Susan Powell, 28 yo, missing 12/6/09 West Valley City, UT 12/10/09 - 8/17/10#1

[klaasend]

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=9135550

Relative: Missing woman's husband has said little
December 24, 2009

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The sister-in-law of a missing Utah woman says the woman's husband has said little to his family since his wife disappeared.

Jennifer Graves told NBC's "Today" on Thursday that her brother Josh Powell has told his family no more than what he's told police about the disappearance of his wife, Susan. She was last seen Dec. 7. Powell has told police he left her at home about 12:30 a.m. that day to go camping with their 2- and 4-year-old sons in freezing temperatures.

Graves is Josh Powell's sister. She says she is close to Susan and they frequently spent time together. She says she is saddened that her brother won't "speak up more on behalf of his wife."

Police say the case is still a missing persons investigation but have labeled Josh Powell as a "person of interest."

[mymonkey]

I was thinking maybe LE is waiting for the holidays to end before arresting Josh...so that the children will not be traumatized by losing both parents.

[Edward]

Sister is Saddened ? 
Dad should just kick his ass until they find the truth... 
So there kids wont be traumatised by not knowing for the rest of there lives..

[MuffyBee]

http://www.fox13now.com/news/kstu-susan-powell-family-ed-smart,0,538443.story

Elizabeth Smart's Family Reaching Out To Susan Powell's Kin

Ben Winslow Fox 13 News

7:56 PM MST, December 24, 2009
(video at link)

SALT LAKE CITY - As the search for Susan Powell drags on with no new clues about where the missing West Valley City mother may be, her family is getting support from the family of a high-profile disappearance.

Ed Smart said he has been speaking to Susan Powell's family in Washington state almost daily.

"It's just very tough," Smart told Fox 13 News of their situation. "The main thing we've been talking about is how to move forward. How to deal with it on a personal level. How you survive the ups and downs and all that."

Smart said he has been speaking to Charles Cox, Susan Powell's father, and trying to help them keep Powell's picture out there. West Valley City police said Thursday they continued to chase leads in the case, but had no new developments.

There are some similarities to Susan Powell's disappearance on Dec. 7 and Elizabeth Smart's abduction back in 2002. At one point, Ed Smart and other family members were considered suspects in his daughter's disappearance. Elizabeth was found nine months later in the company of homeless street preacher Brian David Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee.

"Person of interest or whatever you want to call it," he said. "Yes, and really the family is the first avenue that law enforcement have to look at and clear. In our case we just said, 'whatever you want, we'll do it' and move forward."

Smart told Fox 13 News he did find it strange that Joshua Powell doesn't appear to be out pushing the search efforts to find his wife. Powell has been considered a "person of interest" in his wife's disappearance, but police have also expressed frustration about their efforts to question him.

"If my wife were the one missing, I certainly wouldn't be leaving home. Maybe he has some reason for that, I don't know," Smart said.

Susan Powell's family put out a request on a Facebook page dedicated to the search effort asking for acts of kindness between now and New Year's as a way of keeping her memory alive.

"Susan is a shining example of service to others and the Cox family hopes that by doing a good deed, those receiving the acts of kindness will benefit, as well as those who are performing them," family spokeswoman Shelby Gifford wrote. "The Cox family continues to be gratified by the acts of service being performed on their behalf, and hopes, in this small way, they will be able to bring peace and comfort to those whose lives are affected by Susan's disappearance."

Gifford said in an e-mail to FOX 13 News that Ed Smart is "a most gracious man" who has been an invaluable service to them throughout the ordeal. Smart said Powell's father, Charles Cox, continues to hold out hope that Susan will return home safe.

"I think that Chuck, as I've talked to him, that he hopes that somehow she's still alive. He certainly has concerns," he said. "Great concerns."

A $10,000 reward is also being offered that helps lead to Susan Powell's recovery. Anyone with information is urged to call West Valley City police at 801-840-4000.

