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

[Janeumayer]

Although they weren’t mentioned in the May 15 press release, they were mentioned in the press conference that day.

Thanks Massguy! Wondering if that was the first day?

 

[oviedo]

Although they weren’t mentioned in the May 15 press release, they were mentioned in the press conference that day.

5/11 - search resumed early morning hours - cell phone? Sheriff replied no comment
News conference: Chaffee County Sheriff provides update on missing Maysville woman
- I've always thought it was odd he wouldn't discuss the cell phone early on either....
I know we are rehashing old stuff. sorry about that - just nothing new to discuss IMO
ETA link to full presser (held May 15 - this is the one where he says "personal items" belonging to SM.

 

[UnapologeticallyAspie]

Not sure if this could be related to Suzanne’s case or not but this is a rural and mountainous location just under 2 hours east of Salida/Maysville.

Homicide investigation underway after body found on Highway 24
10:40am July 31, 2020

A homicide investigation is underway after a body was found on Highway 24 near Cascade, according to the El Paso County Sheriff's Office.

Westbound Highway 24 is shut down near Cascade between Wellington Road and Cave Of The Winds Road. Originally, the closure was in both directions of Highway 24.

Homicide investigation underway after body found on Highway 24


Map
Colorado Department of Transportation - Travel Alerts - Road Report


EPSO detectives investigating possible homicide on Highway 24 near Cacade. More info to follow. PIO enroute.
https://twitter.com/epcsheriff/status/1289200786338013184?s=21

My friend’s husband is the one who saw this woman’s body today, and reported it to LE.

ETA: I did ask her if it is SM. Rather if they, the authorities, think it’s Suzanne.

 

[K9Enzo]

IMO, IMO, IMO, if a dog, while working, got distracted with the scent of another animal, there’s a weak point in the training program. The dog should not care about the scent of another dog, mountain lion, house cat, or any other critter. Of course they would smell it, like they do pretty much everything, but it’s not the objective.

An airscent dog is tracking any person from the freshest scent that can be picked up and followed (missing man lineup – handler to dog – hey, we don’t care about these people working in the same area as us). A trailing dog is tracking a specific person. A HRD dog – they are searching for human remains. A friend will sometimes keep road kill (she has no shame lol) or something I’m kind enough to keep in my freezer, from my property, for her as a training distraction while working her dog. It’s good to mix it up. Training around distractions is huge.

A pet dog smelling or wanting to chase wild life? Yeah, that’s probably an attention getter, something interesting to explore.

Working dogs train for the environment they will likely be working in. Example: Wilderness SAR – those dogs train and work in an environment where wildlife is all around. It’s another smell that was noticed and discarded.

Police K9’s running through backyards chasing after a fleeing suspect, should not give a flip about dogs and cats in the immediate area, the dude with fresh steaks on the grill or screaming children jumping on a trampoline. That’s training, that’s a focused dog. The dog is working.

There are dogs that are trained to track wild hogs, mountain lions, etc. IMO, this does not fall under a standard SAR operation for a missing person. IMO.

Now, with locations with wild hogs and a missing person, well you might find a joint effort there. I think we might have saw this in Hawaii during the search for Amanda Eller.

All my opinion.

 

[MassGuy]

Thanks Massguy! Wondering if that was the first day?

I edited my post to add that they were mentioned on the May 13 press release found on the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Facebook page.

That’s the earliest I can find.

 

[Subiechik21]

My friend’s husband is the one who saw this woman’s body today, and reported it to LE.

ETA: I did ask her if it is SM. Rather if they, the authorities, think it’s Suzanne.

Oh my! I hope he is mentally ok, I don't think I would be!

 

[Janeumayer]

Although they weren’t mentioned in the May 15 press release, they were mentioned in the press conference that day.

ETA: They were in fact mentioned in the May 13 press release.

Chaffee County Sheriff's Office

Great going to edit mine now! So they had joined the effort by the 13th!

 

[Fireflize]

I went back to this report:
MISSING: Colorado woman vanishes after going for a bike ride
According to the report, Maysville has a population of 135 people.

The Chafee County Sheriff’s Office launched a search for Morphew, with a crew of 100 people joined by tracking dogs provided by the Department of Corrections. After failing to locate Morphew on Sunday, authorities searched again on Monday, and as of late Monday had not found any sign of the missing woman.

Morphew’s Facebook page indicates that she has daughters, though it is unclear if she is currently living with anyone
----
They gathered 100 people that night with tracking dogs in a town with a population of 135 - so what all agencies and people were involved I wonder?

