Susan Powell -- Missing 12/7/09

Web site: Josh Powell is 'loving father and husband'

SEATTLE -- A Web site claims to be the official source of information on missing Puyallup native Susan Powell and her family.

The site SusanPowell.org features a photograph of the missing woman, her husband, Josh Powell, and their two boys out in the snow, next to a campfire at night. "Susan, we love you and miss you!

It is not known who set up the site that claims to have "exclusive access and copyright to more photos, videos, and even continuing information about the beautiful woman we love so dearly."

According to a search of the WHOIS database, SusanPowell.org is registered to Domain by Proxy, Inc., a company that enables its clients to anonymously register for Web sites. The site was created in July 2006, according to the database.

The site offers a description of both Josh and Susan Powell, painting Josh Powell as "a loving father and husband" -- a stark contrast from the abusive and controlling image Susan Powell's friends and family members had portrayed of him.

"He (Josh Powell) likes to take his wife out to dinner or watch movies with her. He regularly does activities with his beautiful wife and with his entire family. Josh is totally committed to his wife and children, continually finding new and engaging activities to do with them," states the site. "He also loves photography, especially when the photos are of Susan and the boys."

Of Susan Powell, the site says the woman "has many hobbies and interests such as singing, gardening, and socializing with friends."

"She holds nothing back when socializing with friends. You could say she wears her heart on her sleeve," the site says.

Susan Powell was last seen Dec. 6 by her husband at their home in West Valley, Utah. He told police he saw her just before he took their two young children on a midnight camping trip in snowy conditions. When they got back, he said, she was gone. Josh Powell is the only person of interest police have named in the case without suspects.

"I think he knows something that he's not telling us," said the missing woman's mother, Judy Cox.

"I'm not buying the story that he gave police," added the woman's father, Chuck Cox.

The Cox family spokesperson Shelby Gifford said the missing woman's husband was extremely controlling of his wife.

"Those who spent the most time with Susan on a day-to-day basis report witnessing egregious acts of control on Josh's part," she said.

Gifford added Josh Powell exercised total control of the car, how much food his wife was allowed to buy the family as well as the management of the family's finances.

Susan Powell's family said since Josh Powell moved his sons to Puyallup, they have had very little contact with the boys. Josh Powell moved back to Puyallup after his wife disappeared, and was said to be selling the couple's home in Utah.

"It's a difficult thing. It's very frustrating, because we want to know the grandchildren are OK. We want to be able to talk with them and play with them," said Chuck Cox.

The missing woman's family members have established The Susan Cox Powell Foundation, which aims to fuel the search by reminding people of Susan Powell's disappearance.

The foundation's mission also includes educating others, including kids in school to recognize early signs of domestic violence and how to report it, as well as a national database of information to help potential victims recognize signs of an abusive relationship.

A $10,000 reward is being offered for information leading to Susan Powell's return.

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/85634072.html

Justice4all wrote:The site offers a description of both Josh and Susan Powell, painting Josh Powell as "a loving father and husband" -- a stark contrast from the abusive and controlling image Susan Powell's friends and family members had portrayed of him.

Hearing Joshua being referred to as "a loving father and husband" makes me want to puke.

I also think it was tasteless of the site to put a picture of Joshua, Susan, and the boys next to a campfire in the snow.

Josh Powell makes first public effort to find missing wife

Aaron Vaughn, Web Content Producer FOX 13 News
7:48 PM MST, February 26, 2010

SALT LAKE CITY - In his own way of reaching out toward the public for the first time, Josh Powell, husband of the missing Utah mother, had his own site published online, dedicated to his missing wife and wellbeing of his children. Susan Powell dot org makes no mention of other search sites for Susan -- sites that have already garnered a vast nationwide following. The Facebook page currently has over 45,000 members.

Susan's friend, Kiirsi Hellewell says that when the search for Susan went online Josh told her he "owned" the SusanPowell.org domain. "We said, great, get it up," says Hellewell. That was nearly two months ago.

The site has new pictures of Susan and her family and references West Valley Police for potential tipsters who may know the whereabouts of Susan Cox Powell.

