← The Final Hours with Sarah Turney and Kourtney Nichole
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- [00:00]
Ryan Reynolds
Foreign.
- [00:06]
Rosetta Stone Advertiser
This is crime house.
- [00:14]
Sarah Turney
You're looking at the front of an old two dollar bill. The edges are worn. It looks like it was folded into eighths to make a rectangle. It seems like it's been that way for a while because the creases are embedded into the paper. On the left side of the bill, A list of 7 Spanish names is written in black pen. They're in all caps and listed Acevedo, Fegerano, Cajero, Duarte, Encinas, Fuente, Gradillas. Written above the list of names, it says Ecclesiastes 12. The serial number on the bill reads H01324800A. There's an arrow on top pointing to the number one and an arrow underneath pointing to the number eight. Investigators will later learn this is a reference to Ecclesiastes 12. 1:8 Words that talk about aging and remembering what matters in life.
- [01:09]
Courtney Nicole
The back of every $2 bill is a picture of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. On this particular note, someone has numbered the first seven men who signed the declaration in chronological order. But there's something even stranger drawn on the back of the bill. A map. It shows a piece of land between southern Tucson, Arizona and the northern border of Mexico, an area known for smuggling.
- [01:32]
Sarah Turney
This was Chuck Morgan's lucky two dollar bill. It may also be the biggest key to understanding why he disappeared.
- [01:46]
Courtney Nicole
Every year, over half a million people go missing, and that's just in the United States alone. Most of those stories barely get a headline. Some don't even get a flyer or a tip line. And when cases do get media attention, we usually only get the broad strokes.
- [02:00]
Sarah Turney
But for those of us who have lived these true crime cases, we know the devil's in the details. This is the final hours. A Crime House original Powered by Pave Studios. I'm Sarah Turney.
- [02:11]
Courtney Nicole
And I'm Courtney. Nicole. Every Monday, Sarah and I will be looking at the final hours of someone's disappearance. The small, seemingly mundane moments to see if there was anything hiding in plain sight.
- [02:22]
Sarah Turney
Looking back at those last conversations, connections and choices is critical, and it could be the key to unlocking it all. Each episode, I'll offer insight on what those closest to the victim might have been going through. And Courtney will use her expertise to give more context into the crime scene, the red flags, and the investigation itself. And we want to thank you for being a part of the Crime House community. Please rate, review and follow the show and for ad free access to every episode. Subscribe to Crime House plus on Apple
- [02:50]
Courtney Nicole
Podcasts this time we're discussing the disappearance of 39 year old Charles Curtis Chuck Morgan on the morning of March 22, 1977, Chuck got into his new Mercury Cougar with two of his daughters. He dropped them at school, then drove off to start a seemingly unsolvable mystery.
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- [05:08]
Sarah Turney
It's 1977. As a loyal husband and father, Chuck Morgan has always provided for his family. Now he's making moves to accelerate his career. On paper, it seems like he's doing the responsible thing for them, but Chuck and his business are navigating some pretty dangerous terrain. Charles Curtis Morgan was born on March 16, 1938 in Everett, Washington. His parents took him to Tucson, Arizona, shortly after, where they had two more boys. That's where Chuck spent most of his life. In 1958, at 20 years old, he married a 25 year old woman named Ruth Eileen Ostrow. Together they had four beautiful daughters. Chuck loved all five of them very much. And they loved him back. Chuck was a quiet person, but he was also social. He was an active freemason, Part of the fraternal group that promotes friendship and community service. And often volunteered with kids through the organization. To everyone who knew him, Chuck was a devoted family man. And he was also a brilliant escrow agent. In fact, his colleagues called him an escrow genius.
