The 49-year-old Chaffee County resident went missing on Mother’s Day in 2020 <br>
This developing story is by Olivia Prentzel, for The Colorado Sun <br>
Human remains discovered this month in Saguache County were identified Wednesday as Suzanne Morphew, a Chaffee County woman who went missing in May 2020, according to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
Investigators found Morphew’s remains Friday while searching near the town of Moffat during an investigation unrelated to her disappearance, the CBI said.
The agency said it would not release the exact location where the remains were found or provide additional details on the state of the remains.
No arrests have been made.
“While this case has garnered attention from around the world, it has touched our community and the sheriff’s office deeply,” Chaffee County Sheriff John Spezze said in a statement Wednesday. “We have never stopped our investigation and will continue to follow all leads in pursuit of justice for Suzanne.”
About a year after Morphew was reported missing on Mother’s Day in 2020, her husband, Barry Morphew, was charged with her murder. The charges were dropped on April 19, 2022, with the prosecutor saying without a body the case could not move forward.
In an interview with “Good Morning America” in May, Barry Morphew denied his involvement in her disappearance. The same month, he filed a $15 million lawsuit against prosecutors and investigators accusing them of violating his constitutional rights.
The area where Suzanne’s remains were found is about 45 minutes from the mountain community of Maysville, where she lived with her family.
She was reported missing by a neighbor after she went for a bike ride. Her bicycle was later found down a steep ravine off Chaffee County Road 225 from Highway 50. Deputies said the bike didn’t look like it was involved in a crash and that there was no blood on the scene.
In her car, investigators also found male DNA that corresponds with partial profiles found in three unsolved sexual assault cases. Barry Morphew’s DNA was not found in the DNA sample, according to his lawyers, KUSA-TV reported.
No other evidence linked to her has been found despite extensive searches in the three years she has been missing.
This is a developing story that will be updated.