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

[SleuthBee]

As you know, once someone mentions that person has been depressed or has a mental health illness, the thread always leans towards suicide after that.

@Steelslady In many cases releasing mental health information can hinder an investigation. It can also hinder a patient from receiving adequate medical attention and paying premium insurance rates. Stigmatization is wrong.

 

[kay74]

The road to her house could be blocked so that gawkers don't go near it and to give the family peace. I wonder if the nephew is staying there too? I truly do not believe the husband had anything to do with this. He and his daughters must be devastated.

 

[Steelslady]

Sorry for not being clear. I only mean that IF a mangled bike was a big part of your story showing an accident but LE refuses to say a dang word about said bike, you might plead with the public to ask LE about the bike’s condition. The only way it helps is to steer the narrative toward an accident and not a murder. Not saying this is the case as I think it’s pretty obvious and clumsy but who knows.

I'm thinking that LE must be pissed off at the nephew and I would be, too, if I were LE. I don't think that LE wanted that information out to the public yet about finding the bike, but were somewhat forced to say so because people were calling LE, after the nephew encouraged them to do so, to find out the condition of the bike. Someone needs to gag that nephew- if he loves his aunt as much as he says he does, he needs to shut the hell up and let LE do their job. He ought to get on his hands and knees and be grateful that LE, FBI, and other agencies are on Suzanne's case, working round the clock.

So many missing people get no media coverage or help from LE. It just boggles my mind how this so called loving nephew decided to do his own searching, when this case was only a day old and LE was on this right from the start.

Sorry, loving nephew, my arse......

 

[Herat]

Doesn't anyone else find it strange that LE has NOT asked for anyone on the bike trail to come forward, who was riding that day? Come on!

I have asked the same question.

The weather was very nice in Salida that weekend. Clear and sunny, high about 64 (Salida), so it would be great weather to be out on the bike trails. It's been a light snow year, so many trails would be completely snow-free.

It would have been reasonable for LE to ask if anyone on the "XYZ" Trail could report when they were there and what they saw. I assume at least the Foose Creek Trail would be busy.

Note: We also do not know who found the bike. I assume it was LE who went out looking for it, as it was found very quickly. I don't know that bikers would report a bike left by the side of a trail unless, perhaps, it was very badly damaged and implied someone had been injured.

 

[whitelilac]

I was thinking about the possibility that a crime happened in the home. Surely the house had an alarm system, surveillance cameras? Would a random intruder risk breaking into a home in broad daylight, and would an intruder take away a victim or a body? I'd also think that more focus would be invested in the house, if there were signs of intrusion and disturbance.

So IF a crime happened there, I'd have to lean to the perp being known to Suzanne, and that any alarm or surveillance was either turned off by either Suzanne while she was home, or the perp.

Which brings me to the question of whether LE has gleaned any info from possible home surveillance, namely was it observed that Suzanne left the house in biking bear, and at what time?

 

[Steelslady]

@Steelslady You are quite savvy and you raise many good points.

Does any know when her husband left?

Thank you.

That is the million dollar question and I think we all would love to know this. We have had no confirmation of where he was officially from LE or for that matter, that he's cleared as a suspect due to an airtight alibi. While he's not named a POI at this time, he hasn't been cleared, either. Making us all go coo coo for Cocoa Puffs, lol. I would feel a lot better if he was cleared. Hate the thoughts that she may be another victim of foul play by the hands of someone that was supposed to love her.

 

[SleuthBee]

Haven't people been submitting "clues" on that FB? Or on other SM? Someone submitted a clue on the Chaffee County Sheriff's FB and the Sheriff himself responded on that one. Presumably, if the family's page receives clues, they will pass them on to the Sheriff? Or will they pass them to their own investigator?

Clues should be vetted by LE, and NOT the members of FB. Are you referring to the FB set up by the nephew? OMG! What is the purpose of the family doing their own investigation when the FBI is involved?

 

[Jacquie1]

To keep it out of the media?