- [06:14]
Courtney Nicole
For anyone who doesn't know, an escrow agent is basically a middleman. Someone who holds onto the money and paperwork While the sale of a house is in progress. When all the inspections and paperwork are finished and everyone's agreed terms are met, the escrow agent releases everything. So no one gets paid too early or loses their money. On the surface, it doesn't seem like a very exciting line of work. But in Chuck's case, it came with a lot of risk because in his territory, the area was a target for organized crime. In 1977, almost 200 known gangsters lived between Phoenix and Tucson, Where Chuck's operating his business. The mob settled in Arizona because it shares a border with Mexico, where 90% of heroin in the United States was smuggled from at the time. So the mafia ran narcotics through Tucson and needed to launder its money. That's where escrow and real estate came in. Gangsters used blind trust that concealed their identity to buy desert land with illegal money. They purchased lots that were uninhabitable, but falsely advertised them as valuable for resale. The money that came in appeared as legitimate real estate income. Only the escrow company knew who supplied the original funds. And that information was not publicly accessible, which made it hard for authorities to trace the source of the money. Unless the escrow agent cooperated with those authorities.
- [07:33]
Sarah Turney
Chuck told his wife Ruth, that this kind of money laundering was happening, but he told her he wasn't involved. He felt the less she knew, the safer she'd be. But Chuck was always a little cagey. He gave a bit more information to his friend and colleague, Jeff Toberville. He told Jeff he was close to a powerful gangster and had gotten messed up with the mob, but he didn't elaborate further. Chuck was said to make a couple shady deals behind closed doors, but most knew him as professional and agreeable. He also supposedly worked like a beaver. But in January 1977, he was let go from the company he was working at, called Western Title Insurance. Apparently it was due to a personality clash with his boss. Even so, he made the most of the situation and quickly found a new opportunity. On Friday, February 11, 1977, Chuck took out a $30,000 loan through Banco International. With that money, Chuck planned to take over a company called Statewide Escrow Service. As collateral, he took out a third mortgage on his house, which was a bold move, but he was great at his job and his family supported him. Less enthusiastic was the Arizona Banking Department, the government agency that regulates financial institutions on the state level. They flagged the transaction and put a hold on Chuck's purchase of the company's shares. They even threatened to deny him the license he needed to operate his new business.
- [08:59]
Courtney Nicole
Then, in February 1977, Chuck did something a little uncharacteristic. He visited Ford's firearms company to buy a 4 inch barrel.357 revolver. He told the store's owner, Thomas Ford, that he needed it for a family member. The first week in March, Chuck returned to Ford's. He bought another.357 Magnum. While he was there, he noticed a police officer trying on a bulletproof vest. He asked Thomas about buying one, and he did. Chuck said it would be a good security precaution, since he often carried large sums of money as an escrow agent. Each of the two new guns cost him $160, about $855 in 2026. The bulletproof vest cost $175, which would have been $936. So was it a hefty investment or an early birthday present for himself? Because a week or so later, on Wednesday, March 16, 1977, he celebrated his 39th birthday. Six days later, on Tuesday, March 22, 1977, he woke up and followed his regular morning routine. Chuck got ready to leave his house for the day and drove two of his four daughters to school. But after he dropped them off, nobody had any idea where he went, least of all his wife and daughters. He didn't call or return home that night. And while it seemed unlike him, Ruth figured it was better to wait a few days before involving the police.
- [10:23]
Sarah Turney
I mean, buying these guns and a bulletproof vest feels pretty significant. And especially spending that kind of money after taking out a third mortgage. I mean, this feels like he really needed to buy these things.
- [10:34]
Courtney Nicole
Yeah, especially. You know, people always look back and like to kind of tear apart what somebody was doing in their final moments. And they kind of like to think if they were, you know, showing any type of, like a different version of themselves. And in this case, it really was like such a drastic change in Chuck's behavior. You know, a gun and bulletproof vest, that's not something he or really anybody would do.
- [10:56]
Sarah Turney
Yeah, that's how I feel. It. It feels like this major shift, like he's obviously afraid of something or that he knows that maybe he's getting in a little over his head.
- [11:04]
Courtney Nicole
We see a lot of times, you know, somebody might not want to report their loved one missing right away. You know, if they don't think they or even themselves are, you know, at risk. And I can kind of see why Ruth wanted to wait in this circumstance. Just because of Chuck's line of work, he could be wrapped up in some pretty shady stuff and, you know, that could make him look a certain way.
