Would it definitely be Chaffee County or could it be somewhere else? Does it depend on where the actual crime is determined to have taken place? What if it can be determined that a crime involving SM took place outside Chaffee County? Would that jurisdiction then take over the case with the FBI? Also, I am interested if anyone can comment on how the chain of command works when multiple agencies (County Sheriff & FBI) work on a case together. Who makes the ultimate decision to search an area, etc?

Excellent questions! I am not a lawyer, so I can only answer in generalities. The Chaffee County Detention Facility is fairly large and reasonably modern. It is located at the same place as the Sheriff's Office in Salida. The sheriff can move inmates to another facility for a variety of reasons, but sheriff's in Colorado usually don't. If it's a murder or kidnapping charge, it is filed in District Court, which is also located in Salida. If the crime occurred in another county, it would have to be charged in the district court for that county. Basically everything would happen in the county where the crime happened. I've added a link to the main state court website, which can be used to access dockets and in a high profile case, search warrants, affidavits and court filings.
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation provides central pools of investigative resources, intended to ease the investigative burden in "big" cases. To many outsiders, they often seem to take over a case, performing elaborate searches, sudden dramatic arrests, seizing phones, bank accounts, automobiles, homes and even clothing and toiletries as evidence...........but they have been very efective in many high profile cases. Under the 1930"s Lindbergh kidnapping law and subsequent federal legislation, the FBI is authorized to join a search for a missing person any time they are requested by local authorities. The FBI has several different specialized mobile crews, with the one seen most often in Colorado is the forensic search specialty group, probably because they are based here. That group never goes to a county without having one or more FBI Special Agents leading their portion of investigations. If the crime moves from state to state, the FBI special Agents assume more of the command and pass the case along to the field office having responsibility. The local sheriff has charge of all of the decisions, but may delegate decision making responsibility to his officers or to the support teams. In this case, I believe that all of the decisions are being cleared through Sheriff John Spezze.
Investigation of a missing person anywhere in the United States is a slow, methodical process that can be devastating for victim families, and the families and friends of POI's. Colorado is somewhat unique in that murder and kidnapping are "no bail" arrests and the prosecution continues to actively investigate after the "arraignment". The nature of a case can change dramatically, in between arrest and trial. It is not uncommon to see charges dropped, and additional charges are quite frequent. Colorado is no longer a death penalty state, but there are multiple "sentence enhancer" charges that can be added to build a sentence up to such an inflated number of years that the convict has no chance of ever being released.
If there are charges filed against accomplices or people who obstructed the investigation, it gets into a system that is completely unpredictable to an outsider. For lesser felonies, the sentences can be astonishingly light, and prison sentences can literally seem to evaporate.
If you plan on following this criminal investigation all the way to the end, please buckle your seat belt and always observe social distancing. It's going to be a long, bumpy flight.
Colorado Judicial Branch - Courts

 

[BeckyF]

I haven't seen that information from the owner.

However on Friday, one of the media stations was filming live on facebook near the search site. The mic was live, and there was discussion going on about a neighbor who stated BM was at the job site on Mother's Day weekend.

That's how I remember it, I think there were others here who heard the same thing.

I watched and heard the same on the Fox31 KDVR filming on Friday. They talked with a local person who stated he knew that work was going on Mother's Day weekend because they heard all the noise.

 

[Dave F.]

I never said that CCSO was not the source to media. Why would I?

I said that I found the statement that "the story originated with CCSO" misleading.

I believe it originated with the neighbor when she called 911 and/or the communications center at about 5:46 pm as reported by the CCSO.

This is my opinion.

You say Tomahto and I say Tomayto. IMO

 

[Dave F.]

BBM:

I wouldn't expect them to say anything else at this point.
Suzanne is still missing; hence, it's still a missing person investigation.

In another current Colorado case, Gannon Stauch's, we saw and heard much the same thing.

LE called it a runaway case initially.

We knew it wasn’t a runaway case.

LE also said it wasn’t a criminal investigation.

We knew it was.

LE has their reasons for holding their cards close to the vest.

JMO.

By "holding their cards close to the vest" do you mean to imply that LE is bluffing? Just a question.

 

[BoatyMcboatface]

By "holding their cards close to the vest" do you mean to imply that LE is bluffing? Just a question.

To keep one's plans, intentions, or tactics secret from everyone else. Refers to holding one's playing cards close to one's chest in a card game, so as not to allow other players to see one's hand.