[MuffyBee]

BLOCKED WEBSITE

[BooMonkey]

BLOCKED WEBSITE

I really hope they have enough to nail his azz down after Christmas! I'm sure he had a grand ol time today with his children and no wife to weigh him down. Susan will be found and he will go to jail.

[Northern Rose]

Social Media Blitz Planned to Help Find Susan Powell

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah - The search for Susan Powell is going viral. A social media blitz is being planned for the first week in January to bring awareness to the missing West Valley City mother.

A Facebook group set up by supporters of Susan Powell's family has doubled in the number of followers in just a week. A Twitter account has also been set up to help publicize the search efforts, as well as a new YouTube channel with video slideshows of Susan Powell.

"They're things that can really take off," said James Hofheins, who created the @FindSusan twitter account and helps to manage the Facebook group. "They're things that can get the message out to so many people so fast."

Hofheins has never met Powell, but he felt compelled to help. This week, Susan Powell's family asked people to go out and perform a good deed between now and New Year's in the missing woman's name.

Powell vanished December 7 from her West Valley City home. Since then, her husband, Josh, has been labeled a "person of interest" in the suspicious disappearance. That has led to considerable speculation on the Internet. Hofheins told Fox 13 News that they try to keep the focus on finding Susan.

"We find ourselves sometimes getting a little overshadowed by the suspicions, by the speculation," he said. "But we're strong in our message, 'Find Susan' and that's what it's about."

A $10,000 reward is being offered for information that helps to find Susan Powell. Anyone with information is urged to call West Valley City police at 801-840-4000.

http://www.fox13now.com/news/kstu-search-for-susan-goes-viral,0,7945122.story

[Northern Rose]

Susan Powell's father sees his grandsons

WEST VALLEY CITY — Chuck Cox finally got to see his grandsons on Christmas Eve. But there was still a feeling of emptiness as he was still without his daughter and the boys without their mother.

Susan Powell was last seen nearly three weeks ago. West Valley police Saturday said they did not have any updates on the search for her.

Chuck Cox posted a message on the "Friends and Family of Susan Powell" Facebook page, updating friends and supporters of their Christmas.

"It has been a very difficult few days. We were able to see Charlie and Braden on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day for several hours," he wrote. "Both are in good health and spirits and seemed to be unaffected by the current situation. We have pictures of Susan and her family up, so I was a little concerned; but the boys just went on playing, so I feel they are doing well. Susan's mother and I, however, have been having issues in those quiet moments as we observe the boys and family. We went through the motions of Christmas, but it didn't fill the emptiness. We are comforted by all of your prayers and support."

Chuck Cox still lives in Puyallup, Wash., where Susan grew up. Until Christmas Eve, he had not had a chance to talk with Susan's two sons since his daughter disappeared.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705354250/Susan-Powells-father-sees-grandsons.html

[BooMonkey]

True Crime: Cold Blog

So, a 28-year-old Mormon mother of two young boys runs off two weeks before Christmas, leaving her keys, purse and cell phone behind, while her husband is off making s’mores with their sons on a midnight camping trip to the desert in frigid weather with snow on the ground?

I find that highly unlikely for so many reasons I hardly even know where to start.

Susan Powell’s family, friends and neighbors say she would never do such a thing, nor would she allow her husband to take their sons out in such conditions. It wasn't even 24 hours before her family reported her missing to police, alarmed that she failed to show up for work and didn’t call her sons’ day care center to warn them that the boys wouldn’t be coming in. This immediate concern shows how close she was to her family, and the fact that she hasn’t checked in with them since the evening of December 6, when she was last seen by a visiting neighbor, makes it seem doubtful that she is hiding out somewhere, planning for the split she had discussed with friends from church over the past year.