- [11:26]
Sarah Turney
Yeah. I mean, it's hard though, right? It feels like Ruth knows something that we don't. Right. That maybe there's some type of pattern or some information there that is preventing her from calling the police right away.
- [11:37]
Courtney Nicole
Exactly. And, you know, one thing that I always live by is if you even have the tiniest little gut instinct that something isn't right, just trust your gut. Because most often than not, it's right. So don't ever feel bad about getting into business with people that you aren't 100% comfortable. Because if you. If you feel like this could be a risky situation, just trust your. Your gut instinct.
- [11:58]
Angie Advertiser
Well.
- [11:58]
Sarah Turney
And I can't get past the idea that Chuck feels desperate. Right between the two guns, the bulletproof vest, and the third mortgage on his house. Like, to me, this is a very desperate man.
- [12:08]
Courtney Nicole
I agree.
- [12:10]
Sarah Turney
It's the night of Thursday, March 24, 1977. Ruth crawls into bed and falls asleep, tossing and turning without Chuck beside her. But at 2am the next morning, she wakes to the sound of the dog barking. Then a loud thump on the door. Ruth goes to answer, and to her relief and horror, there's Chuck standing on the porch with one shoe. He has a single plastic handcuff around his ankle and a complete set binding his hands. He's filthy, roughed up, and can't stop crying. He looks like he's been through hell, but at least he's made it home alive to his wife and daughters. Once inside, Chuck doesn't say a word. He just motions to his throat. So Ruth asks, can you talk? He doesn't answer, so she asks, can you write? He shakes his head yes as Ruth rushes to get him a Pen and paper. What Chuck jots down is almost as concerning as the way he showed up. He says his kidnappers have put a hallucinogenic drug in his throat and he's afraid to swallow. He thinks it could drive him permanently insane or destroy his nervous system and kill him. Ruth wants to call the cops and a doctor, but Chuck insists that telling anyone could put the entire family in danger. In fact, he wants her to move the car into the garage so they won't know he's back home. He doesn't specify who.
- [13:29]
Courtney Nicole
For the next week, Chuck's nursed back to health by Ruth. She even gives him water through an eyedropper so he doesn't have to swallow. He also writes down a few things that really shock Ruth. He scrawls out, they took my treasury identification. At first, she has no idea what he's talking about. But then he tells her something she never would have imagined. He was working as a secret agent for the US Federal government's Treasury Department and has been for two or three years. But the explanation ends there. Once Chuck gets his voice back, he fills Ruth in on what happened while he was missing. Someone kidnapped him, drugged him and forced him to drive 110 miles to Phoenix's Sky Harbor Airport. From there, they flew him out of town, but he didn't say where. When they returned, Chuck escaped his captors back at the airport and had to drive home handcuffed. The only other detail he added was that the people who took him stole his lucky two dollar bill.
- [14:27]
Sarah Turney
After this kidnapping, Chuck becomes incredibly cautious. He arranges to have all four of his daughters driven to and from school rather than take the bus. He doesn't let them go anywhere unescorted and they aren't allowed to play outside. Of course, he isn't just worried about his family. He's also terrified for himself. Chuck starts wearing his new bulletproof vest all the time. He keeps a gun strapped to his body and travels with at least one more in his car. Then Chuck lets his hair and beard grow. Before the kidnapping, he'd always looked clean cut with a fresh shave. Now he's scared of being recognized. Chuck eventually tells his wife and friends that he has a lot of damaging information on important people. Politicians, mobsters, people who used to land deals to launder money. But he never gives solid proof of this information. He also never goes into more detail with Ruth about what happened when he was kidnapped. He seems to think keeping her in the dark will keep her safe. But Chuck does tell his friend Jeff something that his kidnapper stole seven platinum bars from his car, worth of $50,000. He doesn't share this with Ruth, though. I mean, I feel like we know that this type of kidnapping, abduction, this type of trauma changes somebody forever. I can't blame him for being paranoid. I also can't blame him for wanting to protect his family.