Susan Powell dot org says it is the official website for her. But her parents, the Cox family, say they do not sanction the site and do not want anyone to confuse it with the Facebook page or their website, Susan Cox Powell Foundation dot Org.

"Some of things Josh says on the website are very contradictory to what I know from Susan's own mouth," says Hellewell.

FOX 13's Arikka Von reports.


 

http://www.fox13now.com/news/kstu-josh-powell-first-public-effort-find-susan,0,1876920.story?track=rss

Tensions rise as 'missing mom' fliers torn down

By Shomari Stone
Story Updated: Feb 27, 2010 at 10:12 PM PST



PUYALLUP, Wash. - Tensions are rising in the search for missing Puyallup native Susan Powell, who disappeared after dark Dec. 6 under mysterious circumstances.
Volunteers are frustrated after the fliers they posted about Susan in her husband's neighborhood were torn down.

Now the president of the Country Hollow Homeowners' Association has made them take down the rest of the fliers, which are designed to raise awareness about Susan's disappearance.

"The regulations of the community do not allow any posting of signs on community property," he told the volunteers. "As the president of the association, I have to tell you."

Colleen Russell and her friends taped the signs to light poles and put up purple ribbons on trees in the gated community where they live.

"I don't think the homeowners' association understands that that was Susan's favorite color," Russell says. "We're not accusing anything - we just want to find Susan and bring her home."

Susan Powell's husband Josh moved to Country Hollow with their two sons from Salt Lake City, where she vanished. He is considered a person of interest in the case.
Investigators say Josh told them he took his kids camping in subfreezing temperatures around midnight on Dec. 6, and that his wife was missing when he returned the next day.

Susan and Josh are both from the Puyallup area and Susan's in-laws live there.

The volunteers feel defeated, and they wonder why Josh Powell isn't asking the homeowners' association to make an exception to the rule, since it is his wife and she's missing.
KOMO News tried to interview Josh Powell about it, but no one would answer the door at the house where he is staying. A man's voice inside said Josh was not available.

Susan Powell's father, Chuck Cox, is disappointed the fliers have to come down.

"I still have hope, and I can't deny it's been almost three months. And the likelihood now is if she is not being captive somewhere then she is no longer with us," he said.

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/85744947.html

Missing mom's husband shuns vigils in Utah, Puyallup

By Shomari Stone and KOMO News Services
Story Updated: Mar 7, 2010 at 11:09 AM PST

PUYALLUP, Wash. - Two vigils - almost 1,000 miles apart - were held for missing Susan Powell as friends and family gathered in Utah and Washington to commemorate three months since the 28-year-old mother of two disappeared.

But one person was conspicuous by his absence - the missing mom's husband, Josh Powell, who did not attend either of the vigils.

Susan Powell was last seen at her Salt Lake City area home on Dec. 7. Her husband told police he last saw his wife as he left with the couple's young sons on a midnight camping trip in the remote Utah desert in subfreezing temperatures.

He has been called the sole person of interest in the case, but has not been arrested.

Participants in the Utah vigil lit candles, sang songs and shared prayers that Susan Powell might soon be found. Kiirsi Hellewell, who was there, says she never expected the search for her friend would have stretched so long.

In Puyallup - where Susan Powell's parents live - the vigil was very somber, as most are.

But what made this one different, was that Susan's father played a phone message in the speakers so all could hear her voice.

In the recording, Susan can be heard teaching her young son how to sing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider."

Susan's father, Chuck Cox, also played an old message from his daughter, allowing the crowd to hear her sweet voice at her candlelight vigil.

But Cox admits the months of waiting and waiting - with no visible progress - are taking their toll. He says he feels "tired, worn down."

"It's been a long three months," he says.

Susan's family and friends have spent the last three months, worrying and waiting for an answer. Just where is Susan? What's the latest with the investigation?

"Although I know the police are doing everything to find her, I don't have any idea on how the investigation is really going," Cox says. "We've said from the beginning that Susan is a shining example of somebody who showed love wherever she went."

Some people at the Puyallup vigil were surprised Josh Powell didn't show up. He now lives nearby in Puyallup with their two kids, moving there from Utah a few weeks ago.

