Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #3

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S.K.F.C. said:
I've caught up to the beginning of this #3 thread, but I have (as of now) 42 more pages to read through to completely catch up from the very beginning. My thoughts from what I've read so far as a cyclist and someone who lives in a rural Colorado community relatively near Monarch Pass:

1) If she was a SM user, I would be very surprised if she didn't have tracking apps active and wearables logging her location on all connected devices. I'm not the only one who regularly rides with Strava, Map My Ride, and/or Apple Workout all tracking at the same time. If she had a wearable like a watch vs a bike-attached tracker like a Garmin, chances are one of those apps would have continued tracking her movement. I know my Strava will Auto-pause a workout if I stop moving fast on my bike, but so long as I'm moving, it keeps tracking (for instance if I hop off my bike and hike it a bit). Most wearables these days (at least ones that a cyclist would be wearing IMO) are waterproof. Thus, she would have been tracked at least for a while even had she ended up down a creek. So, were these the personal items found? I know my watch and phone tracks me via GPS without cell service through the mountains near Monarch; on MTB rides, road rides, while hiking up a 12er, snowshoeing, skiing, etc.

2) It's highly unlikely she in any form came over Monarch to the west: there are live CDOT cameras on Monarch Pass, and Gunnison County has been closed to non-Gunnison residents (from what I've heard, they've been strictly enforcing too). Hwy 50 goes straight through the heart of Gunnison.

3) The trails have been odd, popular areas despite the travel bans have been swamped by out-of-towners. However, some trails in more remote areas have been absolutely dead with no one for miles. It's really hard to say what her trails were looking like, but from the location and based on what I've been seeing from a few hundred miles away, her trails would have been pretty darn empty. Salida locals would be sticking to their closer-in trails and non-locals often don't know of these more remote trails.

4) I went MTBing by myself about three weeks ago and txt'd a local friend where I was going to ride and to notify LE if I wasn't back by 5pm. Why her instead of family? Well, she's local, if I needed help I could call her, I can also tell her the recreation area and trails and assure she will know the general area and be able to communicate said to LE. I then went boondocking for a weekend by myself and told my neighbor that I'd be back on Sunday. Why? Well, they've got eyes on my house my family doesn't. They know the area I said I was going to and could notify and communicate that to LE better than family could. Both of these are routine events and I'm not calling my family every day when I hit a trail or the road or go skiing or ......., but I'll be with people or people will know where I am.
Click to expand...
Verdy verdy inderesding!!!!
 
Note: Gunnison County has an advisory currently in place that ASKS visitors and non-resident homeowners to stay away from the county due to COVID 19, which expires and May 28th. The county has also asked Gunnison residents to refrain from leaving the county, and to hold up returning if they do. The Gunnison county line is the Continental Divide line which passes Highway 50 at the at the crest of Monarch Pass, but Highway 50 passes into Saguache County for a considerable portion of the descent and then passes back into Gunnison county toward the bottom. If the advisory was rigidly enforced, Gunnison county residents who were working at the Monarch Ski Area would have been trapped in it's closure as non-essential businesses. They were not, asnd Monarch Ski Area id fairly deserted at this time. Highway 50 is a United States Federal Highway and not within any county jurisdiction. There is no federal closure in place for the highway. Likewise, there would have been no inconvenience involved in the closure of the east slope of Monarch, if the west slope was closed by Gunnison county. I'm pretty sure this is clear as mud, but the bottom line is that traffic over Monarch has been lessened, but by no means has it been shut off, by COVID 19.
COVID-19 and Visitation to Gunnison-Crested Butte
 
S.K.F.C. said:
I've caught up to the beginning of this #3 thread, but I have (as of now) 42 more pages to read through to completely catch up from the very beginning. My thoughts from what I've read so far as a cyclist and someone who lives in a rural Colorado community relatively near Monarch Pass:

1) If she was a SM user, I would be very surprised if she didn't have tracking apps active and wearables logging her location on all connected devices. I'm not the only one who regularly rides with Strava, Map My Ride, and/or Apple Workout all tracking at the same time. If she had a wearable like a watch vs a bike-attached tracker like a Garmin, chances are one of those apps would have continued tracking her movement. I know my Strava will Auto-pause a workout if I stop moving fast on my bike, but so long as I'm moving, it keeps tracking (for instance if I hop off my bike and hike it a bit). Most wearables these days (at least ones that a cyclist would be wearing IMO) are waterproof. Thus, she would have been tracked at least for a while even had she ended up down a creek. So, were these the personal items found? I know my watch and phone tracks me via GPS without cell service through the mountains near Monarch; on MTB rides, road rides, while hiking up a 12er, snowshoeing, skiing, etc.