- [15:48]
Courtney Nicole
Yeah, I totally agree. And I think it's really tough at the end of the day, being somebody who is super close to somebody who's gone through this. You want to do everything they ask, but you're also probably scared, too. You want to go to the police. You want to get as much protection as possible. If the victim that has gone through this is telling you not to. At the end of the day, you just want to listen to them. You just want to be there for them.
- [16:08]
Sarah Turney
Yeah. And it seems like Ruth has, like, a tiny bit of information, but not all the information she needs to know exactly what's going on, Which I think just makes it harder. Like, how do you navigate such a tricky situation? You have your husband who just came home. He's feeling, you know, trauma, anger, fear, you know, a whole wide array of emotions, but there's still this underlying secret that is dangerous for your family.
- [16:31]
Courtney Nicole
Yeah. I can't imagine how Ruth was feeling, you know, after having your husband go. Go missing for days, and then having him come back and be so paranoid. Buying guns, buying bulletproof vests, that is terrifying. And then only knowing a small portion of, you know, what his work is and without getting all the details. That must just be so scary. Like, you just don't know what to expect.
- [16:50]
Sarah Turney
Yeah, I mean, this is a lot of money. And I think we know with a lot of money comes a lot of bad people sometimes.
- [16:56]
Courtney Nicole
That is very true. On Wednesday, May 4, 1977, about a month and a half after Chuck returns home, he's subpoenaed in a land fraud case. The state's Attorney General wants Chuck to testify about a scheme his friend is involved with. Banco International, which is also the bank Chuck got his loan from to buy majority shares in statewide escrow. In fact, the Attorney General has been trying to get him to testify for a while. It's why the sale of those shares was frozen, as leverage to get him to cooperate. One week later, on Wednesday, May 11, Chuck secretly gives his deposition at the Attorney General's office in Phoenix. Afterwards, chuck tells the AG's office that he's scared for his life. They offer him and his family physical protection, but for some reason, Chuck declines. A week after his testimony, the transfer of 7,800 shares in statewide escrow is approved along with his license to operate. Chuck is now going to be the president of his own company by Wednesday, May 25th. It's official, but not without obstacles. The entire board of directors resigns once they hear Chuck's taking over. But nobody ever says why. And for the next two weeks, Chuck hardly comes into the office. Meanwhile, he seems even more paranoid than before. He adds a citizens band radio to his car which is a short distance two way communication device as well as a police scanner. He also has a special feature added that unlocks the doors from the fender. A strange modification that he never really explains. But it won't change Chuck's fate.
- [18:31]
Sarah Turney
Two weeks later on Tuesday, June 7th at 7am Chuck kisses Ruth goodbye for the day in their Tucson home. She heads off to drive one of their daughters to school. Chuck gets into his 1977 Mercury Cougar and drives to his parents house, also in Tucson. He tells his father that if anything happens to him, he has a letter explaining who harmed him and why. But he doesn't say where the letter is. Just before 1pm he calls his office from a payphone downtown. He tells an employee that he'll be at his office at statewide escrow in 30 minutes. But he's not seen again after that.
- [19:05]
Courtney Nicole
This time Ruth files a missing persons report. The next day, Wednesday, June 8, 1977, eight more days pass without any sign of Chuck. Then Ruth receives a strange phone call from someone who seems to know where Chuck is. And from the sound of it, he's still alive.
- [19:28]
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- [20:31]
Sarah Turney
It's Thursday, June 16, 1977. Nine days have passed since 39 year old Chuck Morgan's second disappearance. That night the family's phone rings. Chuck's wife Ruth answers. There's a woman on the other end who asks cryptically if she's speaking to Ruthie. After Ruth confirms it's her, the woman continues saying, chuck is alright. Ecclesiastes 12:1 8. Then, without any further information, the woman hangs up. Ruth doesn't recognize the voice. All she can do is look up the passage in the Bible. It's all about aging and remembering what matters in life. Part of it reads, men are afraid of a high place and of terrors on the road. Remember him before the silver cord is broken and the golden bowl is crushed. Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it. But these verses have no meaning to Ruth. Still, she thinks they must be a clue regarding her husband's disappearance. The words will stick with her for the rest of her life. This would drive me insane probably for the rest of my life trying to decipher what this means, especially back in the 70s. Like this is before Google. So you have to, you know, go physically find these sources. These books, like I said, would literally drive me insane. I feel like I would never stop thinking about it. Right.
