Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #23

[Seattle1]

I was under an impression that FBI was there to assist and would not seek a warrant unless evidence of a federal crime was uncovered which in this case could be kidnapping or maybe transport a body across state lines. MOO.

Yes -@OldCop also confirmed that neither CBI or FBI obtain search warrants. They are subordinate to CCSO and do not take over the investigation when requested to join.

 

[RumorMonger]

Yeah, which is why I find the suggestion that BM was told by LE to keep quiet, to be laughable.

There is nothing more important that he could be doing, than keeping Suzanne in the media. Instead, media efforts to facilitate this are somehow bothersome.

Find your damn wife Barry.

Indeed, PE Chris says that, in his experience, LE telling the family to be quiet would be "almost counterintuitive in a missing persons case." @ ~7 mins

Same discussion I mentioned before but a distinct point. Thanks MassGuy.

 

[MassGuy]

And or tell us where you put her.

Exactly. My point is that at best, he’s not living up to his duties as a “loving husband.”

At worst, and I’d argue far more likely, he alone can bring Suzanne home.

Because he put her wherever she is.

 

[GordianKnot]

A couple more tidbits:

The neighbor Lauren talked to, said the security cameras at the rental property near the house had dead batteries.

The Morphew house seems to be covered by cameras from just about every angle. The neighbor didn’t know if they were working.

The second search warrant could have been based off the lab work in the first search warrant.

Lauren really was ticked off by Barry saying the media was “bothering him.” -Someone else mentioned this earlier.

“We’re trying to help you find your wife and the mother of your children.”

She thinks that’s very curious. She goes on to say that the reward needs to be repurposed to help catch this guy.

BBM:

Oh, sure. Like THAT'S gonna' happen.
Put it this way: I ain't holding my breath.

I certainly don't want to discourage you from doing so, though!
Go on ahead...I'll let you know the split second you're free to exhale.

JMO.

 

[Seattle1]

This is huge!!

LS at about 20 min mark states the neighbor told her she spoke to the daughters in the morning on mother's day, and they were not worried about SM.

If not worried, then I believe they had been in contact with SM earlier than I thought.

LS did not say if the girls contacted this neighbor on Sunday morning because they were looking for their mom.

ETA: I wonder if the AM call with neighbor was in-fact the same neighbor that later called 911 to report SM missing.

 

[Kimmer]

I just watched a video on profiling evil and it shows the drone footage of the house, the garage doors are solid no windows. If memory serves me the neighbor was asked to go and look to see of the bike was there. I can't say for sure but most people keep their bikes in the garage. How could the neighbor say the bike was missing if she could not see into the garage? I also know there may have been a different location for the bike to have been in but I find it odd that there is no way to look into the garage without opening the door.

 

[Seattle1]

<<delete quoted post>>

Sorry -- you missed my edit. The daughters talked to the neighbor and not SM.
LS did not say why the girls and the neighbors were talking on Sunday morning.

I imagine it's because they were trying to reach their mom much earlier than the reported contact with the neighbor that called 911.

ETA: I wonder if the morning call was with the same neighbor that later phoned 911.

 

[Hoosierfan72]

I am attaching a map that shows the Morphew home, the route you would take to the spot where BM said the bike was found, and the approximate location of where the bike was found.
If, in fact, the bike was staged, I would presume it was done under cover of darkness. If the person staging the bike drove the route I have marked, as he turned right off Puma Path and started up 225, he would have a long fairly straight road behind him. He would be able to detect the headlights of any cars approaching from his rear. As he took the next right on 225 just below the intersection with Hwy 50, he would likewise see if there were any cars approaching from the front. If he pulled over at approximately where I have marked the spot where the bike was allegedly found, his vehicle would be on the same side of the road. He could quickly get the bike out of the back of his vehicle and hurl it down the incline. He would not be seen from Hwy 50. Furthermore, if this was done in the wee hours, there would be next to no traffic anywhere in this area. If so inclined, the “stager” could continue on and throw a personal out by the side of the road somewhere just west of the intersection of 50 & 225.
This is a hypothetical theory as to how the bike may have been staged. It is MOO.
ETA “allegedly” as to the where the bike was found.

