Investigator explains FBI’s involvement in Chaffee County missing woman case

CHAFFEE COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- It's now been eight days since anyone has seen 49-year-old Suzanne Morphew. Amid continued search efforts, KRDO sat down with former Pueblo County Sheriff Dan Corsentino to explain what goes into an investigation like this.

Morphew had gone biking Sunday while her husband was out of town in Denver, according to the family. Now the FBI, along with state and several county agencies, have joined the search.

Morphew's husband, Barry, shared an emotional plea to Facebook Sunday saying, "No questions asked, however much they want. I will do whatever it takes to get you back."

The video followed an announcement of a $200,000 reward for information leading to a safe return.

It's something that's caught the attention of former Pueblo County Sheriff and now Private Investigator Dan Corsentino.

"It seems to me there is something more driving this case that none of us know about at this point in time," he said.

Morphew, 49, was reported missing on Mother's Day in the Maysville area.

Members of the sheriff's office, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and the FBI have been searching the area, shutting down Highway 50 over Monarch Pass, and having a rescue dive team look through bodies of water.

Although Corsentino says the FBI's involvement does bring out some clues.

"The sheriff of Chaffee County would say that he has information that is pertinent to something beyond Chaffee County and they want the FBI to search outside Chaffee County," he said.

While investigators have found "what's believed to be a personal item" belonging to Morphew, they haven't said what the item is.

"They want to maintain the integrity of this case. They want to make sure there are no leaks in the case especially if they have some suspicion of a person who may be involved, like a person of interest," Corsentino said.

Without much to go off of, he says his past in law enforcement leads him to believe there are unusual circumstances.

"This case is going to be something more than I think a family-related case. That's just my gut instinct," Corsentino said.

Sunday, the Chaffee County Sheriff's Office asked that county residents preserve any and all video footage from devices such as Ring doorbells, security cameras and game cameras from May 8-12.

Investigators will contact residents in locations of interest to collect any camera footage within that time period. They ask that residents do not send any video, but to wait until they are contacted by investigators.

Anyone with information about Morphew's disappearance is asked to call a tip line at 719-312-7530.