2) It's highly unlikely she in any form came over Monarch to the west: there are live CDOT cameras on Monarch Pass, and Gunnison County has been closed to non-Gunnison residents (from what I've heard, they've been strictly enforcing too). Hwy 50 goes straight through the heart of Gunnison.

3) The trails have been odd, popular areas despite the travel bans have been swamped by out-of-towners. However, some trails in more remote areas have been absolutely dead with no one for miles. It's really hard to say what her trails were looking like, but from the location and based on what I've been seeing from a few hundred miles away, her trails would have been pretty darn empty. Salida locals would be sticking to their closer-in trails and non-locals often don't know of these more remote trails.

4) I went MTBing by myself about three weeks ago and txt'd a local friend where I was going to ride and to notify LE if I wasn't back by 5pm. Why her instead of family? Well, she's local, if I needed help I could call her, I can also tell her the recreation area and trails and assure she will know the general area and be able to communicate said to LE. I then went boondocking for a weekend by myself and told my neighbor that I'd be back on Sunday. Why? Well, they've got eyes on my house my family doesn't. They know the area I said I was going to and could notify and communicate that to LE better than family could. Both of these are routine events and I'm not calling my family every day when I hit a trail or the road or go skiing or ......., but I'll be with people or people will know where I am.
Click to expand...

I had a picture in mind that Suzanne was a road cyclist, and as such did not go on the trails, which in my mind were for mountain biking....rough, hilly, perhaps narrow etc. and not suitable for a road bicycle.
We do not know where or how her bike was found (or even if ), but I imagined it on the side of or near a traffic road.

When you speak of the trails in the Monarch Pass area, are they smooth surfaced? Or are they MTB trails over rough ground through wilderness areas?

If the trails are smooth surfaced, and some are remote and empty, it changes my perception of what may have happened to Suzanne. If something happened on a traffic road, an event would have more likelihood of being witnessed, riskier for a perp I'd think.

All to say, IF Suzanne was indeed out for a ride at all on the 10th.
 
brooks said:
Why did the Morphews move from IN to CO?
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Haha. I lived in Indiana for 8 yrs and recently escaped! It’s cold and gloomy most of the year (feels like it anyway.). CO is gorgeous!

Seriously though. I thought I read somewhere that their daughter goes to college there. Maybe they visited and loved it? And with husband being a landscaper in IN, that’s not a year round job. Maybe he shoveled snow in winter? Or maybe it was more like an upscale landscape design business?
 
Suzanne’s nephew, Trevor Noel told Dateline last week that people could help in the search for Morphew by “pounding the keyboard.” The family has set up a Find Suzanne Morphew Facebook page, tip line and a GxFxxxMx, which has raised nearly $30,000.

“Everyone involved in this search, we just want her back so bad,” Noel said. “We want her back because she is just such a bright light in all of our lives.”

Barry Morphew initially offered a 100,000 reward for his wife's safe return, but the reward amount has since been doubled to $200,000

Husband of mom who vanished on Mother's Day: 'We’ll do whatever it takes' to find her

^ the thing that sticks out to me is that is a huge amount of money for a missing persons case that is only over a week old, some missing persons cases fight for years to get even 50k put up as a reward, i know its from the husband and a family friend but still

200k in reward + 30k funded from a fundraiser site ( could be more now article states 30k at time of publishing )
 
inmyhumbleopinion said:
Posted 7 minutes ago:
“CHAFFEE COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
Salida, Colorado
PRESS RELEASE
May 18, 2020

Members of the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), continue the search for Suzanne Morphew.

Ms. Morphew is a Chaffee County woman reported missing on May 10, 2020.

On Monday, 18, investigators continued to review and follow-up on tips reported to the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office. There have been more than 150 calls to the tip line since the phone line was activated last week. There were no targeted searches conducted on Monday.

Continued from yesterday’s update: Chaffee County residents are being asked to preserve any and all video footage from devices such as Ring doorbells, security cameras, game cameras, etc., from May 8th thru May 12th.

Citizens are only being asked to preserve the video at this time. Please do not send these videos to the sheriff’s office or call the sheriff’s office. As search areas are identified, investigators will contact residents in those locations to collect any camera footage within that May 8-12 window.

