Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #4

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I'm just going to wait for updates from LE.
I'm all out of speculating about scenarios, ranging from the straightforward and simplest to complicated movie plots with twists and turns.
Very sad, my thoughts are with Suzanne's loved ones.
 
LE asked for people *not* to send in the videos just yet.
This struck me as odd, from the beginning. It makes zero sense that LE would risk that people even know how to save footage. How many even know how often it gets over written? I don't on mine, plus online is different than local storage, and local storage can vary by memory card size. It just screams that they are saying "it's cool, we've got this figured out."
 
I do not believe I have read in MSM that any people have been cleared yet or named as POI? so we really don't know the status of the investigation at this point other than they sealed the warrant. right?
IMO
 
Probable Cause (PC) for a search warrant (SW) requires showing that there is a substantial probability that items searched for are:

(1) Connected with criminal activity, and;
(2) Likely to be found on the premises.

How do the police persuade an impartial magistrate that there’s a substantial probability of items connected with criminal activity and that such items are likely found on the premises? In the warrant application, criminal investigators will submit sworn statements listing their reasons for believing both (1) and (2) are the case. The affidavit cannot say, “In my considered judgment as a criminal investigator, there is a substantial likelihood that there are items on the premises connected with criminal activity and they are likely to be found on the premises.” Instead, the affidavit must assist the impartial magistrate in making an independent judgment that both (1) and (2) are true.

So, take the case of Casey Anthony. Imagine the sworn statements the investigators submitted in their application for a search warrant. Or, take a look at the application and warrant here:

https://shakedowntitle.files.wordpress.com/2017/03/60117140-casey-anthony-various-documents.pdf

I hope that's helpful.

That is very helpful indeed. Thanks for taking the time out to explain it.
Much appreciated.
 
Hi, all -- By road, the correctional facility is about 25 miles to Salida from Buena Vista.

If you take Highway 285 from Buena Vista to Salida, you can bypass Salida and end up in Poncha Springs; a left turn at the junction of 285 and Highway 50 takes you another 12 miles to Maysville. SM's house is not right on Highway 50; from satellite photos, you have to turn onto another road and then drive a bit -- someone made a map from Google satellite photos showing that back in Thread 1 or 2 here. There does not appear to be direct access from 50 to her house. It's wooded and hilly, and though you could probably walk down the backside of a hill and get to 50, you'd have to drive on the available road to get there by car.

The correctional facility sits near the junction of 285 and Highway 24; there's a lot of heavy truck traffic and other traffic at that intersection, as 285 is how you get to Denver and 24 is how you get to Leadville and the mountain communities past that along I-70.

You can see the <a href="خرائط ‪Google‬‏‏">satellite image of the facility and the highways on Google.</a>

Click the satellite image in the lower left corner to see how it looks topographically. (did that link come through?)

The facility has been in this area for decades. Not sure what its procedures are for release, but most likely they'll have to have family or friends come to pick them up. There is car service in this area -- Uber and Lyft -- and I just looked up how much it would cost to get to Salida from BV via Lyft. It's about $35, which is probably prohibitive for somebody just getting released from prison. But the inmate might not be from the immediate area, so they'd probably have to get it figured out.

PrisonPro notes that it's considered a minimum security facility that houses inmates soon slated for release and that the primary function of the facility is to prepare inmates for that release:
Buena Vista Correctional Complex Visiting hours, inmate phones, mail

Also, there is at least one known inmate who was quarantined last month because he tested positive for COVID-19. He was a transfer from Denver, according to Cañon City Daily Record:
Department of Corrections says inmate in Buena Vista tests positive for COVID-19 – Canon City Daily Record

Thanks for all the additional details! From what I understand, there is a medium-security facility at the Complex as well as some minimum-security.
 
Or an expensive bike wouldn't be stolen in a half an hour. Not feeling the bike was staged at all.

I don’t either. The bike and personal items strewn about seems more like an accident/medical event of some sort. Maybe she was injured and wandered off somewhere...statistically this still seems more likely than an opportunistic killer. JMO
 
Yes, A bike left by a trail/road could easily have been stolen. I think the bike is an indication of when she went missing. I can't see returning at a later time to stage the bike. I wish we knew if anyone saw it before it was found by LE
 
Map from her house to the bridge the bike is said to be found on/near? Forgive me if already done.

I think a member (Dave ?) has posted a map previously, it might be in the media no-discussion thread. I posted a map from the Chaffee County Assessor website, but it was deleted because I neglected to include a live link to the map location. The assessor's maps show landowner information, which is helpful for behind the scenes sleuthing. I've only mentioned JR and her house location relative to SM's in another post because now JR's name is in an approved media source article. And I've not mentioned any other info I found elsewhere.

Google Maps is your friend. Or Google Earth. Type "Maysville CO" in the search box, select satellite view, and investigate the area. You can zoom in or out, do street view on main highways and some other areas, and really get a feel for the mountains, roads, tree cover, elevation changes, etc.

There will be a bridge of some kind on any water crossing with vehicle travel, especially in a subdivision, unless it's an unimproved two-track or trail.

IF Suzanne's bike was found on a bridge, do you find it likely that it was on the Country Road 225 or elsewhere?

IF SM's bike was found on a bridge, I think it most likely to be one on County Road 225. IMO

Very anxious to have LE confirmation on any bit of information we can.
 
Yes, A bike left by a trail/road could easily have been stolen. I think the bike is an indication of when she went missing. I can't see returning at a later time to stage the bike. I wish we knew if anyone saw it before it was found by LE

A remote possibility, but ....if SM were riding her bike and had an urgent need to 'go' (it happens!), she would likely have left her bike leaning on a tree or rail or on the ground while she found somewhere to go.
 
Nancy Grace interviewed a reporter named Nicole who claimed that the neighbor did see her biking that day. It's hard to hear because NG kept interrupting her and talking over her when she was trying to talk.

The DM claimed the stepmother heard it from her stepdaughter who apparently heard it from Suzanne's daughter so there is no direct quote from either source. I doubt the stepmother actually spoke to the neighbor but I guess it's possible.

So it's hard to say which is accurate, since they are conflicting reports and nothing has been confirmed yet by LE.

Imo

I'm not going to claim to be a journalism expert, but my recollection from journalism class (from YEARS ago) is that this is essentially reporting hearsay/rumor. The mother heard it from her daughter who allegedly is friends with BM/SMs daughter who may or may not have had first hand knowledge that nobody saw her mother on a bike (and, actually, could likely only have first-hand knowledge that the neighbor didn't seen SM on the bike as opposed to actually knowing that no one saw her on the bike). I think that's a long way around the barn - and while it may be true - I think it's published hearsay and I'd be cautious at this point about taking it as fact. JMO.
 
A remote possibility, but ....if SM were riding her bike and had an urgent need to 'go' (it happens!), she would likely have left her bike leaning on a tree or rail or on the ground while she found somewhere to go.
I do not think it is a remote possibility. LE and Crime van are at her home removing evidence.
 
Does anyone know what the typical time frame of evidence being removed from a scene and lab test & results being completed usually is?

There's no such thing as "typical" when it comes to processing evidence.
So many factors go into it that what is normal in Randomtown, NY would be unheard of in Busycity, FL, or Prettyplace, CO.
Staff available, what kind of evidence (physical v. digital), cases already in the queue, tests done locally v. specialized testing that the evidence has to be sent elsewhere, and the backlogs in that lab, if the case is given priority status, any additional warrants that may be required (the wording of the law is very particular, thankfully) and many other things.
There's just no "general" time frame, really, and every case is different.

jmo
 
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