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

[Seattle1]

Let’s say just for arguments sake, BM is innocent. If so, he may indeed be angry with the sheriff if the sheriff allowed others to touch the bike and/or allowing others to contaminate the scene of an abduction. I’m not saying he is innocent. All I’m saying is if he is, I imagine he is angry at the world right now.

But who really believes that LE trained searchers essentially handpicked by the Sheriff would touch the bike with their bare hands? Disturb the bike? They leave bodies in place without touching a thing until forensics is done collecting evidence surrounding the body.

 

[Steph9676]

But who really believes that LE trained searchers essentially handpicked by the Sheriff would touch the bike with their bare hands? Disturb the bike? They leave bodies in place without touching a thing until forensics is done collecting evidence surrounding the body.

At that time i don’t think they believed a crime or anything occurred. It probably just seemed like a women who went on a bike ride and hadn’t returned. If they found the bike down a ravine first thought would be she’s injured not that someone harmed her.

 

[Seattle1]

And if LE told you not to, you’d still go on TV every minute of the day? We’ve been given more clues that LE has asked family *not* to speak publicly about this disappearance than we have been given clues suggesting BM is refusing to. Why is that, I wonder.

I believe it was SM's immediate family that was asked not to speak to media. The relative did not say why. I suspect the advice may have been for there own health and welfare but also because one might slip something about their son-in-law, etc. that police would prefer not spoken. MOO

 

[MrsWatson]

The major take away I had from that video was that BM seems to be really trying to sell the mountain lion attack.

I don't think it was pre-arranged or a set up, but I do think BM realised he was likely being recorded no matter what TD said and really wanted to get his story out there.

I don't think that did BM any favours at all.
I think it was a fabulous gift for LE.

It cements my personal opinion regarding BM.

MOO

 

[Seattle1]

BM invented the whole story about the bike? I bet SM didn’t even bike that much. Anything bike-related is on BM’s say-so.

It was almost two weeks from the date SM went missing to when we heard from the Fire Chief for the first time (May 21- Crimeonline) who said SM usually went biking before church but could not confirm SM went to church on May 10.

I never doubted that BM repeated his "let me tell you what happened" when offering SM bikes before church to his firefighter buddies during that two week period (before Fire Chief interview). MOO

 

[Deleted member 102539]

I'm listening again to the part about Mother's day, with my ear up to the laptop speaker.

At one point TD mentions that BM was in Denver, and asks how long it was before somebody noticed that she was gone. I hear BM say, "....Well, it was Mother's Day, so..." long pause...(it almost seems like maybe he was checking his phone and got distracted momentarily?) "We uh, ...we had two daughters, who were coming home from a trip, and I had that job in Denver that I wanted to get started, on Sunday wanted to set it up...because my workers were coming in Sunday night. They [we?] weren't going to work Sunday, they [we?] were going to work Monday, but me being the owner, I wanted to get things lined up..." [can't quite make out this part, something about the workers being able to work right when they got there Monday morning] "...so, I told my wife, I said listen, the girls are going to be home, they want to spend Mother's Day with you, do you mind if I go get started? She said that's fine " [something about bikes?]...."Anyway, that's what we thought was going to happen. The girls were running late, so they texted Happy Mother's Day, she didn't text back..." Then he goes on to talk about calling the neighbor.

So I guess he did give some kind of detail about Sunday. It sounds to me like he's saying that he left on Sunday for Denver to set up this job for his workers to get started on, and that he asked SM if it was okay for him to go and get started with that job, since the girls were coming home and wanted to spend Mother's Day with her, like they would have a girls' day.

So with that line of thinking, the daughters were actually expected to be arriving at the Morphew home to spend the day with SM. So maybe that's why the immediate worry about where she was, since she was expecting them home, but didn't respond to their text that they were running late and Happy Mother's Day (no he didn't say they texted her they would be late, but I'm assuming they would have).