Wait, I’m sorry, I’m only on page 12 of this thread but in the second interview with the nephew he said “Barry, her husband put up 100k reward and a friend matched it making reward 200k for her safe return no questions asked”

now, my feelings on this case so far;
They purchased a new home for 1.5m but still have not sold their old house (listed but hasn’t sold 600k, if I remember correctly). That’s TWO mortgage payments. She is a school teacher, he is (part?) owner of a landscaping company where they used to live and (owns?) another company in Co.
Two mortgages of that size for a couple with (seemingly) modest incomes is... a stretch.
The 100k put up by the husband, could this be an attempt to evade suspicions ie: He wouldn’t put up that money if he was involved...
if you look at the wording of the reward details, the reward would never need to be paid IF the husband knows she will never be found/returned safely. jmo

 

[ab01]

Well, when you put it like that .....yeah, it's strange.

Though, at the press conference, the chief did ask people to call in tips. It wasn't an urgent plea from the start, though.

jm

I think most of the skepticism at least from me anyways comes from that lack of an urgent plea from the very beginning and not necessarily from family but from LE as well.

There was no: We have a missing person we need to get an urgent press release out to locate her

I think LE learned something very early on that has shaped the investigation in the way that we are seeing

The first 72 hrs are critical for finding any missing person alive. And we long passed that before we even had so much as public presser!

I think LE is following the evidence in this case and it's an investigation that isn't in need of a lot of public media attention, in order to recover helpful information.

 

[Herat]

I thought of Tim, also. I’ve been looking at Salida and Chafee County pages and just saw that the bike trails have had some very recent scary vandalism. The only MSM article is from The Mountain Mail, but there’s a paywall.

ETA couldn’t upload pic. Adding a link instead.

Trails vandalized with nails, saws

I cant read the entire article but that board buried with those huge nails up is really disturbing.

If she hit something like that, she could very well have been badly injured. But it's not like LE has made a point of issing cautions about incidents like this, so it makes me think this didn't happen to her. If she had been injured by a trap like this, then I think LE would have an obligation to warn the public at large or close trails to search for more traps.

 

[Seattle1]

Not normal to name POI until they become a suspect. Since there can be lots of POI’s in any given case. I hope she is located soon. Must be torture for family & friends.

True for FBI especially. They've learned it can ruin lives.

POI is a popular word here on WS as it opens the door to post. I meant it in that context.

 

[10ofRods]

I wonder who knew her plans for the day? Who knew she would be out riding her bike.

Someone watching the house would know.

<modsnip: no MSM to substantiate>

 

[clearskies1]

Channel 9 Denver interview of the nephew yesterday. (May 15).

 

[Beth11311]

I'm thinking that LE must be pissed off at the nephew and I would be, too, if I were LE. I don't think that LE wanted that information out to the public yet about finding the bike, but were somewhat forced to say so because people were calling LE, after the nephew encouraged them to do so, to find out the condition of the bike. Someone needs to gag that nephew- if he loves his aunt as much as he says he does, he needs to shut the hell up and let LE do their job. He ought to get on his hands and knees and be grateful that LE, FBI, and other agencies are on Suzanne's case, working round the clock.

So many missing people get no media coverage or help from LE. It just boggles my mind how this so called loving nephew decided to do his own searching, when this case was only a day old and LE was on this right from the start.

Sorry, loving nephew, my arse......

Agreed wholeheartedly. Additionally, the fact that the nephew apparently thinks that a number of untrained family/friends searching is going to be more effective than the FBI, CBI, trained SAR...is bizarre.

Normally citizens and especially family are highly discouraged from performing their own searches for a multitude of reasons. I’m surprised sheriffs office hasn’t said “no more or...”.

 

[Silverheels]

Thank you.

That is the million dollar question and I think we all would love to know this. We have had no confirmation of where he was officially from LE or for that matter, that he's cleared as a suspect due to an airtight alibi. While he's not named a POI at this time, he hasn't been cleared, either. Making us all go coo coo for Cocoa Puffs, lol. I would feel a lot better if he was cleared. Hate the thoughts that she may be another victim of foul play by the hands of someone that was supposed to love her.

I wonder if the evidence that LE has gives them certainty she’ll be found close to her home. If not, she could be anywhere, including between Maysville and Denver.

 

[NoSI]

I'm not sure - the Arkansas River is apparently flowing pretty good right now. Maybe a local will comment, but the river is not far from where Suzanne disappeared (and its headwaters in the snowpack are 27 miles away - so the water would be quite cold, it's at medium flow right now).