- [21:52]
Courtney Nicole
It's like a wild goose chase almost. And you know, on one hand having no answers is obviously horrible, but on the other hand you have these little clues, but when they're cryptic like this, it just adds an extra layer of trauma and questioning that, you know, if you don't get the answers to, it will haunt you for the rest of your life. Because especially in this case, like that is completely random. And I cannot even begin to imagine being Ruth hearing that while my husband is actively missing.
- [22:22]
Sarah Turney
Yeah, I mean, it feels like one of those things that gives so much information, but it's so cryptic that it could mean almost anything.
- [22:29]
Courtney Nicole
Exactly. Like, who is this girl?
- [22:31]
Sarah Turney
Right. Well. And, and I know that the Bible can be interpreted in so many different ways. Right. And I think that's one of the hardest parts is, you know, which. Which part of the scripture are you going to listen to and whose interpretation are you going to listen to?
- [22:43]
Courtney Nicole
You know, I can, I can somewhat agree with. But in this case, everything about this case is almost cryptic, in my opinion. Like, there's not one piece of information or any type of detail in this case that does not fuel, like, sinister and off.
- [22:56]
Sarah Turney
No. It feels like there's like so many people that want to say something but can't say it directly. Like, I can't get away from this being back in the 70s. Right. And perhaps the concern that maybe like, the phone was tapped, like, why are you speaking in code?
- [23:10]
Courtney Nicole
Exactly. Yeah. And then when you think about who he could have possibly had information on, like these really higher up people, like politicians, like, that adds an extra layer of like, I don't know, like, scariness, in my opinion. Like, it just. I wouldn't be able to rest, like you said, until I figured out what was going on by. Saturday, June 18, 1977. Eleven days have passed since Chuck went missing for the second time. Two teenagers are walking along the US 86 highway to the Tohono O' Autumn reservation. They're near Sells, Arizona, about 40 miles west of Tucson, Arizona, where Chuck and his family live. A brand new 1977 Mercury Cougar is parked in the dirt facing west toward the highway. The teenagers catch sight of a body laying 10ft in front of the car. It's between the vehicle and the road, so they call the police, who report to the scene and confirm the man's identity. It's Chuck Morgan, and he's been dead for 12 hours. Chuck's wearing cowboy boots and a leisure suit. He's got on a belt that hides a knife in the buckle and an empty holster for his revolver. In his pockets, he carries empty bullet cartridges and $10 in cash underneath his suit. Chuck still has on that bulletproof vest, but it hasn't done him much good. A single bullet from a.357 has been fired into the back of his head at very close range. The same caliber gun, one of the two he bought at Ford's, is lying next to his left hand. His eyeglasses, which he usually wears, are near the same wrist. In the area around the crime scene, investigators find no footprints or any sign of a stroke struggle. But his car has a lot of interesting items. Rifles and handguns, ammunition, plastic handcuffs, plus the police monitor and citizens band radio he's been driving around with. There's also a pair of sunglasses which investigators find don't belong to him. He also has a briefcase full of documents and notes scattered all over the car. One piece of paper has directions to the crime Scene written out in Chuck's handwriting. But the strangest find is in the back seat seat. A piece of one of Chuck's teeth wrapped in a white handkerchief. Well, that and the $2 bill clipped inside his underwear.
- [25:18]
Sarah Turney
Court's talking about the same two dollar bill we heard about at the top of the episode and the one Chuck said was stolen from him after his first disappearance. On the front are seven Spanish names listed alphabetically. They start with the letters A through G. Ecclesiastes 12 is written above them. The bill's serial number has arrows pointing to specific digits. The 1 and the 8. They reference the same Bible verses that the mysterious woman told Chuck's wife over the phone. Police have no idea what they could mean, but Chuck's wife confirms it is his handwriting. On the back of the bill, the men who signed the Declaration of independence are numbered 1 through 7. There's also a roughly drawn map that leads to two areas in Arizona between Mexico and Robles Junction and the border town of Sasebe. They're both known for smuggling drugs and some even speculate gold. I feel like the discovery of your loved one's body is traumatic no matter how it's found and the circumstance. But in this case, it feels like it just gives them even more questions than answers.