PLEASE DO NOT CALL CHAFFEE COUNTY DISPATCH WITH QUESTIONS.

The Chaffee County Sheriff's Office asks the public to continue to report any information about this case by calling (719) 312-7530.

*****Chaffee County Sheriff John Spezze*****“
Chaffee County Sheriff's Office
Click to expand...

I have suspected foul play and have thought LE were possibly closing in on a suspect. But this press release has me thinking differently now. The fact that they say - “As search areas are identified, investigators will contact residents in those locations to collect any camera footage within that May 8-12 window.” - makes me feel like they haven’t pinpointed a possible crime (or possible accident) area. Reminds me of Mollie Tibbetts and how long it took them to comb home surveillance till they finally had a break. JMO
 
I’m really curious as to why LE is specifically requesting locals to save but NOT submit video surveillance to them at this time. Why wouldn’t they want to view potentially critical footage of SM and/or a suspect ASAP?

I can only postulate that it’s because they either don’t have the manpower/resources to sort through all the video evidence right now, or (hopefully) they already have a solid theory as to what happened and just don’t need the video at this time. MOO.
 
brooks said:
Why did the Morphews move from IN to CO?
Click to expand...
In addition, I wonder how they picked that particularly out of the way place. Had they visited the area before and loved it? Did they know someone there who recommended it? I think of my living here in Connecticut and how would I pick a place in Colorado to live? Did they visit several times and look around? Suzanne seems to be the one who embraced the cycling/hiking trails aspect. It doesn't seem to be an area, without a commute, that lends itself to any career/job path for either one of them. How they ended up so isolated seems strange to me.
 
DoABarrelRoll said:
I’m really curious as to why LE is specifically requesting locals to save but NOT submit video surveillance to them at this time. Why wouldn’t they want to view potentially critical footage of SM and/or a suspect ASAP?

I can only postulate that it’s because they either don’t have the manpower/resources to sort through all the video evidence right now, or (hopefully) they already have a solid theory as to what happened and just don’t need the video at this time. MOO.
Click to expand...
Some have speculated that perhaps they already have the video they need but are putting this request out publicly to put pressure on someone. I have no idea, but it certainly doesn’t seem like they urgently need people’s videos.
 
DoABarrelRoll said:
I’m really curious as to why LE is specifically requesting locals to save but NOT submit video surveillance to them at this time. Why wouldn’t they want to view potentially critical footage of SM and/or a suspect ASAP?

I can only postulate that it’s because they either don’t have the manpower/resources to sort through all the video evidence right now, or (hopefully) they already have a solid theory as to what happened and just don’t need the video at this time. MOO.
Click to expand...
I’m going to hope it’s option number two, that they have a good idea of what has happened and when they’re ready, they’ll reach out to those in identified areas to see if their cams caught a specific vehicle or person that LE has identified.

Essentially meaning they don’t need the footage to make their case or solve it, but perhaps more to solidify their hypothesis for an upcoming trial.
 
Beth11311 said:
I’m going to hope it’s option number two, that they have a good idea of what has happened and when they’re ready, they’ll reach out to those in identified areas to see if their cams caught a specific vehicle or person that LE has identified.

Essentially meaning they don’t need the footage to make their case or solve it, but perhaps more to solidify their hypothesis for an upcoming trial.
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Yes that’s what I think especially since they must be aware of the crucial role video played in Gannon and kelseys cases and Shannon too IIRC
JMO
 
oviedo said:
Yes that’s what I think especially since they must be aware of the crucial role video played in Gannon and kelseys cases and Shannon too IIRC
JMO
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Agree. IMO, they are waiting for results of electronic data that the FBI is working on - not only Suzanne’s, But maybe other traceable electronics that were near hers. Then they will seek out the video of whatever those locations are.
Fingers crossed Suzanne was using a MapMyRide-type app.
 
Beth11311 said:
This is one of the many things I’ve found so...curious...about this case. No description of clothing or personal items, height, hair color, nothing. No guidance on if you were in xyz area on this date around these times and saw anything please call. This is very unusual, in a true missing person’s case.
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It struck me as odd too. I know there's a reason for everything they're doing, but I did note the absence of this in the official statements.