If he said something about the girls would have returned home on MD (can't understand the video), WHY didn't he mention some fear for his girls or relief, that the girls were late? They could easily also have become victims to a kidnapper (IF a kidnapperis responsible at all)! I'm quite shocked about the fact, the two girls planned to return the same day, when SM got missing. It is questioning the whole timing, BM or kidnapper. MOO

 

[gamma gal]

I believe you misheard BLM. He definitely said bike in the ravine, not bridge, and tire was facing upward-- but it seemed BM had second thoughts about releasing the tire info.

Like he was releasing info only he could have personally known....hmmmmm IMO

I am curious what city BM works out of. A 3 hour drive for a job seems really far unless it’s a huge job or a friend referral or something.

But a huge expanse of territory to hide a body in between Maysville and Denver...IMO

 

[gamma gal]

From TD video does anyone have a map view of where the bike went down? After seeing the video is it possible that she could have gone down the hill and into the water. I didn’t realize how fast the water was moving until after TD’s first video. That definitely makes sense on why they were searching it. Or maybe someone ran her off the road and she was injured and they went to take her to the hospital and she passed on the way and they panicked? I’m just trying to come up with other scenarios besides abduction, cat, or Someone close to her harming her. If anyone has a closer picture of the hill where her bike was found can you post it?

Still feel the bike was staged as a distraction....IMO

 

[Love Never Fails]

I agree with a previous poster that speculated it was a dropped bagged food meal. Some hikers/backpackers will bag food & label it.

Although, it did give me horrible flashbacks to the Sam Sayers case and baggies with supplies being littered off trails all over in the hopes she would find one. She went missing during a day hike in the summer of 2018.

Did you compare the handwriting on the bag and note? They are both Barry’s writing. Don’t know what it means at all.

Was he filming with a go pro or something?

have no idea. Looked like he had something small and round in his hand or pocket. He kept adjusting it as MG said.

 

[Love Never Fails]

I think this is all a little too convenient. I'm sorry, but I'm just not buying it. I think the whole thing was staged. He discusses A LOT of things that have been asked about and/or speculated...
1. when he arrived back from Denver
2. why he was in Denver
3. who he was in Denver with (his workers)
4. how and when the neighbor was called and SM reported "missing"
5. the daughters were late in coming home
6. where the bike was found
7. who has been looking for SM (friends came in from out of town and hired "own people")
8. theory on "what happened" mountain lion snatched her
9. where the mountain lions take their prey
10. that a personal item was found and where the item was found
11. and last but not least, that LE (specifically Sheriff's office screwed up) because they let cars and people walk in the area of interest
I know I missed some other points because I only listened to it once. Seems REALLY convenient to me and I am not buying it. BM seems pretty street smart to me. He is going to talk to this guy randomly and engage in this full-on convo and re-hash all these details??? Nope. JMO

ETA: Ahhh....the bike. If indeed, the bike was mis-handled, that is not going to be good for the investigation. But I really do think the bike has been a diversion from the beginning. BM really wants to steer us in that direction.

Staged by whom?

Barry and the guy filming happened upon each other by accident. Go to YouTube and watch the first video filmed. The guy was searching the area and saw Barry’s truck. He saw him drive away. He kept going toward Barry’s house and then Barry came to ask who he was. There was no staging.

 

[Love Never Fails]

Wouldn’t he know if her phone was missing?

Of course but he wouldn’t know if LE has it. They aren’t saying what they have.

 

[Love Never Fails]

But who really believes that LE trained searchers essentially handpicked by the Sheriff would touch the bike with their bare hands? Disturb the bike? They leave bodies in place without touching a thing until forensics is done collecting evidence surrounding the body.

It happens all the time, all over the country. I’m not saying it happened here. But it is possible. The truth will come out sooner or later. Guess we will know more if there is an arrest warrant and trial. Until then we are all speculating.

 

[NervousNellie]

Of course but he wouldn’t know if LE has it. They aren’t saying what they have.

On the topic of the phone... IF BM is responsible for Suzanne missing, then I seriously doubt LE has her phone. He would not have just discarded it as evidence to be found - by a random biker/hiker, or by LE. If her phone has been found, I might start leaning back toward the middle of my pointy seat here on the fence. IMO. JMO.

