Suzanne Morphew’s remains were found in a Colorado body dump called “The Boneyard,” where investigators found a 26-year-old would-be Marine in July and are continuing their search for a missing 55-year-old woman.
Corinna Montoya, whose son James Montoya disappeared the day before his scheduled meeting with Navy recruiters, told on Friday that she had visited the site herself and felt the eerie isolation after her son’s body was found in a remote part of the Thin populated Saguache district was discovered.
“It’s just so crazy that this is all happening in the same area,” the 56-year-old mother said.
“They call it The Boneyard because there are so many people there and it’s such a secluded area.
“To see where my son was, there are actually no cars around.” “You could be in that one area for hours and not see anyone.”
The body of missing mother Suzanne Morphew, pictured with husband Barry, was found in Moffat, Colorado on September 22, three years after her disappearance
Morphew’s remains were found in the same remote landfill known as the “Boneyard” where the body of aspiring Marine James Montoya, 26, (left) was discovered in July during a search for missing 55-year-old Edna Quintana
Her son disappeared on April 2nd. The mother told that James took an Uber that evening to a bar in Lakewood, Denver, where he met two men and later left with them.
His live-in girlfriend noticed he hadn’t returned at dawn and reported him missing, the mother said.
“They probably wanted to hang out or give him a ride home,” Montoya said.
She suspects she knows the people may have been involved in her son’s disappearance, but didn’t want to discuss details because the investigation is ongoing.
She said her son “loved to laugh and was very family oriented.”
He installed kitchen cabinets for a Home Depot subsidiary after working on cell tower construction.
“He had an appointment with the Marines the next day,” she said. “That was his lifelong dream, to join the Marines.”
“He just felt that being a Marine and having the chance to fight in defense of this country gave you respect.”
His body was found in July in the foothills west of Saguache Peak off County Road 46AA, Colorado radio station KRDO reported.
At that time, investigators had conducted an independent search for Edna Quintana, a 55-year-old with known medical complications who was last seen in the area on May 3.
But on Sept. 22, while searching for Quintana, investigators instead found Suzanne Morphew’s remains scattered in a shallow grave in a remote field near Moffat in Saguache County, 50 minutes from her home in Salida.
The 49-year-old was last seen on May 10, 2020, when she set out for a bike ride from the house where she lived with husband Barry and their two daughters.
Her bike was found the day she disappeared, discarded in a ravine near her home in the mountains.
Baryr and Suzanne Morphew had both had affairs, and she had texted him days before her disappearance that she was “done” with their marriage.
Barry was arrested and charged with murder a year after her disappearance – although no body was found at the time.
At a preliminary hearing in 2021, police officers showed the court Suzanne’s text message exchanges with her lover, in which she told him she had a nice night and was looking at houses for sale.
Bary Morphew was charged with the murder of his wife, but the case was dismissed without prejudice – meaning it can be reopened
Barry Morphew arrived in court in Salida, Colorado, in November 2021, flanked by his daughters Macy (left) and Malorie
When her husband came home from work that day, he found Suzanne sunbathing in the garden. She sent pictures of herself to Libler via LinkedIn, through which the couple communicated behind her husband’s back.
The court was then shown a photo of Suzanne that she had sent that day to her lover Jeff Libler, in which she was lying on her stomach in a bikini and smiling at her $1.3 million home.
Barry later told investigators that his wife looked “drunk” in the photo. Officials said it was Suzanne’s last evidence of life.
The next day, Libler wished Suzanne a happy Mother’s Day and said he knew it would be a hard day for her because she missed her mother. Suzanne never responded.
His last known text message to Suzanne was sent on May 11, 2020, wishing her well with her cancer treatment. This message also remained unanswered.
Suzanne had survived two bouts with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, decades apart.
Just days before her disappearance, Suzanne texted her husband, apparently signaling to him her intention to end their troubled marriage.
“I’m done,” Suzanne wrote to Barry on May 6. “I don’t give a damn what you’re up to, and I haven’t for years.” “We just have to sort this out civilly.”
After arguments over the evidence and procedure, the charges against Barry were dropped without prejudice a year later – meaning he could be charged again if new evidence came to light.
There have been no arrests since Morphew’s remains were found.