It was no secret that she and her husband, Joshua, had been having marital problems over the past couple of years, that he was obsessive, possessive, and controlling, and that she feared he would kidnap the kids if she left him. Financial problems, including $200,000 in debts and a bankruptcy filing in 2007, clearly must have added stress to the relationship as well. Abusive men with these types of character traits also don't like it when their female partners take steps to become more independent, such as Susan's move to open her own bank account and to work towards becoming a stockbroker.

By the time Joshua returned from his camping trip on December 7, allegedly to the Pony Express Trail, the police were already on the case. But he wasn't very forthcoming with detectives, who were unable to verify his alibi because the area where he claimed to have taken the boys, some 200 miles from home, was already covered with fresh snow. Because of his less than cooperative spirit, including his failure to show up to a scheduled police interview, detectives have since named Joshua as a "person of interest," but not a suspect as yet. Joshua has since lawyered up, hiring the same attorney as the wife of accused child abductor Phillip Garrido.

Some people have questioned why police have not arrested Joshua. Well, detectives must first gather enough evidence for a prosecutor to be able to win a case in court, because a legal clock immediately starts ticking after an arrest as the preliminary hearing and trial approach. Besides, sometimes suspects do stupid things when they’re left free to roam around and incriminate themselves.

In the meantime, several other things have raised suspicions. I’d like to know more about Joshua's badly chapped hands, which have been described in news reports as “wind burned.” Although he did submit to a DNA sample, I'm guessing that Joshua hasn’t allowed any CSI investigator to examine whether his hands may have been burned by chemicals, either a cleaning solution or possibly something more acidic. I’m also wondering why he was driving hundreds of miles in a rental car while police were processing the family van for evidence. Where did he go and what was he doing? Others have questioned his recent trip with the boys to visit his father in Washington rather than staying in town and helping with the search for his wife.

I've spent the past five years researching and writing a book about a case that started out as a missing persons’ case and turned into a homicide, so I am very familiar with what good detectives do to build a winning case should this one go that way. Like Susan Powell, Tom and Jackie Hawks also had a very close and loving family who doubted the story told by the last two people to see them alive, Skylar and Jennifer Deleon, so Tom Hawks’ brother reported them missing after they didn’t show up for Thanksgiving. The Deleons have since been convicted of first-degree murder, and Skylar, a wanna-be hermaphrodite as well as a charming, manipulative conman, also got a death sentence. My book, Undeserved, which tells the authoritative behind-the-scenes story of this case and the Deleons, dubbed as the Bonnie and Clyde of Orange County, California, will be out late next year.

Based on news reports I've read, detectives in Salt Lake City, Utah, are collecting some of the same types of evidence in the Powell case that helped convict the Deleons, most importantly cell phone records. Some people may not know just how incriminating a handy little cell phone can be to a criminal. Cell phone records not only show police who a suspect has talked to, but they also can be used to generate a travel route and a chronology of that person's whereabouts.

Used in combination with financial records from an ATM card or credit card, a person's alibi can be disproven – or supported – in black and white numbers on a page. Billing records that come to a cell phone user’s house show the time a call was made or received, but police can access more specific records with a subpoena, which show which specific cell phone towers the signals from a user's phone actually pinged off and when. In the Deleons’ case, cell phone and GPS records were key in proving that Skylar was on a yacht, midway between Catalina and San Clemente Islands, when he tied Tom and Jackie Hawks to an anchor and threw them overboard alive, then immediately called his wife, presumably to report that the deed was done. In the Powell case, although detectives have no GPS data to help them place Joshua's whereabouts on December 7 and the day that he was driving the rental car, hopefully his cell phone will help them figure all that out.

So, yes, it's always easier for a prosecutor to persuade a jury that someone been murdered if the body has been found, but it's not always necessary with the technological forensic evidence in today's court cases. In the case of Kristin Rossum, a San Diego County toxicologist who was convicted of poisoning her husband – and the subject of my first book, Poisoned Love – she made the stupid mistake of using her Vons card to buy a single rose the day her husband was found nonresponsive in their apartment, his body covered with fresh red rose petals in a staged suicide scene. The rose purchase was recorded on the Vons computer, with the date and time. All that was missing was the color of the rose.

