What we know about a rural Colorado crime scene near where Suzanne Morphew was found
SAGUACHE COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) - 13 Investigates is learning more about a crime scene where state agents were believed to have found the remains of missing Chaffee County woman Suzanne Morphew.
Morphew went missing on Mother's Day in 2020. Wednesday, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) announced her remains were found near Moffat in Saguache County on Sept. 22, 2023. The El Paso County Coroner confirmed the remains belonged to Morphew on Sept. 27, 2023.
Just south of Moffat, tattered crime scene tape was found road near mile marker 103 on Highway 17 - roughly 50 minutes south of her Salida home.
We spoke with the Moffat Fire Chief and several other community members who confirmed they saw investigators with the CBI.
The CBI, however, has yet to officially confirm this scene as the exact location where she was found.
13 Investigates reached out to the Denver lawyer who represented Morphew's husband when he was originally charged with her trial.
Attorney Iris Eytan, the lawyer for Barry Morphew, provided our team with a statement on his behalf. In it, Eytan alleged investigators never initially searched where her body was found "because they only focused on Barry being the suspect."
Eytan provided a map the FBI reportedly used when reviewing Barry's whereabouts the day before Morphew's disappearance.
The statement went on to question what happened to the other individuals found in this area of Saguache County, including Edna Quintana - the woman the CBI said investigators were originally searching for when they found Morphew's remains.
Read the full statement below:
“The first and most important focus should be that the Morphew’s just learned that they lost their beautiful mother and wife after she disappeared 3 ½ years ago.
What appears to be the overriding focus is a finger pointing right back where it started 3 ½ years ago: a movement to blindly re-accuse Barry for Suzanne’s death.
Here are the facts.
According to the authorities, Suzanne Morphew was NOT found anywhere in the vicinity of her home, the town nearby, or the county she lived in. She was found in Moffat, Colorado. Moffat is 45 miles south and a 45-minute drive away from the Morphew home located in Maysville, Colorado.
According to authorities who found Suzanne, her remains were found in a shallow grave in a dry desert field of sagebrush and natural grasses. Contrary to prior accusations, her remains were not found in a rocky mountainous region near her home, not in a location that was a “difficult spot” to get to, or near the home and impossible to get to due to being in a mine or under frozen tundra and buried under 6 feet of snow.
Barry was the most scrutinized, dissected, surveilled individual, minute by minute, hour by hour using law enforcement cameras posted by his home, phone taps and GPS devices placed on his car – all during the time frame of her disappearance and the years following.
At no time did the FBI, CBI, Chaffee County Sheriff Office or DA’s Office pinpoint or even generally claim that Barry was in any area south of his home, near Moffat or anywhere near Saguache County at any relevant time frame. It would be ludicrous for anyone to now try to fit the now known facts to prior false assumptions and accusations.
It was the Saguache County Officials that fortunately stumbled onto Suzanne’s remains last week while looking for another missing woman, Edna Quintana. Law enforcement officials that were supposedly looking for Suzanne, were never looking for Suzanne in the Moffat area or area South of Maysville, because they only focused in on Barry being the suspect. And, they knew Barry was not South of Maysville, and certainly not 45 miles South.
The authorities focused their search for Suzanne in the area near the Morphew home utilizing his phone and car forensics. The authorities pointed to the locations where Barry was May 9 and 10, 2020. Barry was in Salida (north of his home), or in or near his home, and then on May 10, 2020 at 5:00 a.m. drove to Broomfield, Colorado, a city 156 miles North of Maysville. He was never south of the house, and that is why they did not search that area. See FBI’s map relied upon by the authorities about Barry’s whereabouts on May 9 and 10, 2020.
The Morphew home, Barry’s truck, Suzanne’s and daughters’ vehicles were immediately searched for evidence of human remains and Suzanne’s blood using both forensics and dog sniff searches. There was no forensic evidence of Suzanne’s deceased body or blood in any of the vehicles.
What needs to be done instead of pointing fingers at Barry Morphew, is asking the officials about the number of missing people and number of human remains that have been recovered in or from Saguache County in the recent past.
Whatever happened to Krystal Reisinger, Edna Quintana, Suzanne, the man whose remains were found by Saguache County Sheriff’s office in the foothills on July 26, 2023, or the remains of the person found in another area in Saguache County last weekend (more info to come from authorities tomorrow). What were the circumstances of their disappearances, what is cause and manner of death of the remains found in the area, what happened to them, are they looking for other remains in this area?
The public should demand answers about these five people who suspiciously went missing or were found dead in this area.
The Morphew family and legal team believe that CBI, local law enforcement, and the local DA’s office have a conflict of interest and should not be involved in the future investigation of Suzanne’s death. An objective and unbiased examination of Suzanne’s death can only be conducted by an outside and independent team of investigators.
When law enforcement focuses in on one person and refuses to review evidence objectively and fairly, it is a disservice to the community and creates exactly what has come to light…years of unsolved murders. “
*The family is experiencing intense grief and all statements from them will be handled through their legal team.
Iris Eytan
Jane Byrialsen
Morphew Family and Civil Rights Attorneys