- [26:20]
Courtney Nicole
Yeah, I know sometimes it could provide a sense of closure, but in this case, there are so many odd circumstances surrounding the way his body was found. I do feel like that could make it even harder for the families, for Ruth and his daughters.
- [26:33]
Sarah Turney
Yeah, well, and I can't stop thinking about the tut dollar bill and it being found in his underwear. Like where did he normally keep it, I wonder.
- [26:41]
Courtney Nicole
Yeah, you know, some people think that that could be a code and I don't often like to speculate, but given where it was found, the strange writing, and knowing what we've already established about some of the higher ups, you know, possibly working undercover for the US Government, I do think it could be his attempt to try and pass some sort of information on without, you know, setting anybody off. I don't know what he would be trying to pass along, but it's tough to say. I do personally think it could be some sort of code.
- [27:09]
Sarah Turney
I mean, it has to be, right? Obviously somebody's trying to tell somebody something through this two dollar bill. But it's like the verse. It's like everything in this case, everything is cryptic, but it just feels like somebody is screaming for this information to get out and we just can't figure out what it is.
- [27:23]
Courtney Nicole
It's super frustrating. And, like, I'm always drawn to the phone call from, you know, the mysterious unidentified woman and then this $2 bill. Like, it has to all be connected somehow. And it's just frustrating that they've laid out all of these clues and it's still almost impossible to figure out what actually happened and what everything means.
- [27:41]
Sarah Turney
Yeah, I mean, we've covered so many cases and it feels like there's so much information in this case compared to others that we've seen, but still we can't figure out what it is.
- [27:50]
Courtney Nicole
Especially throwing the tooth like that.
- [27:53]
Sarah Turney
Oh, the tooth? Yeah.
- [27:54]
Courtney Nicole
Like nothing about this makes sense.
- [27:56]
Sarah Turney
Yeah. Why keep the tooth? Why put it in a handkerchief? Like, and it's a partial tooth. Right. And putting it in the handkerchief, I mean, this is before DNA. Is it maybe if you wanted to, like, have a dentist help put it
- [28:08]
Courtney Nicole
back in, maybe, or to send a message. I. I have no idea. No idea. On Monday, June 20, 1977, the Pima County Medical Examiner's Office rules Chuck's death as a homicide. And they have good reasons. Chuck had gunshot residue on his left hand, which would indicate that he fired a gun. Except he's right handed and not ambidextrous. In fact, Ruth said he could do practically nothing with his left hand. No fingerprints were found on the gun, but they could have been removed by blood and dirt which were present on the weapon. He was shot at close range, but the entry wound was in the top back of the head, which doesn't hint at a suicide. Regardless, the Pima County Sheriff's Department department isn't ready to rule that out, despite the ME's ruling.
- [28:54]
Sarah Turney
Can this family get a single straight answer? And I hate to be this frustrated about it, but I am. They haven't gotten a single answer in this case. Everything is cryptic. And now they have one department saying one thing and another department saying another. And it's like, who do you trust at this point?
- [29:09]
Courtney Nicole
Every single avenue they've gone down, it has just been one dead end after another dead end. And I kind of feel like when two departments disagree like this, it could hold a case from, you know, finding a conclusion. But in my opinion, I feel like when it gets delayed like this, it gives more opportunity for more things to be found because the case is staying open longer.
- [29:29]
Sarah Turney
Yeah, that's actually a pretty good point. With that a little undetermined like this,
- [29:33]
Courtney Nicole
it's hard to say because of course you don't want the case to be delayed. Like, especially for the family. You want them to have answers and as quick as possible. But yeah, I guess trying to look at it with a bit of positivity as an outsider, you know, if the case is being delayed because two different departments are disagreeing, you know, maybe there could be some possible solution during that window of time to be found.