Dave F. said:
Another brief description of the "lay of the land". The first attachment is a Google Earth aerial view of Monarch Pass. Highway 50 starts climbing just west of Poncha Springs, which is 7,521 ft elevation. It climbs steadily. At the intersection with County Road 225 the elevation is 8, 847 ft. At the crest, which is 13 miles uphill from County Road 225, it is 11,421 ft (roughly twice the distance above sea level as Denver) It drops down rapidly on the west slope to Sargents, which is 8468 ft elevation. The second is Google Maps Directions showing the total distance between Poncha Springs and Sargents of 28.4 miles. The last one shows the distance between County Road 225 and the crest of Monarch Pass, which is 13 miles.
If you don't mind high speed, the video at the link will quickly trace the climb up the eastern slope. At 4:27 of 6:09 a large tanker truck will approach from the opposite direction and whiz by. I believe that at that moment, it blocks the view of the turnoff to County Road 225 on the left side of the road, which is easy to miss under any conditions.
Monarch Pass video - Bing video
Click to expand...

Great find - thanks for this visual, even if it made me a bit dizzy :) Nice to see exactly where that CR is in the video.
 
whitelilac said:
I had a picture in mind that Suzanne was a road cyclist, and as such did not go on the trails, which in my mind were for mountain biking....rough, hilly, perhaps narrow etc. and not suitable for a road bicycle.
We do not know where or how her bike was found (or even if ), but I imagined it on the side of or near a traffic road.

When you speak of the trails in the Monarch Pass area, are they smooth surfaced? Or are they MTB trails over rough ground through wilderness areas?

If the trails are smooth surfaced, and some are remote and empty, it changes my perception of what may have happened to Suzanne. If something happened on a traffic road, an event would have more likelihood of being witnessed, riskier for a perp I'd think.

All to say, IF Suzanne was indeed out for a ride at all on the 10th.
Click to expand...

If you have eleven minutes, you might want to watch the video at the link. The first portion is part of the preliminary preparation and ascent to the beginning of Fooses Lake Trail. At 2:08 begins the actual ride. The first mishap is a few seconds into the ride. The ride ends with a portion of the Fooses Lake Trail that merges into County Highway 226. The ending is at the Fooses Lake Trail Head, the site which has been pointed out as being 2000 feet from SM's house.
Monarch Pass bike roide - Bing video
 
Rosiebones said:
In addition, I wonder how they picked that particularly out of the way place. Had they visited the area before and loved it? Did they know someone there who recommended it? I think of my living here in Connecticut and how would I pick a place in Colorado to live? Did they visit several times and look around? Suzanne seems to be the one who embraced the cycling/hiking trails aspect. It doesn't seem to be an area, without a commute, that lends itself to any career/job path for either one of them. How they ended up so isolated seems strange to me.
Click to expand...

I’m in the middle of relocating to Colorado. Last year my friend and her husband moved there after only one visit! I was with them on that visit and being that we are from a large city in the Midwest, the Colorado wilderness & vibe took our breaths away. It is so beautiful there and it’s hard not to fall in love right away. It offers something magical you can’t get in the midwest. Since that first visit a year and a half ago, I’ve visited about 10 times and picked out an area I could see myself living the rest of my life that is away from people and at least a 45 minute commute to a larger area for work. Sometimes we all need to shift and slow down - and if they both worked a lot to make those millions & their kids are out of the house now I could see a quiet, but physically active mountain life being attractive to them at this point.

my guess is they visited enough times to be able to pick out a spot to live but we all know that you don’t REALLY know an area until you’ve lived there for a longer period of time.
 
S.K.F.C. said:
I've caught up to the beginning of this #3 thread, but I have (as of now)
4) I went MTBing by myself about three weeks ago and txt'd a local friend where I was going to ride and to notify LE if I wasn't back by 5pm. Why her instead of family? Well, she's local, if I needed help I could call her, I can also tell her the recreation area and trails and assure she will know the general area and be able to communicate said to LE. I then went boondocking for a weekend by myself and told my neighbor that I'd be back on Sunday. Why? Well, they've got eyes on my house my family doesn't. They know the area I said I was going to and could notify and communicate that to LE better than family could. Both of these are routine events and I'm not calling my family every day when I hit a trail or the road or go skiing or ......., but I'll be with people or people will know where I am.
Click to expand...

RSBM
A lot of excellent information in this post, thanks. Your method of selecting who to communicate with and why makes total sense...it never occurred to me, and I have young relatives attending college in Denver, the parents are on the East Coast. We would be useless in the case of an emergency.
 
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