Good post. The one thing that bothers me about that scenario is IF the person staging the scene is BM, it's odd that the initial narrative being shared (per the email from the church in Indiana) ‘They can’t find her’: Message to church group shows desperate plea in early days of search for missing Colorado mom Suzanne Morphew [REPORT] was centered around a mountain lion. That story later (by the time BM shoots his FB video plea) changes to an "abduction". I agree that if the bike was staged, the almost certainly the personal item was, too, and it fits the abduction theory and not the mountain lion theory. So, IMO, if BM was responsible for both the staging and the mountain lion narrative that leaves a couple of options:

a) The original intent was to stage an abduction. However, when BM showed up after getting back from Denver and learned that a mountain lion had been spotted in the area recently, he quickly grabbed that narrative and made sure it was perpetuated in the email to the Indiana church. Once LE(quickly) dismissed that as a credible possibility, BM went back to the original abduction narrative and used the FB video to get it "out there".
b) The original intent was to stage a mountain lion attack. However, when that was dismissed by LE, BM later planted the personal item and tried to make it look like an abduction.

I lean toward A being more of a possibility than B (B seems risky - BM would have had to have held onto that item for a few days and toss it during the investigation), but those are the only two reasonable explanations I can come up with that make sense IF BM planted the bike and personal item and also was responsible for the email to the Indiana church. JMO, MOO.

 

[MassGuy]

Sorry -- you missed my edit. The daughters talked to the neighbor and not SM.
LS did not say why the girls and the neighbors were talking on Sunday morning.

I imagine it's because they were trying to reach their mom much earlier than the reported contact with the neighbor that called 911.

ETA: I wonder if the morning call was with the same neighbor that later phoned 911.

That makes sense. They could have been out of touch for a significant period of time, or, just as likely, tried to contact mom to wish her happy Mother’s Day.

After some time without a response, they may have contacted the neighbor to ask if they had seen their mom that morning.

More time may have passed without a response, and that’s when the panic started to set in. It would follow that they would again contact this same neighbor, and then ask for her to check the house for the bike.

 

[Error505]

I just watched a video on profiling evil and it shows the drone footage of the house, the garage doors are solid no windows. If memory serves me the neighbor was asked to go and look to see of the bike was there. I can't say for sure but most people keep their bikes in the garage. How could the neighbor say the bike was missing if she could not see into the garage? I also know there may have been a different location for the bike to have been in but I find it odd that there is no way to look into the garage without opening the door.

MOO Just a quick thought:
Most newer homes are fitted with “keypad entries”, thus not requiring a house key or garage door opener to enter. Wonder if the daughters gave the neighbor the keypad code to check the garage for the bicycle? When we have been out of town, it’s not unusual for us to give our keypad code to a neighbor who would be taking care of our dog. Neighbor would have known the bicycle was gone. That might have led to neighbor calling the police after speaking with the daughters. MOO.

 

[Seattle1]

26 years ago the couple took a vow before God and their community. BM's spouse has been missing for almost 3 months and the most we know about BM's reaction to the loss of his wife is that he blamed LE for making mistakes (in his opinion) investigating along the bike trail.

After that--his focus appeared to turn to business as usual --completing real estate transactions (both purchase and sale), received temp guardianship over SM, resumed weekly training for his volunteer firefighter position, and works out at a public gym.

Whether BM is guilty of disappearing his wife or not, I don't find his behavior the norm. I just don't.

MOO

ETA: He did offer a generous reward, only if somebody would drop her off unharmed -- preferably in time to do his laundry. (sarcasm)

 

[24Brix]

That makes sense. They could have been out of touch for a significant period of time, or, just as likely, tried to contact mom to wish her happy Mother’s Day.

After some time without a response, they may have contacted the neighbor to ask if they had seen their mom that morning.

More time may have passed without a response, and that’s when the panic started to set in. It would follow that they would again contact this same neighbor, and then ask for her to check the house for the bike.

ITA. And given the daughters were apparently “not worried” on Mother’s Day morning, it adds credence to the statement that SM would often bike prior to church. (Not that she did this time, of course.) But it fits the narrative if the perp knew her habits well enough to use them to his advantage. Bonus! It’s a narrative the daughters can help corroborate.

The daughters called the neighbor but didn’t really have a reason to suspect foul play or misadventure at the time — she’s probably on her bike. Later, as their concerns grew, they called her back and asked her to check the house. And here we are...