Daily Arkansas River Flow Report

So many rocks, tree roots and boulders, people go missing in cold water rivers all the time and are either never found or found much later, way downstream. I think there's a dam not far downstream, though, so they will probably check that area more than once.

I wish we knew if there was a reason for her to be distraught.

Hi @10ofRods… I am from CO, but not local to Salida. I have, however, spent much time in the Salida/Buena Vista area as the Arkansas River is a great rafting spot. Based on my experience, May/June are the best months for rafting as the snow is melting in the high country and fueling the river.

Today the Arkansas is flowing at 1,050 cubic feet per second. For comparison, the median is 836 cubic feet per second and the mean 987 cubic feet per second. The minimum flow was in 1978 at 280 cubic feet per second and the maximum flow at 3,050 cubic feet per second in 1987. It looks like flow was up to over 1,100 on 10/13/20. Info was pulled from https://waterdata.usgs.gov/usa/nwis/uv?site_no=07094500

And yes, the Arkansas can be quite treacherous… Just to give an idea… The tragic case of Kimberly Appelson, age 23, a first-year rafting guide in 2010… she perished in a rafting accident at Frog Rock Rapid and her body was not located for 3 ½ months as it was caught in a sieve (works like a narrow tunnel of rocks funneling water and creating high pressures)…. Please see below:

“The body was found toward the center of the river in a 10x10-foot underwater cavern created by piled boulders. Divers entered the cavern through a 4x8-foot opening approximately 6 feet under the water's surface and below a boulder in the center of the river. Divers described the cavern as having slots high on its walls where water could exit. A diver with one of the teams saw debris in a slot and, upon removing several armfuls of branches, leaves and other debris, spotted the body. They were working in 35-40-degree water. The hypothesis is that Appelson was drawn into the sieve and then into the cavern through one of the slots before being pinned against a smaller slot through which water can flow.” Info was pulled from https://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/Accident/detail/accidentid/3396/

 

[Steelslady]

Well, when you put it like that .....yeah, it's strange.

Though, at the press conference, the chief did ask people to call in tips. It wasn't an urgent plea from the start, though.

jm

But he was never specific about the trail. I don't know, maybe it's because I mountain bike myself and know that bikers do acknowledge one another and even look out for each other, that I find it odd that LE has not asked for any help from bikers. Or if they saw a lady park her bike at such and such a spot, did they see what direction she went in, if she walked away from her bike?

Did anyone help her with a flat tire or adjust her seat? Did she have a dizzy spell or was just resting? None of this was asked by LE.

I just feel she did not go on that bike ride.

 

[oviedo]

This is useful info - always great to have locals on a thread.

I really wish we knew WHEN she went on the supposed bike ride. Maybe it was in the morning, before other people were on the trail, but not discovered missing until later in the afternoon?

If there are people on the trails, that is different than remote trails when you don't expect to see anyone.

Who would risk harming another person if there was a good possibility others were nearby? Someone who knew how to immediately silence a victim? Someone who knew a place to bring the victim quickly without detection, though I suppose even steps from the trail might be well-hidden?

Someone who expected her? Followed her?

If she went for a bike ride, that it.

jmo

My guess is she spoke with someone before the “ride” and that person didn’t get a call back and asked the neighbor to check and that’s when 911 was called - if the ride was real otherwise what prompted the 911 call?
JMO

 

[SleuthBee]

Snipped.

I'm not an expert by any means, but in my observation, if FBI is there to assist local LE, then local LE remains in the lead and is the public face of the investigation. If the case is turned over to FBI, then that's different. But it seems that LE is in charge here, with FBI assistance. FBI agents will still use all their skills, even if not in the lead, on whatever specific tasks they are assisting with.

jmo

Well, your observation works for me

 

[Wowno17]

I thought of Tim, also. I’ve been looking at Salida and Chafee County pages and just saw that the bike trails have had some very recent scary vandalism. The only MSM article is from The Mountain Mail, but there’s a paywall.

ETA couldn’t upload pic. Adding a link instead.

Trails vandalized with nails, saws

Can't view it , EU regulations! When is this article from?

TIA