Name: Suzanne Renee Morphew
Age: 49 years old
Last seen: May 10, 2020
Location: Salida, Colorado
Status: Found deceased on September 22, 2023
Case Information
49-year-old Suzanne Morphew was last seen in Salida, Colorado on May 10, 2020. She disappeared on Mother’s Day after allegedly going for a bike ride in the morning.
Background
Suzanne Renee Morphew was born on April 30, 1971. Suzanne grew up in Alexandria, Indiana, where she met her future husband, Barry Morphew, during high school. They both attended Purdue University and married in 1994.
Suzanne worked as a middle school teacher before becoming a full-time mother to raise the couple’s two daughters. In 2018, the family moved to a home just outside of Salida to be closer to their older daughter who was attending college in Colorado.
The Disappearance of Suzanne Morphew
On May 10, 2020, Suzanne Morphew was last seen by her husband Barry at their home in Maysville, Colorado. She was still sleeping in their bed when he left at 5:00 am for a job in Broomfield, Colorado, just outside of Denver.
Later that day, Suzanne supposedly went for a bike ride in the area of County Road 225 and West Highway 50, near the small mountain town of Salida in Chaffee County, Colorado.
Suzanne Morphew never returned home and hasn’t been heard from since.
Her two daughters, who had been away on a camping trip and were on their way back home, texted their mother to wish her a Happy Mother’s Day but received no response. They contacted their father, telling him they had been unable to reach her.
Barry, who was reportedly away at work at the time, called a neighbor and asked them to check on Suzanne. When the neighbor called back to let him know there was no sign of Suzanne or her bike at the house Barry asked them to contact the police.
That evening the neighbor filed a missing persons report with the Chaffee County Colorado Sheriff’s Office when Suzanne didn’t return home.
Investigation
Suzanne’s sunglasses, hydration backpack, driver’s license, and credit cards were found left behind inside her car at home.
Sheriff’s deputies found Suzanne‘s bicycle on the day she disappeared. It was found down a steep ravine on the side of a cliff off Chaffee County Road 225 from Highway 50, not fat from her home. Her helmet was discovered four days later, about a mile away off Highway 50.
Authorities found no signs of a struggle, blood, or clothing at the scene, and the bicycle did not look like it had been involved in a crash.
Unknown DNA was found on the bike grips and handlebar of Suzanne’s bicycle. It did not match her husband Barry, but his DNA was found on the bike seat.
Authorities learned that Suzanne Morphew had a strained marriage with her husband and had plans to leave him. On May 6, 2020, she told him in a text message “I’m done,” indicating that she wanted to end the relationship.
Barry Morphew denied any involvement in his wife’s disappearance, and denied that their marriage was in trouble. He added that Suzanne had been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma and was having trouble going to her chemotherapy treatments for the last couple of years.
Barry Morphew Charged With Murder
In May 2021, Barry Morphew was arrested for the murder of his wife Suzanne. He was charged with first-degree murder, tampering with a deceased human body, tampering with physical evidence, possession of a dangerous weapon, and attempted influence of a public servant.
Evidence showed that Barry’s cell phone pinged all around his house on Mother’s Day weekend 2020. A plastic cap for a syringe, believed to be used to load a tranquilizer dart, was discovered in the couple’s dryer with Suzanne’s DNA on it.
Authorities found a “spy pen” device which captured several intimate conversations between Suzanne and Jeff Libler, a man she knew from high school in Alexandria, with whom she had been in an extramarital affair for the past two years.
On May 9, 2020, records showed that Suzanne Morphew and her high school flame messaged each other 59 times. She sent him a selfie which police dubbed as her last “proof of life” photo.
Authorities believe that Barry Morphew killed his wife when he returned home that afternoon after running some errands. They allege he shot her with a tranquilizer gun, disposed of her body, and staged the bike crash.
On May 10, 2020, Barry Morphew left early the next morning and was captured on surveillance cameras throwing out trash at multiple locations around Broomfield, Colorado, while in town for work.
Murder Case Dismissed
On April 19, 2022, Barry Morphew’s case was dismissed without prejudice after all charges were dropped by prosecution, just days before he was set to stand trial.
Authorities cited that the weather complicated efforts to search for Suzanne’s body in a remote and mountainous region near the couple’s home where they believed she was located.
In May 2023, Barry Morphew filed a $15 million lawsuit against authorities, claiming a malicious criminal prosecution against him in the disappearance case of his wife.
Remains of Suzanne Morphew Found
On September 27, 2023, the Colorodo Bureau of Investigation (CBI) announced that remains found in Saguache County on September 22, 2023, had been positively identified as Suzanne Morphew.
“Specific information about the location and the state of the remains are being withheld at this time,” the CBI statement says. “No arrests have been made since the remains were located. Updates will be provided as information becomes available during this ongoing investigation. Family notifications have been made following the formal identification of Suzanne Morphew.”
Morphew was found buried in a shallow grave, with her bones being dispersed over the years, according to the coroner.
Appearance
Physical Description:
White female born on April 30, 1971. Suzanne has brown hair, blue eyes, stands 5’4 tall and weighs 110 pounds.
Distinctive Physical Features:
No information available.
Clothing and accessories:
No information available.
Investigating Agency
If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Suzanne Morphew please contact the Chaffee County Colorado Sheriff’s Office at (719) 539-2596 or call the Colorado Bureau of Investigation at (719) 647-5999.
Resources & Further Information
Suzanne Renee Morphew – Colorado Bureau of Investigation
Find Suzanne Morphew – Facebook
News & Media Links
Family pleads for safe return of missing Colorado mom Suzanne Morphew who disappeared after Mother’s Day bike ride – NBC News 05/2020
Husband of missing Colorado woman arrested, charged with murder year after disappearance – ABC News 05/2021
Judge dismisses murder charges against Barry Morphew in wife Suzanne’s disappearance – CBS News – ABC News 04/2022
Authorities say they are “close” to finding Suzanne Morphew’s body but need to wait for snow to melt; charges against husband dismissed – CBS News 04/2022
Suzanne Morphew’s husband and daughters speak out for 1st time since filing lawsuit – ABC News 05/2023
Suzanne Morphew’s husband proclaims innocence in wife’s presumed death – NBC News 05/2023
Evidence in the Suzanne Morphew case – CBS News 06/2023
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