Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #21

[Kittybunny]

Quotes from LSharff Fox 21 on SM:

“You don’t just see beauty when Suzanne is around, you feel it”: Friends describe missing Chaffee County woman | FOX21 News Colorado

July 22, 2020

Family and friends spoked to FOX21 Digital NOW Suzanne, describing her as beautiful inside and out. The family still hopes Suzanne will come home.
________________________

“Suzanne has always been beautiful. Everything about her is beautiful you don’t just see beauty when Suzanne is around, you feel it. Suzanne loves Jesus and she loves like Jesus. Always with a sweet smile and a kind word. She has a peaceful presence about her. She loves her family. She is so thankful to be a Momma, it wasn’t a guarantee for her, not something she could assume would happen when she was ready. Jesus made a way. Not once but twice. Blessings upon blessings.

We have a lot of questions and to say we don’t understand why or how this could happen to precious Suzanne is an understatement. But I know that wherever Suzanne is He is with her and she is with Him. When I stumble and my faith becomes weak I think of Suzanne and know she would want me to praise Him in this storm. He didn’t promise we wouldn’t face them, but he promised we wouldn’t face them alone. Suzanne is so very loved, to know her is to love her. Please help us find her.”

AMBER HEIFNER AIMAN, SECOND COUSIN
____________________________________


“She was one of those people that would make you feel happy when you saw her,” Karry Wooddell said. “She was someone who would make you feel comfortable and she was so kind and open and would do anything for you.”

Wooddell met Suzanne at the gym after she moved to Colorado in the fall of 2018. Their daughters play high school volleyball together. Wooddelln said she considered Suzanne to be one of her best friends.

“She was super fit and you could tell she loved working out and loved being at the gym and, so, instantly we hit it off and started talking about our workouts and what we were doing,” Wooddell explained. “It was fun to get to see the two of them working out together and you could see them catching up together on the treadmill, they were really close.” bbm

[Note: It's unclear to reader who the friend is referring to here re. 'two of them.' Daughter? BM? Previous MSM reports state BM/SM often seen working out together at the gym].

“One of the last times I saw her, I was at Walmart when the pandemic had started,” Wooddell said, in tears.

“I saw her pull up across from me in her car and – it’s been lonely. Gyms were closed, everyone had been socially distant, so I had missed seeing her. And she was one of the people I had really missed seeing, so when I saw her pull up, I went to just tap on her window. She rolled her window down and I jumped back, because I didn’t want to be close to her and, she’s just so cute, she said, ‘Oh, I’m just about to mask up. I’m about to put all my stuff on.’ I said, ‘How are you, how are the girls?’ And she was telling me about how much fun she and the girls were having cooking and planning meals every day, and how much she was cherishing this time with both of her daughters.”

_____________________


Suzanne, a strong woman on many levels, overcame Hodgkins Lymphoma twice. Once before her children were born, and again as the Morphew family moved to Colorado. The family says they celebrated her last cancer treatment on October 1, 2019.

“Some days I would be in the chair next to her getting chemo. Suzanne was one of the nicest people I have met. She was always cheerful and had a great attitude about her cancer and life. She loved her daughters more than anything in this world and they loved her more than anything too. She would never just up and leave them, never!

Her daughters (one or both) would always be with her for her treatments. I saw Barry come in once, he was not overly friendly and seemed to be uncomfortable there. That is not unusual as it’s often hard for loved ones to be there.

Suzanne was so happy on the day of her last treatment. She was still coming in for maintenance treatments, but the chemo was done and she was doing great. She was supposed to come in for her maintenance the Monday after Mother’s day, but of course, did not show up. She was a bright light in this world. I really miss Suzanne and pray that justice is served.

FELLOW CANCER SURVIVOR
________________________________
Suzanne also served, enthusiastically, at Grace Church in Salida, volunteering and providing lunches for students at Young-Life. FOX21 reached out to the church for a comment. Staff there would not provide a comment on Morphew’s disappearance, but did say their church community is praying for her. As yet, no prayer vigil has been planned.
_________________________________

“Suzanne has always been a wonderful person. Growing up, she truly was kind to everyone. She would always be there to lend an ear, if you needed it. Quiet, beautiful, always carried herself well.

She reminds me a lot of her mother, and the word I always use to describe Adrianne is “Classy”. Suzanne had a beautiful singing voice in High School. She was in the Choir, as well as Show Choir, those were fun times!

She reached out to me, after moving to Colorado, to see if I knew, or was planning a 30 year Class reunion for last year, as she wanted to plan a trip home for it! Oh, how I regret not stepping up, and making that happen.”