And interesting - Ellen's last sentence BBM - wonder what made her say that?
I also think she went missing May 8 - 11 weeks ago today. Although I have considered very late Thursday evening on the 7th
JMO

In reply to your bolded quote. That is quite odd. It would seem there may have been some doubt about who all lived in the home. Some contradictory information. At first I thought perhaps BM lived else where. I think we'd have heard about it if that were the case, but maybe not. Could be he had been asked to leave and wasn't happy about it? Just thinking, it's a puzzle. Moo

 

[GordianKnot]

Great going to edit mine now! So they had joined the effort by the 13th!

Yes. They were on board early, which means the Sheriff marshaled available resources very quickly.

This Sheriff is on top of things.

I'm not at all worried about this investigation. And I'm normally a worrier.

LE's silence is music to my ears.

JMO.

 

[skyvoyager]

There are dogs that are trained to track wild hogs, mountain lions, etc. IMO, this does not fall under a standard SAR operation for a missing person. IMO.

Now, with locations with wild hogs and a missing person, well you might find a joint effort there. I think we might have saw this in Hawaii during the search for Amanda Eller.

All my opinion.

the dogs did not ever track amanda correct? i was always curious about that

 

[K9Enzo]

the dogs did not ever track amanda correct? i was always curious about that

IMO, they did pick up her scent. But not much details was released beyond that. IMO, tracking dogs would have never tracked her to where she was found.

Maui Now: Drones & Dogs Used in the Search for Amanda Eller

 

[Janeumayer]

Yes. They were on board early, which means the Sheriff marshaled available resources very quickly.

This Sheriff is on top of things.

I'm not at all worried about this investigation. And I'm normally a worrier.

LE's silence is music to my ears.

JMO.

Agreed. I’m not worried about our Sheriff. I have the utmost confidence in him and his team. My only tiny worry is the Interim DA Kaitlin Turner (which may be the reason for any delay in charges, if they are ready to charge). Patiently waiting for the November elections.

 

[Goldenseal]

I'm curious when you say "scented SM" do they give the dogs something of hers with her scent on it and have them try to find that scent? How would LE get the scent of a mountain lion?

Yes, they would generally give the dogs a whiff of a piece of unwashed clothing, AFAIK. (I only knew drug/bomb dogs/handlers). Something like a strong mountain lion smell would make any dog agitated and a good handler would likely pick up on that and send them off on that smell. I'm guessing on that one, though, just from an instance where a bomb dog alerted strongly on . . . something else of interest. Just my one observation; I'm no expert, just a former acquaintance of experts.

 

[OldCop]

@OldCop
Ok.....let's say the meth lab was found. Does it at that point become closed up and then they seek a search warrant?

By the way, I appreciate your simple yet direct explanation.

Get out of my head! I was going to use the meth lab example as well! First SW-Do they have to be super specific in what they are looking for, and then, if they spot the meth lab, can they touch it? Or if there is no meth lab specified in SW#1, do they have to go back and request SW #2 for the meth?

@Warwick7 and @DizzyB, I’ll try to answer both of you together.
1) When LE obtains a search warrant, it must be specific as to what they are searching for. There must be probable cause to believe that a crime has been committed or is about to be committed at that location and that specific evidence relating to that crime will be found there.
2) When LE finds evidence on personal property and they have a search warrant, if they find something else that is illegal but not mentioned in the search warrant, can they seize it? That depends...... If your warrant says you are looking for the rifle that killed John Doe and during that search you found a bloody shirt on the floor of the closet, you could seize the bloody shirt. That is because the rifle you are looking for could have been hidden in that closet. On the other hand, if you found a kilo of cocaine in a small desk drawer, you could not seize it because the rifle you are looking for could not have fit in that small drawer so you shouldn’t have looked in it. On the other hand if you were looking for a bullet from the rifle that killed John Doe, you could have looked in a small drawer and found and seized the cocaine as part of a legal search because the bullet could easily fit in the small drawer.
As you can imagine, there is an art and a science to writing a good search warrant/probable cause affidavit. Police academies teach classes on the subject and many LE will meet with assistant district attorneys to review their affidavits before submitting them to a charge, particularly in complex and high profile cases.
There are two additional doctrines to remember about searches:
1] The Plain View or Plain Sight doctrine states that if a LE Officer is legally on the premises and sees something illegal which is in plain sight, they can seize it. For example, you go to the home of Bill Smith to interview him about a homicide that recently took place. He invites you in and you sit in the living room. You see a handgun sitting on a side table in plain sight. Bill is a convicted felon and does not have a handgun permit. You can seize the gun and arrest Bill.
2) The Fruit of the Poisonous Tree doctrine states that any evidence found as the result of an illegal search is not admissible in court. This one is so important and why any good LE will dot their i’s and cross their t’s when it comes to searches and search warrants. It is also why any good defense attorney will minutely dissect all pieces of evidence against his client as to where and how they were found.

