The Missing Frog Prince…from a Valentine’s Day long ago

 HERE IS A PICTURE OF THE LITTLE FROG PRINCE KEYCHAIN I BOUGHT FROM RED ENVELOPE IN 2009.  IT WAS A VALENTINE’S PRESENT FOR MORGAN – IT IS STILL MISSING, AND HAS NEVER BEEN FOUND!

Today on Valentine’s Day, as I closed my eyes to remember Morgan, another memory “appeared” in my mind.  This happens to me quite often.  They are always important pieces to the puzzle that have to do with Morgan’s case. On the morning of December 2, 2011, when so many things were happening, it was just too much to process.  We had just found our youngest daughter, dead in her bed.  We were in shock.  We were in pain.  And yet we did hear what was being said, and we did retain it.

I have mentioned to other parents, of recently murdered children, that for me it was like hundreds of little puzzle pieces constantly swirling above my head, and all you want is for them to fall into place, in order to show a “complete” picture of what happened to my child.  Then I see these parents open their eyes wide, as if surprised and happy that someone expressed what they themselves have been feeling.  What I usually hear them say, is “Yes, that is exactly it!”

So when the memory of this little keychain “appeared” in my mind I immediately knew why.  The morning of Morgan’s murder, when her felony stalking detective, Garfield County Sheriff Rob Glassmire, asked me if Morgan was missing a keychain, i looked at the rack where we all hung our keys, and said no. The keychain Morgan used to drive the car (my keychain), the one with the front door key on it to the new lock we had put on our front door, was hanging on the rack.  But what I hadn’t remembered that morning was that Morgan did have her own keychain, the one with this little frog prince on it.  I didn’t remember because Morgan had not used it since a couple of weeks after the stalking had started.

Why hadn’t she used her keychain?  Because her car had almost 300,000 miles on it at the time, and was having some mechanical problems.  So when we realized she had a stalker(s) I told her I would prefer she just drive my car, as a safety precaution.  Then when our front door lock started to break, and Steve replaced it, my keychain only had the new front door key on it – the old key was no longer on my keychain.

And why does it matter if her keychain was never found after her murder?  Because it not only had her car key on it, but it also had the old front door key on it.  And that matters because that key also opened the door into the house from the garage, and possibly unlocked the french door from the back patio into the master bedroom – but I never thought of that at the time.  Then after we had gone through all of Morgan’s things and packed them up to move, I realized her keychain was no where to be found.  We looked everywhere, but never found it.  We reported this to the detective, but like so many other details in her case he had no interest in the missing keychain.  Someone knows where this keychain is and could lead us to even more answers.

If you live in Colorado, and if you ever remember seeing someone that may be connected with Morgan’s case, with this same keychain, please contact Northern Colorado Crimes Stoppers.  The process is completely secure and anonymous.  Tips can be sent via telephone, text or email at 800-222-TIPS or 800-222-8477 or via the web at https://www.tipsubmit.com/webtips.aspx?AgencyID=361&DSID=361 or by text or SMS, Text “NOCO (plus your message)” to 274637. Upon reception of your first incoming message, the system will auto-reply with a confirmation containing your unique Tip ID., To submit follow-up information, you simply reply.  Nothing else is needed.  All follow-up tips, and even your replies from the application, are written under the original record.  They are shown threaded and date/time stamped in the narrative.  The thread may be terminated by the text STOP at any time.  You can also manually select the “Terminate Thread” button from within the application.

All calls are anonymous and all communications are encoded and encrypted.

There is a reward available for any tips that lead to an arrest in Morgan’s case – thank you!