"I think it's odd. I think he should be here," says Cox. "I wish he was. I wish he would come forward and talk to police."

KOMO News has tried several times to reach out to Josh Powell, but he refuses to comment.

There is still a $10,000 reward for information leading to Susan's return. Anyone with information is asked to call the West Valley Police Department in Utah at (801) 840-4000.

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/86753862.html

I can't say that I'm surprised Joshua skipped the vigils. Nothing about his story of that night makes sense and he doesn't act like someone who is concerned that his wife is missing.

What I call a Scott Petersom demeanor...

Powell's story is total BS, I felt that from the beginning. You just don't pack up and move, act like nothing happened. It's hard to believe there isn't something, some clue, that links him to her disappearance.

I just can not believe yet another sicko has gotten away with killing their wife and retains their children. All I can say is I pray Susan is watching over them and keeping them safe.

Tigermom, it is sickening that Joshua seems to have gotten away with it. It's been so long that if they ever do find Susan's body, I fear that it will be another case of "homicide by undetermined means."

I want to know why he is allowed to "not cooperate" ?
Baby Gabrielle's mother refuses but she sits in a jail obviously enjoying the single life with no child to hold her back. How is it he is allowed to be free and keep those kids? Is there no way to get those children out of harm's way? I do not know how her father keeps his anger in check and I am sure he has not seen the boys since Susan went missing.

I think Susan's father has to tread lightly, for fear that he will be denied any access to his grandsons.
If this creep gets away with this, then it won't be the first, nor the last time that a wife/mother goes missing, the husband/dad makes up an unprovable alibi, and leaves the family's home, taking their kids and boldly goes on with his life.

The hours after Susan Powell's disappearance

March 9th, 2010 @ 11:35am
Story compiled with contributions from Andrew Adams and Shara Park.

WEST VALLEY CITY -- He has refused to speak with police detectives investigating the disappearance of his wife, but police have started retracing the footsteps of their only person of interest in the case.

KSL Newsradio has learned Josh Powell may have spent time at a strip club, just hours after Susan Powell was reported missing. But despite numerous eyewitness accounts, police are skeptical that the man was indeed Josh Powell.

Workers at the South Salt Lake strip club, Duces Wild, say a man they believe was Josh made sexually-explicit comments and advances, yelled, yanked away a customer's drink and ultimately didn't tip the workers when he visited the day after Susan was last seen.

Bartender Liz Burkholder, who later identified Powell in several photos from police, says the man tried to make advances toward her, take her picture -- a no-no in strip clubs -- and then was rude and vulgar when she declined.

"He wanted me to come over and bend down so he could see my boobs, kept telling me I had a nice [behind], telling me to come down there, he wouldn't hurt me, bend over," Burkholder said in an exclusive interview with KSL Newsradio. "At first it was advances, and then when I wouldn't go back down there it was just rude and vulgar… It was embarrassing because that's not normal -- even in a strip club. I stayed away from him as much as possible."

The alleged appearance at the club happened the afternoon of Dec. 7, when police were still looking for Susan, Josh and their two children. They had been reported missing that morning after a day care provider grew concerned because the children had not been dropped off on schedule. Josh showed up to his home with the kids between 5:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. that evening.

The man strip club employees identified as Powell came in around 2 p.m. wearing a hat. He ordered two beers and a shot and left after about an hour-and-a-half to two hours. Burkholder says customers moved away from him and actually applauded as he walked out the door.

His behavior was "outlandish," club owner Rydell Mitchell said.

"Yelling out loud, saying weird things," Mitchell described. "He yelled at one of my customers and said, ‘You don't know what it's like -- you don't have any idea what kind of day I've had.'"

Burkholder says Powell later grabbed a drink from another patron.

"Acting really peculiar like that -- it just made everybody really uncomfortable," Mitchell said.

Mitchell says he wasn't sure if the man identified as Powell was there for the drinks or the dancers, but he believes it was for both.

"He didn't sit on the stage or anything like that. I guess he wasn't tipping the girls, from what I do understand," Mitchell said. "Not sure if he was sitting over by the bar and maybe watching them -- trying to get a free show."

