Daniel Pinna
Clue to missing woman may be on sunken boat, county detective says
Evidence in the case of a Cave Creek woman missing since June may be buried 2,000 feet deep in the waters off San Diego, authorities said Friday.
A Maricopa County Sheriff's detective said he believes a cabin cruiser that burned and sank 11 miles offshore June 5 belongs to Earl Morris. His wife, Ruby, is believed to have been murdered.
Sgt. Darrell Smith said authorities were checking on what it would cost to mount a salvage operation to raise the 26-foot Caravel cabin cruiser from the depths due west of Mission Bay.
"We probably will end up going down and recovering the boat," he said. Smith said that witnesses to the fire said letters on the transom of the burning boat appeared to spell "Hi Lo," the name of Morris' boat, and "Phoenix, Arizona."
The detective added that Morris' boat could not be found at its slip in the Mission Bay marina in San Diego. "It appears to be one and the same boat," he said. "Our first problem is to find out if it's the right boat, and then we would go over it for whatever it might reveal," said Smith, who declined to speculate on what investigators might find.
Ruby Morris, 49, has been missing since June 4. Smith said evidence at the couple's home in the 7000 block of East Sierra Vista in Cave Creek indicates she was slain there.
Smith said Earl Morris lied when he told authorities that he was on his way to California when his car broke down in Blythe, Calif., and that he hitchhiked home when he learned his wife was missing.
"We know for a fact he was not in Blythe," Smith said. "He was in the San Diego harbor area. We know he flew back to Arizona on a commercial airline." In June, Morris told investigators that he was visiting a daughter in North Hollywood, Calif., on June 4 and 5, but she told police that her father had not been there, Smith said.
Morris' car was found at the San Diego airport, authorities said. Smith said that Morris, the wealthy owner of a northeast Phoenix tax-accounting firm, is considered "an investigative lead, (but) he refuses to talk to us without his attorney."
Morris also refused to discuss the case with The Arizona Republic. The couple were married for 30 years, authorities said.
Ruby Morris' personal effects, except for her purse, were found in the house, and a ground and air search turned up no trace of her. Smith said the woman's "pride and joy," a 1984 Cadillac, was found parked and unlocked along a driveway at the home. She normally kept the vehicle in the garage.
She failed to keep a shopping date June 4 with a daughter who came to pick her up at the Morris home. "We feel there has been a crime of violence in the residence," the detective said. "As far as we're concerned, she's dead. We just haven't recovered the body."
- Written by John Schroeder for The Arizona Republic on October 11th 1989
A Maricopa County Sheriff's detective said he believes a cabin cruiser that burned and sank 11 miles offshore June 5 belongs to Earl Morris. His wife, Ruby, is believed to have been murdered.
Sgt. Darrell Smith said authorities were checking on what it would cost to mount a salvage operation to raise the 26-foot Caravel cabin cruiser from the depths due west of Mission Bay.
"We probably will end up going down and recovering the boat," he said. Smith said that witnesses to the fire said letters on the transom of the burning boat appeared to spell "Hi Lo," the name of Morris' boat, and "Phoenix, Arizona."
The detective added that Morris' boat could not be found at its slip in the Mission Bay marina in San Diego. "It appears to be one and the same boat," he said. "Our first problem is to find out if it's the right boat, and then we would go over it for whatever it might reveal," said Smith, who declined to speculate on what investigators might find.
Ruby Morris, 49, has been missing since June 4. Smith said evidence at the couple's home in the 7000 block of East Sierra Vista in Cave Creek indicates she was slain there.
Smith said Earl Morris lied when he told authorities that he was on his way to California when his car broke down in Blythe, Calif., and that he hitchhiked home when he learned his wife was missing.
"We know for a fact he was not in Blythe," Smith said. "He was in the San Diego harbor area. We know he flew back to Arizona on a commercial airline." In June, Morris told investigators that he was visiting a daughter in North Hollywood, Calif., on June 4 and 5, but she told police that her father had not been there, Smith said.
Morris' car was found at the San Diego airport, authorities said. Smith said that Morris, the wealthy owner of a northeast Phoenix tax-accounting firm, is considered "an investigative lead, (but) he refuses to talk to us without his attorney."
Morris also refused to discuss the case with The Arizona Republic. The couple were married for 30 years, authorities said.
Ruby Morris' personal effects, except for her purse, were found in the house, and a ground and air search turned up no trace of her. Smith said the woman's "pride and joy," a 1984 Cadillac, was found parked and unlocked along a driveway at the home. She normally kept the vehicle in the garage.
She failed to keep a shopping date June 4 with a daughter who came to pick her up at the Morris home. "We feel there has been a crime of violence in the residence," the detective said. "As far as we're concerned, she's dead. We just haven't recovered the body."
- Written by John Schroeder for The Arizona Republic on October 11th 1989
Date & Place:
in Cave Creek, Maricopa County, Arizona 85331, United States
