Suzanne Morphew missing: Colorado authorities remain hopeful that a missing mom of two may still resurface after finding a personal item close to her Maysville family home.
Authorities believe they have come across a breakthrough in the case of a missing Colorado mother who vanished six days ago after going bike riding and never to return to he family’s Maysville home.
New developments include Chafee County Sheriff’s Office coming across a personal item belonging to Suzanne Morphew, 49, during the search for the missing mom of two on Thursday.
The discovery follows Sheriff John Spezze saying his department had not ruled out foul play, and that investigators did not believe Morphew had been involved in an animal attack in the remote, mountainous area of central Colorado where she had gone for a bike ride on Mother’s Day.
On Friday, the Chafee County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that investigators had discovered ‘what’s believed to be a personal item of the missing woman’ west of County Road 225 and Highway 50, some 500 meters from Morphew’s home. A trail is located close by.
Authorities are now focusing the search on a specific area and have closed U.S. Highway 50, Monarch Pass until further notice cbsdenver reports.
$200K reward for safe return of missing mom
In a Friday afternoon news release, authorities declined to offer further information about the personal item that was found. The disclosure follows Morphew’s nephew Trevor Noel telling FOX21 that authorities recovered Morphew’s bike on Sunday, but the sheriff’s office has not confirmed this.
Morphew’s husband Barry Morphew who had reportedly been out of town the weekend Suzanne went missing has offered a no-questions-asked $100,000 reward for the safe return of his wife, which was matched by a family friend for a total reward of $200,000.
Of note, Sheriff Spezze said that Morfew’s husband has been cooperative with the investigation. Spezze went on to say that his office was, ‘hopeful that (Suzanne) she is (alive). Obviously as time goes by that gives us concern, but we’re searching as though she’s alive and we do believe she could still be alive.’
Morphew’s relatives have also launched a volunteer search effort for the missing woman which appears to be operating independently from the police investigation.
FBI investigators have also joined the ongoing search effort. Anyone with information on Morphew’s whereabouts should call a tip line set up by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation at (719) 312-7530.