Granted, LE doesn't need the phone itself to gather its data.

I will tell you what that video taught me - keep your mouth shut, but especially if you are guilty.

I was pretty much still holding out hope - until I noticed BM caught himself up, at least twice -- where he stopped himself mid-sentence and completely changed the direction of his statement. Our brain wants to tell the truth, I think. JMO.

Of course there could be non-suspicious reasons for this (e.g., being asked not to disclose information about the bike), but I can't ignore the fact that LE has been treating this as a criminal investigation (IMO) from Day One, if not Minute One. (ETA: Of course just because they are treating it as a criminal investigation does not mean they think / know BM is guilty. Hopefully you guys know by now I want this to be anything but that. It is not abnormal to keep family in the dark about their investigation; we hear that all the time.)

I know we have been lucky with some recent cases where we've seen quicker-than-usual resolution (Shannan, Kelsey, Gannon), and I hope we will have the same short turnaround here. It is still very early in this missing persons case / investigation.

 

[Tate123]

As far as the mountain lion story, it seems impossible and bothers me that BM is using that as a viable possibility. What is the likelihood a mountain lion could attack a grown woman, knock her bike into a ravine and drag her up a mountainside with no trace? He says it rained, okay well rain doesn't disintegrate torn clothing, gear etc. It would be a mess. It is safe to assume she was wearing a bike helmet so her head would be protected and she would have fought. To incapacitate her enough to drag her off, I would think we would see plenty of evidence of such a gruesome attack.

 

[MichelleBlue]

IMO one little detail that stood out to me is when he says they found an "article" of hers, but they won't tell him what it is. "Article" seems like a weird word choice unless one is specifically describing an article of clothing. Do LE commonly refer to evidence found as articles when they are not clothing? I'm genuinely asking as I looked around on the internet & couldn't find much. So in their evidence report would they say, "article 1, cell phone," for example?

 

[vaporlass]

bbm
Interesting term to use for one's wife, certainly.
And no, I cannot imagine.
Not sensing any rage or hate here, though.
Just a brisk coldness and no sympathy.
Back to business and life goes on.
That type of mindset.
Imo.

Interesting you said this ... someone close to me, whose wife had fought cancer for 5 years, who was a beef farmer, shocked me when his wife died on hospice, by saying, “If she had been an animal, we could have just knocked her in the head and she wouldn’t have had to suffer so long.” Cold.
The fact is she did amazingly well through various treatments, smiling, taking care of us... but we weren’t living with them, we talked every few days but we only visited during those years she fought cancer.
Is BM’s attitude because he’s a hunter? Is it a hunter mentality? (forgive me guys)
In my case, I’ve never forgotten those words and it made me see that man very differently. I even wondered at that point, if he hadn’t hurried her death up a bit because HE WAS suffering. JS.

 

[dixiegirl1035]

No he didn’t know he was being filmed.

I think 100% he knew he was being recorded. He saw that guy who filmed the video the day before as shown in this video.

I think he was "getting his story out"

MOO

ETA: Strange that he touched what could be of interest to LE

 

[Birmingplumb]

But did he suspect it? Just so happens somebody he runs in to happens to have a frickin camera on ( instead of doing another self post to get his message out? Just start talking like that? Please-agenda .did not or wont watch. useful info read here -no alibi witness- "setting job up in Denver" ---setting what up exactly on Mothers day? Stores closed, what couldn't be done from home or Monday morning -?Did he say he had a witness that is his Alibi?

 

[K9Enzo]

Did you compare the handwriting on the bag and note? They are both Barry’s writing. Don’t know what it means at all.

Hello - I have not. For me personally, I don't believe this is anything to dig into further. The marked food bag, IMO, even if written by BM, is not evidence. I'm assuming there's been significant foot traffic in that area and it's possible if he's had people out there searching that HE may have put some MRE type bags together for them to pack out.

 

[vaporlass]

Two recorded deaths in Colorado from mountain lion attacks...ever.

Two recorded deaths in Colorado from mountain lion attacks...ever.

Enough for Reasonable Doubt if no body is ever found?