AMY MCCURRY, CHILDHOOD FRIEND
__________________________________

During a time of panic and confusion, Wooddell indicated, Suzanne put her family first.

Her family and her community is now returning that favor.

“We are on a mission to find Suzanne,” Nephew Trevor Noel said.

“I know that there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t look – look her name up to see if anything new has come up,” Wooddell added.

The family said the two Morphew daughters are staying with their dad at the family home in Maysville. A plea from Suzanne’s husband, Barry was shared online exactly a week after she disappeared. A reward of $200,000 by the missing woman’s family and friends is being offered in exchange for her safe return.

FOX21 has made several attempts to speak with Barry Morphew, but have not heard back.

Watch FOX21 News at 9 on Thursday, July 23 for a second special report on the investigation into the disappearance of Suzanne Morphew.

I am grateful for this piece that really details what a beautiful, kind, strong, loving woman Suzanne is. It's easy to get so caught up with Barry Barry Barry that we lose sight of the woman who is the real reason we are all here. She deserves to be found. She deserves justice, if it is called for. My brother is in the end-stage of Stage 4 colon cancer so it breaks my heart that she survived cancer twice, and is now not here to live the life she fought so hard for.

 

[Madeleine74]

In Barry’s case he was the large and in charge big man of the family. Only problem with having perpetrated that facade, is that he didn’t lead and protect the family. His persona is false. He’s a paper tiger.

I'm glad you've gotten to your truth and beliefs.

I don't know the guy and haven't gotten more than the cursory couple of things to see how he interacts. Unfortunately LE hasn't shared any information about what they've gathered. That makes my evaluation incomplete. And here's one other thought: someone might be a jerk, they might be someone I personally would never want to associate with or imagine ever being in a relationship with, unlike the victim chose to do over many years. At the same time, to determine their guilt I still need to see some evidence. I'm not trying to determine if BM is a 'nice guy.' I'm interested in the criminal case and seeing if there's evidence to show he harmed/killed his wife.

IMO

 

[OldCop]

You won't excuse other people for how they handle or don't handle tough things in life? Okay. Good to know.

IMO

Just because I don’t excuse them, doesn’t mean I don’t feel sorry for them. I think many, many, of these people feel regret later on that they were not there for someone who needed them.

 

[Tate123]

RBBM
Yes, I do think it should be true. It should not be on the sick or dying person to hold their loved ones hand and tell them it’s all right to leave them alone when they’re facing life’s greatest challenge.
Yes, many people are emotionally weak. My best friend is one of the most emotional persons I know. He cries at sad cartoons. He fell apart when his wife was dying of cancer. He would stand outside her room bawling like a baby, then he would pull himself together and go in there with a smile on his face to sit with her for hours. When he came out he would be mentally and physically exhausted, on the verge of collapse. He would go home and come back the next day to do it all over again. Right up until the day she died.
If you can’t be there for someone in their time of greatest need because you can’t handle it, it’s about you, not the person who needs you. In my years in LE I’ve seen all manner of death and maiming, things no person should have to see. I’ve seen the reactions of their loved ones when they’ve learned their fate. There’s been shock, some have had to sedated and hospitalized, but no matter how hard it was, they found some inner strength to go their loved ones side.
BM, mister Big Man, he’s a FF, he’s a hunter, he’s trained in EMS, he’s big and buff, but it’s too hard to sit by his wife with cancer while she’s receiving treatment and it’s “too soon” to plead for her life when she’s disappeared off the face of the earth.
So it is true, some people can’t handle the tough things in life, but I won’t excuse them for it. It’s like anything else, you can do it if you put your mind to it.
MOO

There is a reason we say "in sickness and in health" life isn't easy.. but we step-up.

 

[oviedo]

Random question on life insurance. Does life insurance have different payouts when someone has cancer versus when they are deemed cancer free?

In my own experience the life insurance is purchased and then you get a physical. As long as you make the payments the policy is in effect. If you apply for insurance while undergoing treatment for cancer or individually (not through your job) I'm not sure they would endorse the policy until you are finished with treatment? Interesting tidbit I recently learned - if you are diagnosed with an "end of life" condition, the policy can begin paying out within the last six months - so your loved ones have access to the money while you are dying....I didn't read all the fine print about how the insurance company determines this though - but I found it interesting.