 

[UnapologeticallyAspie]

Oh my! I hope he is mentally ok, I don't think I would be!

Me too! I told her that I was praying that he wouldn’t sustain PTSD.

 

[Sillybilly]

And, lets add: since she is hard of hearing, it had to have been very loud for her to have been awoken from sleep.

Not necessarily because it depends on the specific hearing loss the neighbour has. There are different types and it depends what area of the ear is affected (middle or inner ear, nerve damage or not) and what frequencies the hearing loss is in. I've worn hearing aids since my 20s. I am my very own seismometer ... I can sense mild vibration before other people even hear it. With or without hearing aids I know beforehand when a train, helicopter, elevator is coming before people with 'normal' hearing even hear it. Without hearing aids I don't hear people at all but can hear the dog's toenails on the floor. Even with hearing aids I might watch a duet and make out one singer's word perfectly clear and not make out the words of the other singer at all.

Not sure the above is helpful at all.

 

[FelicityLemon]

I took a break for a couple of weeks, but check the web daily for an updates from MSM and reputable sources. I see nothing new, so I'll add my own tired, old refrains among the others.

My first thought would be to call LE and report that I heard heavy equipment running and worry that “someone may be trying to steal something from the construction site”. That would have recorded a date and time, but alas... I know, armchair quarterbacking, but I'm one who votes for calling the police when something's not right and I'm a woman alone. The worst that would happen would be a wasted journey for LE to inspect the property, feel the machinery for heat, etc. and find nothing. In NO way, would I think to go over there and check for myself. I'd be keeping my lights off in the hopes that any potential bad guys wouldn't know I was there.

I'm paraphrasing, but it has been reported in MSM: LE made the statement that nobody has been “formally” cleared only means that nobody has been “formally” cleared - I can interpret that to mean that BM has been investigated up the wazoo and they know he had nothing to do with it, but they aren't going to “formally” announce anything just to suit the public's interest. They rarely “formally” declare someone's not a suspect. It happens, but it's rare. Big whoop. They could have just declared that nobody has been cleared, but they didn't. Yes, I know of the second SW for the M's home. It could be that something came up in the investigation that directed them specifically to verify something there and they're making sure either way.

 

[Tate123]

The PE guys invited BM to join their podcast and they want to ask BM how Suzanne is doing?
Would anyone accept that invite with such a loaded question?

No, it's almost antagonistic. Poor choice of words.

 

[EggSalad]

I tend to think that if the CBI wasn’t called that night, it was early the next day.

I’m sure law enforcement would have searched that house, as her life could have been in jeopardy (exigency existed).

They wouldn’t have used luminol at that point, as that would have been done with trained forensic experts, almost certainly with a warrant in hand.

So if law enforcement did discover something inside the house that night, I think it was readily visible to the naked eye.

This could explain the quick call to the CBI.

other, completely speculative options:

-A confidant of SM came forward with info. Something like ‘SM texted me this week and said if she goes missing to _______’

-A prior history of the M family that is known by LE but not public

-Not just a visual clue at the home but perhaps a scent. What if a specific part of the house smelled strongly of cleaner. Or visually, a large quantity of empty cleaner bottles seen.

This is obviously not an exhaustive list, just trying to throw out speculation on why LE seemed to be so focused on foul play so quickly.

 

[Janeumayer]

Not necessarily because it depends on the specific hearing loss the neighbour has. There are different types and it depends what area of the ear is affected (middle or inner ear, nerve damage or not) and what frequencies the hearing loss is in. I've worn hearing aids since my 20s. I am my very own seismometer ... I can sense mild vibration before other people even hear it. With or without hearing aids I know beforehand when a train, helicopter, elevator is coming before people with 'normal' hearing even hear it. Without hearing aids I don't hear people at all but can hear the dog's toenails on the floor. Even with hearing aids I might watch a duet and make out one singer's word perfectly clear and not make out the words of the other singer at all.

Not sure the above is helpful at all.

Very helpful and fascinating. Thank you Sillybilly!