Daughters of missing Colorado woman stand by their father

DENVER (AP) — The two adult daughters of a Colorado man who had been charged in the presumed death of their missing mother said in an interview that aired Friday that they are standing behind him and do not believe he had anything to do with her disappearance.

Barry Morphew pleaded for help finding Suzanne Morphew after she disappeared and was reported missing on Mother’s Day in 2020 but he was arrested and charged with murder in her death and other crimes last year. He pleaded not guilty and was scheduled to go to trial last month, but prosecutors dropped the charges.

“We just know our dad better than anyone else and we know he was not involved in our mom’s disappearance,” Mallory Morphew told ABC's “Good Morning America” in the interview, as her sister Macy nodded in an agreement. Barry Morphew sat between them, holding their hands.

“I just love my girls and I love my wife. I just want her to be found,” Barry Morphew said of his wife.

It was the first time that Suzanne Morphew's daughters have spoken with the media about the allegations their father faced. Their comments come just before the second anniversary of their mother's disappearance from the couple's home near the mountain community of Maysville.

The prosecutors dropped the criminal charges against Barry Morphew after a judge prohibited them from presenting most of their key witnesses at the trial as punishment for repeatedly failing to follow rules for turning over evidence in Barry Morphew's favor.

The evidence included DNA from an unknown male linked to sexual assault cases in other states, which was found in Suzanne Morphew’s SUV, raising the possibility of another suspect being involved.

In the court filing asking to drop the charges, District Attorney Linda Stanley cited that disadvantage and the ongoing search for Suzanne Morphew's body as reasons for dropping the case. Prosecutors have the option of filing charges against Barry Morphew later.

Stanley last month also announced that authorities believe they know where Suzanne Morphew's body is — an area then covered by deep snow near the couple's former home in the southern Colorado mountains. Weather has complicated the search but prosecutors and law enforcement believe they are close to finding the body, she said in the April 19 court filing.

Macy Morphew said in Friday's interview that she hoped Stanley does everything possible to find her mother.

“What they've done is not fair and we're never going to stop looking for our mom," she said.

In a statement to ABC, Stanley's office said that that prosecutors and law enforcement “have been diligently searching for Suzanne Morphew since she was reported missing" and continue doing so.