- [29:53]
Sarah Turney
Yeah, I mean, I hope so and I very rarely will say what I think about a case. Like, you know, in absolute terms I should say, but like this is execution style in the back of the head. This seems like a murder to me. This seems like a classic sign of it being a mob hit. Well, the biggest development in Chuck's case comes two days after his body is found on Monday, June 20, 1977. That day, a mysterious caller dials the Pima County Sheriff's Department. She refers to herself using the codename Green Eyes and she confirms she's the same person who called Ruth to give the Bible verses. She then tells police that Chuck wasn't kidnapped. This time he actually went into hiding on his own.
- [30:44]
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- [31:43]
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- [32:56]
Sarah Turney
It's Monday, June 20, 1977. Two days after Chuck Morgan's body is found, a woman who calls herself Green eyes phones the Pima county sheriff's office and she tells them about her final hours with Chuck. During Chuck's 11 day disappearance, green eyes went to see him at several different local motels around Tucson. At the Easy 8 Motel, Chuck showed her a briefcase filled with $20 and $50 bills that added up to $60,000. That would be about $321,000 in today's cash. And he said the money was to buy out a contract on his life. Meaning he wanted to pay someone not to kill him. Why? For retaliation for testimony he'd given before the US Judiciary Committee. Records of that testimony haven't been made public, but detectives identify a briefcase from the crime scene that matches Greeneye's description. It wasn't filled with money when they found it, though, just business documents. The police also verify that Chuck was staying at a series of Tucson hotels during his second disappearance. The whole time, he never got in touch with his family or close friends, but he booked the hotels under his own name and was seen twice at a financial institution conducting, quote, routine business in a, quote, normal fashion. Witnesses also saw Chuck around Tucson during his first disappearance, during the time he was supposedly in Phoenix. So now investigators think maybe he wasn't actually kidnapped the first time either.
- [34:22]
Courtney Nicole
A few weeks after Chuck's death, the U. S. Customs Services provides detectives with information from an investigation four years earlier in 1973. During that time, they received a tip that Chuck and two associates had helped sell billions of dollars worth of gold and platinum that never existed. It was basically a pyramid scheme where they sold ownership papers claiming the gold was being stored somewhere safe. And if customers wanted to cash out early, Chuck's group would pay them with money from new investors. It was also possible to launder money that way. Way they acquired the contracts through a blind trust with dirty money and then sold them for money that looked legitimate. However, the US Customs Services couldn't find enough evidence for a federal indictment, so the U.S. attorney's office didn't pursue the case. But here's why this is important. Among the many papers found in Chuck's car, investigators discovered Records of billions of dollars in international gold and silver sales. Except nobody ever proved proved whether or not these transactions were real. Though there were a few witnesses who claimed that Chuck was involved in gold smuggling. Investigators also found the records that Chuck had told his friends and family about, the ones he kept on prominent figures in Arizona. Authorities never released the information within these documents, but police said if someone had killed Chuck, they probably would have wanted to take these papers.
- [35:40]
Sarah Turney
After less than two months of investigation, on August 10, 1977, the Pima County Sheriff's Office announces they're considering Chuck's death a suicide. Even if the medical examiner thinks it's a homicide. They gave a few reasons. Documents left behind at the crime scene were considered valuable. Chuck's body was left visible out in the open, and Chuck's own revolver was near his body. But Ruth isn't buying it. She says there's no way Chuck died by suicide, Especially without leaving a letter for his wife and daughters. Anyone could see how much he loved and cherished them. And the medical examiner agrees with her. So Chuck's death on paper is still classified as unknown. The case isn't shut, but it certainly isn't active.
- [36:25]
Courtney Nicole
Nobody really touches the case for another 13 years. But on February 7, 1990, Unsolved Mysteries airs a segment about Chuck's death. Don Devereaux, an investigative journalist who works for the Circle series, starts digging back into the case. He seems to be making progress, too, at least until May 14th of that year, when Don's neighbor Doug Johnson, is mysteriously shocked. Dawn believes it's a case of mistaken identity. Someone thought Doug was Dawn and shot him because dawn was getting too close to the truth around Chuck Morgan.