Burkholder says a customer later recognized Powell on the news and called West Valley police. She says investigators showed up several days after the ordeal.

"I wouldn't want the authorities finding out I was in a strip club the day after my wife came up missing," said former police officer and UtahDetective.com owner David Lundberg.

Lundberg says the alleged encounter raises suspicion, although the question remains how much this may add to the investigation.

"The circumstances as far as the lighting in a club like that, the sound, the noise, where he was moving around, how well people actually paid attention to him -- eyewitness evidence has been thrown out because it's not as positive as they'd like to see it," he said.

West Valley Police Captain Tom McLachlan says the tip was investigated and the statements of the eyewitnesses "were taken into account." Tuesday he said based on eyewitness accounts alone, they cannot confirm it was Josh.

"I'm not trying to discredit the individuals involved but sometimes, you know, eyewitness accounts can be mistaken, so you can't rely wholly on that," McLachlan said. "You try to verify, and at this point we are not able to verify though independent means that that was Josh."

Mitchell says surveillance cameras were not working in the club at the time.

"I don't have any idea why anybody would say something like that," Powell's attorney, Scott Williams, told KSL Monday. "We have no need to respond."

Powell has said he took the children camping near Simpson Springs and the Pony Express Trail in Tooele County beginning around 12:30 a.m. the morning of Dec. 7. His alleged appearance at Duces Wild would have been more than 13 hours after that time and roughly one to two hours before he returned home with the children.

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=9941987

Somehow, I'm really not surprised...
The one question nagging me is where were the boys? did he leave them asleep in the car maybe?
At this time, all 4 were "missing"...

He has the typical reaction of a killer - he moved away from the area - maybe Susan was haunting him in their house, and I hope she was (and is) but for him to move away for any reason is ludacris - if any member of my family was legitimately missing (as Josh claims she is) I would NEVER leave that house until i brought that family member home - Consider how that person would feel if they showed up at their "home" one day to find another famiy there?? and he moves within weeks of her going missing??

My next call on this guy is that he won't be single for long (if anyone will have him) but considering that he visited this strip club just hrs after killing his wife, it's not that far fetched to assume that he might already be trying to secretly date someone else... shame on that woman whoever pays this guy any attention.

Back to this alleged sighting though - can the cops not get a warrant for Josh and Susan's cell records and ping his locations? maybe they can retrace his footsteps that night and the following day since he can't seem to remember where he was....

The police looked into it and don't seem to think it was him. Here is the article.

Police doubt story of Josh Powell at strip club
Employees say he was in bar on the day his wife disappeared

By Pat Reavy
Deseret News
Published: Tuesday, March 9, 2010 9:45 p.m. MST

SOUTH SALT LAKE — West Valley police say they doubt a man seen at a strip club on the day Susan Cox Powell disappeared was her husband.

"We're aware (of the story). We investigated it. We talked to the people involved. We don't feel that was Josh (Powell)," said West Valley Police Capt. Tom McLachlan.

On Dec. 7, a man walked into Duces Wild, 2750 S. 300 West, and acted very belligerent.

"He was just being real loud and making a nuisance of himself," said club co-owner Kimberly Cooper. "He was saying things like, 'You don't know what kind of day I've had.' "

The man, who was wearing a beanie cap, was loud, tried to drink other patrons' drinks and, at one point, was questioned by other patrons about whether he was taking photographs inside the club with his cell phone, a violation of club rules,

"He stood out because he was being annoying to everybody," Cooper said. "Everyone applauded when he left."

When he wasn't walking around, the man sat at the bar by himself, mumbling, and then burst out yelling without warning, Cooper said.

"We call it bar Tourette's," she said.
Story continues below

The man yelled several times at a female bartender and made vulgar comments toward her. There were a handful of people in the bar at the time, Cooper said, most of them regular patrons. This man was not.

The man was in the club between 4 and 5 p.m., Cooper said. Other patrons from the club have told KSL Radio that the man was in the bar about 2 p.m.