Any insurance agent sleuthers on here? They would know I think ?
JMO

 

[GordianKnot]

Friends Say Missing Colo. Mom Suzanne Morphew and Husband Barry Seemed Like ‘Good, Model Family’

SABBM:

Before Colorado mom Suzanne Morphew disappeared during a bike ride on Mother's Day, everything in her life seemed to be going well.

"That [family structure] where the husband loves being the provider and the wife loves being the homemaker— they fit that to a T," longtime friend Jeff Isles tells PEOPLE in this week's issue.

But now Morphew, a mom-of-two, is missing, having vanished on a bike ride on May 10.
_______________

Quick!
Somebody call H.G. Wells.
Tell him somebody's stolen his Time Machine.

What century is this again?

Because I could swear that the last time I consulted my calendar, it was 2020.
Not 1920.

And why do I get the feeling that by "provider" here, he means, "controller?"

JMO.

 

[Madeleine74]

Yeah, the fence is a description of my POV in this case not of yours. After posting in the same forums for a number of years, I know this ^^^^^^^^^^ about you.
Anyway, it was sorta meant to be a compliment ...

No I got it and I forgot to say, THANK YOU Knox!

I try to be a reasonable and logical person. I also try to get in the mindset of a prosecutor who would have to be able to prove guilt to a jury and I like to look at things from that angle, which is not an angle others commonly use. . I'm weird that way, as you know.

IMO

 

[dmac55]

Not everyone has the luxury of not being good at, or wanting to, deal with hard, difficult, uncomfortable things

And I do judge people on that issue
Are they present when they need to be
(I use my own views for my standards)

 

[susiQ]

Friends Say Missing Colo. Mom Suzanne Morphew and Husband Barry Seemed Like ‘Good, Model Family’

July 23, 2020 11:00 AM

Before Colorado mom Suzanne Morphew disappeared during a bike ride on Mother's Day, everything in her life seemed to be going well.

"That [family structure] where the husband loves being the provider and the wife loves being the homemaker— they fit that to a T," longtime friend Jeff Isles tells PEOPLE in this week's issue.

But now Morphew, a mom-of-two, is missing, having vanished on a bike ride on May 10. While her bike and a "personal item" were recovered during a search of an area near her Maysville home, little else is known about Morphew's disappearance.

"They're close— a good model family," Isles says of Morphew and her husband and their two daughters, Mallory and Macy.

Unfortunately, that’s not much of an endorsement. Long time friend. How long? When was the last time he saw BM & family? “everything in her life seemed to be going well,” until it wasn’t. I also wouldn’t characterize BM as a “model” husband given the things we know. He’s been characterized as controlling, capable of assault and rather unemotional with regard to his missing wife and can’t even answer a simple question with regard to when he or anyone else last saw her. Not to mention, unfriendly and standoffish.

Me thinks BM is a chameleon. JMHO

 

[oviedo]

Friends Say Missing Colo. Mom Suzanne Morphew and Husband Barry Seemed Like ‘Good, Model Family’

SABBM:

Before Colorado mom Suzanne Morphew disappeared during a bike ride on Mother's Day, everything in her life seemed to be going well.

"That [family structure] where the husband loves being the provider and the wife loves being the homemaker— they fit that to a T," longtime friend Jeff Isles tells PEOPLE in this week's issue.

But now Morphew, a mom-of-two, is missing, having vanished on a bike ride on May 10.
_______________

Call H.G. Wells.
Tell him somebody's stolen his Time Machine.

What century is this again?
Because I could swear that the last time I consulted my calendar, it was 2020.
Not 1920.

And why do I get the feeling that by "provider" here, he means, "controller?"

JMO.

yep - and i wonder who this Jeff is longtime friends with?? bingo - not Suzanne IMO. sigh.
ETA - and another example IMO that most of us have him pegged right. this kind of depiction is so insulting to women but par for the course for these types of men. JMO

 

[10ofRods]

I have been following this case from the beginning and it really touches a nerve with me as well. I think because I am in that age group with 2 children, long term marriage, etc. Anyway, while in general in these cases it is usually the spouse and it very well could be in this case, I don't believe that there has been anywhere near enough information to make an "informed" decision on who caused SM to disappear. We literally know nothing except that a woman disappeared and searches were done. I too am surprised how much hate has gone BM's way with knowing next to nothing about the case. JMO!

It's very hard for some of us to be onlookers to a case where a vibrant woman disappears, her husband claims to be the last person who saw her, and where LE has clearly spent time investigating the husband.

Many of us have various kinds of experience with criminal cases, and we are not know-nothings. We know what the stats are, we know what the probabilities are. Stranger abduction is not only rare, but LE has said there's no evidence of abduction, we have had to rule that out.