- [36:58]
Sarah Turney
This one's hard for me, Court. Right. Because I understand that there could be a connection. But the question I have about this journalist is how many other cases was he really working on? Is this really related to Chuck's case? Is it mistaken identity? Or is this something that, you know, Chuck's family shouldn't consider altogether? I honestly don't know.
- [37:17]
Courtney Nicole
I don't know either, because it seems like a really far stretch for it to be related to this case. But then again, if you look at all the details surrounding this case, nothing about it makes sense. So it's hard for me to say, too. It could totally be connected.
- [37:31]
Sarah Turney
Yeah, I feel like I could argue it either way. Like it could be a conspiracy within a conspiracy. We are talking about a lot of money. Or it could mean nothing. I know I say it a lot, but it just breaks my heart for this Family. Because how do you decipher that?
- [37:44]
Courtney Nicole
I feel like it walks a fine line between helping the families and possibly hurting them. You obviously want to have many different theories to, I guess, assess to see what could be possible and what couldn't. But, yeah, it's hard to say. It's hard to say if it could affect the family in a negative way.
- [38:00]
Sarah Turney
I know. I feel like even we're having a hard time. Right. Like, how do you theorize responsibly in this case? Because I feel like my conspiracy brain wants to go off in a million different directions, but then I have to, like, rein myself back in. Like, what is real, what isn't? And how do you theorize about this case without going just completely off the rails?
- [38:18]
Courtney Nicole
That's exactly it for me, too, because I never like to go down, like, these rabbit holes. But in this case, like, every detail seems so intense and so crazy that my mind does wander to, like, what actually happened. Like, there's so many missing parts, and the parts that we do have, it just doesn't make sense. And it. I can just, like, rack my brain over what actually happened that day to him.
- [38:40]
Sarah Turney
Yeah. I mean, it seems like we have powerful people, we have mysterious people. You know, he's in this position of power where he has this information that people seemingly want. Like, it's hard.
- [38:50]
Courtney Nicole
It's very scary. Given the territory that he's in, his line of work, the people he could have been involved with, you know, law enforcement and all of these different background agencies, they could be too scared to press and dig for deeper details to solve the case. I've seen that happen, and it kind of makes me question if that's what's happening here, if there are people that are so high up that you just don't want to expose anything.
- [39:16]
Sarah Turney
On Tuesday, June 7, 1977, Chuck got ready to go into the office at his new business, an escrow company that he spent three months trying to lock down. It was the beginning of a new chapter in his life. At 7am Chuck kissed his wife goodbye for the day. He got into his 1970, 1977 Mercury Cougar and went to see his elderly parents. Chuck told his father that if anything happened to him, he had a letter explaining who harmed him and why. Chuck then left for a lunch meeting. Just before 1pm on Tuesday, June 7, 1977, he called into work from a downtown Tucson payphone and told one of his employees he'd be there in 30 minutes. But he never made it back. Eleven days later, he turned up dead. Nobody ever found the note he told his father about. There were so many clues that only painted half pictures, especially that $2 bill. And because of that, we still have no idea what actually happened to Charles Chuck Morgan. Thank you for listening to the Final Hours. If you have any more information on Chuck Morgan, please call the Pima County Sheriff's Department or share it with us on social media. We want to hear from you. Your thoughts, condolences and feedback are what make this community so special.
- [40:37]
Courtney Nicole
At Crime House, we value your support. Share your thoughts on social media and remember to rate, review and follow the Final Hours to help others discover the
- [40:45]
Sarah Turney
show and to enhance your listening experience. Subscribe to Crime House plus on Apple Podcast. You'll get every episode of the Final Hours ad free, along with early access and exciting bonus content.
- [40:57]
Courtney Nicole
The Final Hours is hosted by Sarah Turney and me, Courtney Nicole and is a Crime House original. Powered by Pave Studios, this episode was brought to life by the Final Hours team Max Cutler, Ron Shapiro, Alex Benedon, Lori Marinelli, Natalie Pertofsky, Sarah Camp, Dana Brazil Solovey, Sheila Patterson and Russell Nash. Thank you for listening.
- [41:25]
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