MOO.

 

[OldCop]

Good post. The one thing that bothers me about that scenario is IF the person staging the scene is BM, it's odd that the initial narrative being shared (per the email from the church in Indiana) ‘They can’t find her’: Message to church group shows desperate plea in early days of search for missing Colorado mom Suzanne Morphew [REPORT] was centered around a mountain lion. That story later (by the time BM shoots his FB video plea) changes to an "abduction". I agree that if the bike was staged, the almost certainly the personal item was, too, and it fits the abduction theory and not the mountain lion theory. So, IMO, if BM was responsible for both the staging and the mountain lion narrative that leaves a couple of options:

a) The original intent was to stage an abduction. However, when BM showed up after getting back from Denver and learned that a mountain lion had been spotted in the area recently, he quickly grabbed that narrative and made sure it was perpetuated in the email to the Indiana church. Once LE(quickly) dismissed that as a credible possibility, BM went back to the original abduction narrative and used the FB video to get it "out there".
b) The original intent was to stage a mountain lion attack. However, when that was dismissed by LE, BM later planted the personal item and tried to make it look like an abduction.

I lean toward A being more of a possibility than B (B seems risky - BM would have had to have held onto that item for a few days and toss it during the investigation), but those are the only two reasonable explanations I can come up with that make sense IF BM planted the bike and personal item and also was responsible for the email to the Indiana church. JMO, MOO.

Thanks, @Hoosierfan72. I think that if BM is responsible, his original intent in staging the bike was the abduction theory. However, by the time he returned from Denver, he realized that LE wasn’t all in on the abduction theory. I think he started throwing the spaghetti against the wall to see what would stick. In his TD video he mentions an accident, (getting in the river), the mountain lion, (one walked right by a LE vehicle that night), and the abduction theory, (I think this is where they got her).
His theories were, for the most part, debunked by LE very early on. I think he thought he was very clever in his staging and his alibi trip to Denver. I think he was astounded, and probably a bit panicked, when LE seemed to be turning the focus inward rather than racing around looking for imaginary abductors. This is why he took so long to make that video. He wanted it worded very carefully.
As for the personal item, I think that may have been staged at the same time as the bike rather than later. From the search that closed off part of Hwy 50 west towards Monarch Pass, it appears that the item was found on or just off 50, west of 225. Because it is a busy road, there is not a lot of foot traffic on it and if it was a small item, not likely to be spotted right away. The initial searches seemed to be triangulated south of where the bike was allegedly found down and out towards the home and the RV Park. It wasn’t until Thursday as the search area expanded more west and north that the personal item was found. This may have been frustrating to BM also because if it was he who staged the items, not finding the personal item right away means that LE couldn’t follow the “kidnapper’s trail”.
MOO

 

[Seattle1]

The group also discusses the silence of the family (note that they don't say BLM specifically or only). PE guys say the most important thing for the family can do to encourage a successful outcome is to keep the missing person in the media and the fact that everyone is silent is confounding. Elizabeth Smart is the example they cite of the importance of this point.

What I find even odder here is that the family's silence was from the get-go. Usually, as time passes and the general feeling is that the finger is being pointed at a family member, they will go silent but I've never seen it start out and continue.

BM passed on the opportunity to go national with his plea -- opting for 28 seconds over Facebook.

The family also passed on the opportunity to go national with their reward announcement-- and their GET for that matter.

MOO

 

[O.Incandenza]

ITA. And given the daughters were apparently “not worried” on Mother’s Day morning, it adds credence to the statement that SM would often bike prior to church. (Not that she did this time, of course.) But it fits the narrative if the perp knew her habits well enough to use them to his advantage. Bonus! It’s a narrative the daughters can help corroborate.

The daughters called the neighbor but didn’t really have a reason to suspect foul play or misadventure at the time — she’s probably on her bike. Later, as their concerns grew, they called her back and asked her to check the house. And here we are...

MOO.

It also probably means that she hadn't been unreachable for days which would tighten up the timeline a bit. Although I suppose it's possible that the daughters were out of contact while camping.

I do wonder if the initial suspicion on BM came from the security cameras. LS says that she saw "security cameras on every angle of the home." Including the driveway. So it seems like either those cameras weren't working, the footage is missing, or what they show doesn't confirm BM's alibi. If the cameras were working and SM went for a bike ride after BM left for Denver, that should be captured on the cameras and it seems like LE would be looking elsewhere by now. Unless there's some way out of the house that isn't covered by a camera.