LE has also said they do not believe Suzanne committed suicide. So, we have ruled that out.

What's left? Intimate partner violence is the leading cause of the homicide of a woman.

Can you explain what other theories you may have? Figuring out WhoDunnit is something many different people try to do - including community members. We know a lot more than "nothing" especially if we study crime as a hobby - or for a living.

Searches were done at the husband's job site. It's interesting how you minimized what we actually know in order to tell us we know nothing - we on these forums actually know something. And we know even more this week than last week. We also know there were at least 10 searches, one long and one short search at the family home (which was kept away from BM for at least 10 days).

I'm not seeing the "hate" you see, but I think many of us are perplexed by the fund raising efforts, the failure to publicize any of these "private" searches within Chaffee County, the failure to account for how the fund raising money was spent, and most of all, the failure to appoint a family spokesperson (who could be a lot of people) and instead, the distancing of the one family spokesperson from the entire case (while he and his wife "grieve" in private - I mean, what does that tell you?)

The family believes Suzanne is dead, IMO. I think any reasonable person would come to the same conclusion at this time. She didn't fall into the river (there's a dam just downstream, it's been searched). She didn't just disappear (unless you believe in the 411 portal thing), she didn't suicide, she wasn't abducted.

So what do you think happened to her? And why isn't her husband of many years using those funds to find her? At least hire a tracker to track down the alleged mountain lion, find its den. Or appeal to the public to find her, if he believes she was kidnapped? And I do mean "appeal to the public" in a way that actually gets heard.

I do dislike a man who doesn't face the public to plead for the return and safety of his wife AND who goes about real estate business (etc) as if nothing has happened, without so much as placing flowers in memory of his wife somewhere, but that's just me. I also dislike other things about BM, but I don't hate him. I certainly want to see the evidence, which by now, may be quite a big pile.

 

[GordianKnot]

In Barry’s case he was the large and in charge big man of the family. Only problem with having perpetrated that facade, is that he didn’t lead and protect the family. His persona is false. He’s a paper tiger.

IMO

BBM:

It's an entirely false front.

Nothing this guy tries to project about himself is believable…not to me, anyway.

He's an illusionist.

The successful businessman.
The devoted, loving husband.
The solid, church-going family man.

Smoke and Mirrors.

JMO.

 

[DellaC]

Receiving chemo can be a very dangerous time for cancer patients. My own mother died 15 minutes into receiving her very first chemo treatment. I couldn’t imagine not wanting the support of my life partner there by my side. MOO

My thoughts:
We don't know that BM didn't go with her more often. We don't know how many times the person interviewed in the LS report actually was with SM at cancer treatments. We only know that she saw the daughters with SM (one time each? 10 times each? we don't know) and BM only once.

 

[Tate123]

In Barry’s case he was the large and in charge big man of the family. Only problem with having perpetrated that facade, is that he didn’t lead and protect the family. His persona is false. He’s a paper tiger.

IMO

So we've come full circle and are back to a cat being a possibility.

 

[rainbowshummingbird]

Friends Say Missing Colo. Mom Suzanne Morphew and Husband Barry Seemed Like ‘Good, Model Family’

SABBM:

Before Colorado mom Suzanne Morphew disappeared during a bike ride on Mother's Day, everything in her life seemed to be going well.

"That [family structure] where the husband loves being the provider and the wife loves being the homemaker— they fit that to a T," longtime friend Jeff Isles tells PEOPLE in this week's issue.

But now Morphew, a mom-of-two, is missing, having vanished on a bike ride on May 10.
_______________

Call H.G. Wells.
Tell him somebody's stolen his Time Machine.

What century is this again?
Because I could swear that the last time I consulted my calendar, it was 2020.
Not 1920.

And why do I get the feeling that by "provider" here, he means, "controller?"

JMO.

And that’s exactly why I called Barry a paper tiger.

Suzanne and Barry had this traditional, Christian, man is the king of the castle dynamic where she she was supposed to be obedient, devoted and respectful to him. Surely, one of the most simplistic tenants of this type of relationship is that the man is the protector and leader of his family. Along with being the protector, keeping alive your spouse and keeping alive the mother of your children would seem a most basic requirement. Barry’s a failure.

IMO

 

[Goldenseal]

In Barry’s case he was the large and in charge big man of the family. Only problem with having perpetrated that facade, is that he didn’t lead and protect the family. His persona is false. He’s a paper tiger.