Police say Josh Powell showed up at his West Valley house about 5 p.m. on that day, after he said he had gone camping in remote Tooele County with his two young boys. He said he had last seen his wife about 17 hours earlier.

Security cameras at the club were not working that day. No one noticed or can remember a van in the club parking lot, let alone one with two young children inside, Cooper said.

As a new state law requires, the club scans drivers' licenses of patrons as they enter. Cooper said the man who entered that afternoon would have had his license scanned. That data is stored in the machine for seven days, she said.

After Susan Powell's disappearance began to make headlines, one of the bartenders and at least two patrons remembered the belligerent man who was in the bar days earlier. Police were called and detectives went to the club and to the homes of some of those witnesses to interview them, Cooper said. They were too late to check the scanning device. But no one that day can remember checking an ID that said "Josh Powell," she said.

Cooper said there were at least three people who took close notice of the man. One was the bartender. She told the co-owner that she picked Josh Powell out of a photo lineup that police gave her at her house.

"She said, 'This was the guy who was in the bar making such an a-- of himself,' " Cooper said. "She said she positively ID'd him. She said she 'was sure' that was him."

One of the patrons, however, told Cooper that he was only mostly sure now that it was Powell but not 100 percent convinced. A third regular patron, she said, did not believe the man was Josh Powell, saying that this man's hair was longer than Josh Powell's.

Based on what she has heard from employees and patrons in her club, Cooper admitted Tuesday that she had her doubts, and with the beanie cap the man was wearing that day, it could have been a case of mistaken identity.

"I'm concerned maybe it wasn't him," she said. "There is a kid that comes in here once in a while that looks an awful lot like him."

Shelby Gifford, family spokeswoman for Chuck and Judy Cox, Susan Cox Powell's parents, had very little to say about the strip club story.

"Until something is substantiated, we're not going to comment on it," she said.

Josh Powell's attorney, Scott Williams, also declined comment.
Story continues below

"I don't have any idea why anybody would say something like that," he told KSL. "We have no need to respond."

Susan Cox Powell was last seen early on Dec. 7. About 12:30 a.m., Josh Powell said he took his two young boys camping in a remote area of Tooele County. Temperatures that night were below freezing. Police were called later that afternoon when neither Powell showed up for work and their children were not dropped off at day care. When Josh Powell returned home, police were already at his house investigating.

Powell remains the sole person of interest in his wife's disappearance.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700015183/Police-doubt-Powell-strip-club-story.html?pg=2

Search for Susan group wants volunteers to comb Utah desert for clues

9:37 AM MDT, March 16, 2010

 

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah - A small group is seeking volunteers to comb the west desert where Josh Powell says he went camping the night his wife disappeared nearly four months ago. The group of friends out of Cache County says they have the skills to organize a search for Susan Cox Powell that they have tentatively set for April 10. Volunteers will need GPS, shortwave radios, proper gear and photo ID for check-in.

"We don't anticipate any problems but sometimes accidents happen," says organizer, Joanne Bentley. "We are going to ask all volunteers to sign a waiver form so they understand the risk involved."

Bentley says this is very early in the planning stages. More details are supposed to be announced in the next few days and on the Facebook page managed by Susan's friends and family. But she says it is complete strangers who are leading this search.

Susan Powell, a 29-year-old mother of two young boys, was last seen on Dec. 7, 2009 at her home in West Valley City. Her husband, Josh Powell, said Susan stayed home while he took his boys camping at midnight in subfreezing temperatures. Police say Josh Powell is the only person of interest in the case.



http://www.fox13now.com/news/kstu-west-desert-search-for-susan-cox-powell,0,6523052.story?track=rss

Every time I see a post here I pray that it's news that Susan has been found alive...I'm almost afraid to check it out...I so want her to be found...

I wish I lived closer...

Estee~I feel the same way...about so many of the cases we discuss.....It just feels so good to click on one of them and hear that they are safe or at the very least, found.....

I wish I could go help search. There is power in numbers. I am gonna send this link to my husband's boss because they have family in Utah and he is the bishop of the Mormon church here. Maybe they can help....

Hi tish! You know he had to have tossed or burried her somewhere within a certain range....I hope they find her. It makes you want to scream.