 

[OldCop]

That makes sense. They could have been out of touch for a significant period of time, or, just as likely, tried to contact mom to wish her happy Mother’s Day.

After some time without a response, they may have contacted the neighbor to ask if they had seen their mom that morning.

More time may have passed without a response, and that’s when the panic started to set in. It would follow that they would again contact this same neighbor, and then ask for her to check the house for the bike.

Agree. Or, they may have been texting with Mom(‘s phone) in the day or two leading up to Sunday, but felt because it was Mother’s Day they should call rather than text.
Damn, wish we knew when the last time she was seen by ABB, (anyone but Barry).

 

[GordianKnot]

<<delete quoted post>>

Sorry -- you missed my edit. The daughters talked to the neighbor and not SM.
LS did not say why the girls and the neighbors were talking on Sunday morning.

I imagine it's because they were trying to reach their mom much earlier than the reported contact with the neighbor that called 911.

ETA: I wonder if the morning call was with the same neighbor that later phoned 911.

BBM:

I actually imagine any calls they made that day were at the urging/prompting of BM.
I'm thinking they were "reminded" by their father to call and wish their mom a Happy Mother's Day.

Had they tried to reach SM earlier, their first call trying to track her down would have been to BM, not the neighbor.

As BM himself told TD, he normally doesn't work on Sundays, so the daughters would have expected him to be with SM.

Unless, of course, BM himself contacted them via phone/text and urged them to call their Mom, on account of he was in a land far, far, away called Denver and she was all alone going for a bike ride.

I see one person's hand behind the curtain pushing all the levers that day.

JMO.

 

[oviedo]

What I find even odder here is that the family's silence was from the get-go. Usually, as time passes and the general feeling is that the finger is being pointed at a family member, they will go silent but I've never seen it start out and continue.

BM passed on the opportunity to go national with his plea -- opting for 28 seconds over Facebook.

The family also passed on the opportunity to go national with their reward announcement-- and their GET for that matter.

MOO

Perhaps they knew it wasn’t going to end well?
JMO

 

[Knox]

This is huge!!

LS at about 20 min mark states the neighbor told her she spoke to the daughters in the morning on mother's day, and they were not worried about SM.

If not worried, then I believe they had been in contact with SM earlier than I thought.

LS did not say if the girls contacted this neighbor on Sunday morning because they were looking for their mom.

ETA: I wonder if the AM call with neighbor was in-fact the same neighbor that later called 911 to report SM missing.

One way to find out, ask. LS is very responsive to facebook messages

 

[scapa]

Physics. What's the arc of a bike, thrown from the bed of a truck? Solves one problem, protecting the thrower from leaving footprints and tire tracks, but creates another problem: no bike tracks, no sign that biker was biking. That's a big problem.

How would YOU go about explaining the lack of tracks if YOU were in the hotseat? Me, I think I'd have to double down, swear the tracks WERE there, but LE itself must have obliterated the tracks (that were never there).

And then I'd probably feign indignation.

Because without bike tracks leaving the road, you can't sell a bike ride well.

JMOJMOJMO

Interesting. I ride MTBs, and wouldn't expect to see much left behind on hardpack, even with a heavier tire, although where a rider is positioned over the saddle or bars, whether s/he is climbing or descending, etc etc might have an impact on tread depth or angle.

Someone could also, in theory, roll rather than pitch a bike down or off a road or trail, but there would be minimal control of direction or angle. Still, that tactic look more like a "natural" fall than winging the same bike from a truck bed -- and mountain bikes are awkward, with all kinds of edges and angles and weight distribution -- never thrown one, but have spent years lifting and carrying them, and it ain't always easy, especially if you're heaving rather than toting.

Final thought. MTBers get used to falling, especially on challenging terrain, but there tend to be particular ways of falling, and using your body to prevent a fall, or a minimizing its impact, dragging a foot in a skid, say, or rounding out at the base of a jump or slope. So I wonder if LE have spent time examining possible trajectories of such a fall, with or without mountain lions, and if that will factor in.

JMO, IMO -- have been away from this case so this speculation may be completely irrelevant.