IMO

And that's the thing, isn't it? Such people want the praise, the position, the deference and services for being the big tough guy leader, but when a situation comes along where he actually has to display toughness and leadership, ooops, you find out you have been deferring to, and cleaning up after, someone who was unable or unwilling to step up to the plate.

 

[DizzyB]

Ding-ding. Great question!! Could speak to motive if the answer is cancer-free and a policy existed ...

I doubt Suzanne/Barry could have purchased additional coverage for her once she was diagnosed. Yes, the physical required for new and higher limits would have determined that she did not qualify. Existing life insurance pre diagnosis would not be affected. If he were the beneficiary, he would receive the sum. There are certain crappy policies that require no physical but we are not talking big money. And those physicals go into a database so all Carriers see your insurability.

 

[susiQ]

So we've come full circle and are back to a cat being a possibility.

Yup!! Just not a mountain lion. A paper tiger cat. MOO

 

[Stripehaven]

Apparently the chemo friend thought it was noteworthy BM was only at chemo one time with SM to mention it in the interview. Assessing the behavior of a “husband of 25+ years” is something I have experience with having been married for longer than that and going through a similar circumstances with medical. My husband insisted on being with me which I gladly accepted. That’s what you do if you are in a loving committed relationship after all those years! It’s not “expected”. It’s just the way it is for most long term married couples.
Of course, MOO from my own experience and observations of my own family members as well as friends in similar cases.

Having been through chemo, I can think of a few reasons one might not want their spouse present during infusions. I have my suspicions about BM but I don’t read much into his absence during chemo sessions.

 

[LietKynes]

Unfortunately, that’s not much of an endorsement. Long time friend. How long? When was the last time he saw BM & family? “everything in her life seemed to be going well,” until it wasn’t. I also wouldn’t characterize BM as a “model” husband given the things we know. He’s been characterized as controlling, capable of assault and rather unemotional with regard to his missing wife and can’t even answer a simple question with regard to when he or anyone else last saw her. Not to mention, unfriendly and standoffish.

Me thinks BM is a chameleon. JMHO

bbm
That should have been the simplest question of all.
And yet he refuses to answer.
What is BM hiding ?
Makes no sense at all... unless it does !
Imo.

It's very hard for some of us to be onlookers to a case where a vibrant woman disappears, her husband claims to be the last person who saw her, and where LE has clearly spent time investigating the husband.

Many of us have various kinds of experience with criminal cases, and we are not know-nothings. We know what the stats are, we know what the probabilities are. Stranger abduction is not only rare, but LE has said there's no evidence of abduction, we have had to rule that out.

LE has also said they do not believe Suzanne committed suicide. So, we have ruled that out.

What's left? Intimate partner violence is the leading cause of the homicide of a woman.

Can you explain what other theories you may have? Figuring out WhoDunnit is something many different people try to do - including community members. We know a lot more than "nothing" especially if we study crime as a hobby - or for a living.

Searches were done at the husband's job site. It's interesting how you minimized what we actually know in order to tell us we know nothing - we on these forums actually know something. And we know even more this week than last week. We also know there were at least 10 searches, one long and one short search at the family home (which was kept away from BM for at least 10 days).

I'm not seeing the "hate" you see, but I think many of us are perplexed by the fund raising efforts, the failure to publicize any of these "private" searches within Chaffee County, the failure to account for how the fund raising money was spent, and most of all, the failure to appoint a family spokesperson (who could be a lot of people) and instead, the distancing of the one family spokesperson from the entire case (while he and his wife "grieve" in private - I mean, what does that tell you?)

The family believes Suzanne is dead, IMO. I think any reasonable person would come to the same conclusion at this time. She didn't fall into the river (there's a dam just downstream, it's been searched). She didn't just disappear (unless you believe in the 411 portal thing), she didn't suicide, she wasn't abducted.

So what do you think happened to her? And why isn't her husband of many years using those funds to find her? At least hire a tracker to track down the alleged mountain lion, find its den. Or appeal to the public to find her, if he believes she was kidnapped? And I do mean "appeal to the public" in a way that actually gets heard.

I do dislike a man who doesn't face the public to plead for the return and safety of his wife AND who goes about real estate business (etc) as if nothing has happened, without so much as placing flowers in memory of his wife somewhere, but that's just me. I also dislike other things about BM, but I don't hate him. I certainly want to see the evidence, which by now, may be quite a big pile.

Very well said ! ^^^

No one here has probably even met BM.
Doesn't mean we hate him, but we certainly don't have to "like" him.
His actions speak volumes.
My .02.