So where is Susan Powell? Police are not discussing the evidence they've collected, but we know they're waiting on the DNA test results, which don't come back overnight. I imagine they’ve also subpoenaed cell phone and financial records and are analyzing the Powells’ home computer for more clues.

In the meantime, we can only hope that Susan shows up and the mystery is solved.

[Edward]

His personality..
It is... Scott Peterson, all over again.

[Northern Rose]

Friends of missing women keep hoping for miracle

WEST VALLEY CITY -- The search for a missing Utah mother is entering its fourth week, with still no clues as to where she is. Meanwhile, Susan Powell's family and friends continue to do everything they can to keep attention on the search for her.

West Valley City police detectives said Sunday leads to her whereabouts were few. "The more time that passes, it may not be in her favor," said West Valley police Capt. Tom McLachlan during a press conference last week.

Another week has passed since that statement, but it hasn't stopped Kiirsi Hellewell from still trying to find Powell. She says Powell is her best friend.

"Christmas was very hard," says Hellewell at her West Valley home Sunday. "I've been trying to keep my hopes up every single day, but every morning when I wake up, it gets a lot harder to get that hope and keep that hope that she's still alive."

Hellewell says she hasn't seen Powell since the day before she disappeared on Dec. 6. Ever since, she and other friends have been passing out fliers in parking lots throughout the Salt Lake Valley, holding candlelight vigils and working social media Web pages as much as possible.

Already, more than 10,000 people have signed onto the Friends and Family of Susan Powell Facebook page.

Still, with nothing new for weeks, even Hellewell admits she's not sure what else she can do.

"It's really frustrating, and what's even more frustrating is that people are constantly saying 'Why aren't you searching? Why aren't you searching? Why are you sitting at home on your computer? Why aren't you out and searching?'" she says. "I understand the frustration and how hard it is to sit home and wait and not be out doing something, but at the same time, she could be anywhere. It's like a needle in a haystack."

So far, West Valley police detectives have only named Josh Powell, Susan's husband, as a person of interest in the case. He is currently in Washington with his two sons visiting family.

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=9155653

[no rose colored glasses]

BLOCKED WEBSITE

[Tamikosmom]

Thank you all for the updates.

SEALED SEARCH WARRANTS!!!

I still am highly suspicion that there are forces within the Mormon Church working on behalf of Josh Powell and ... influencing the outcome of the investigation.

Does anybody know what position Josh's BIL and/or family holds within the organization's hierarchy?

Josh has been given too many passes despite soooo many red flags.  IMO.

Janet

[Tamikosmom]

 

I hope Monkeys had all had a wonderful Christmas.

Despite feeling I may be coming down with something ... I had a great Christmas Day.  However ... the next day (boxing day) ... I was down with a rotton cold and cough.  Weekend family activities related to Christmas did not happen for me but ... I insisted daughter and SIL pick up hubby on their way into Vancouver.  Misery (me) did not want company.

 

Today ... I am on the mend and ... looking forward to New Year's activities this weekend.

Happy New Year All.

Janet

[Nut44x4]

I just cannot understand how Josh was not under surveillance by LE.  Come on - it only took his initial camping story for me to have bad vibes about him.    

It is quite obvious that LE haven't a clue how to conduct an investigation. Call in the FBI !! This is outrageous.

[Northern Rose]

Constant new leads coming in over Susan Powell case

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah (ABC 4 News) - Police are getting new leads in the case of missing West Valley woman Susan Powell. And that’s bringing comfort to her family and one of Susan's closest friends.

Police are staying tight lipped about any new findings coming in; in fact ABC 4 has learned the search warrants for the Powell home have now been sealed off. But police are saying they're constantly getting new tips.

It's now been three weeks, and no sign of Susan Powell. Hope of finding her since she disappeared from her West Valley home may seem bleak, but police said fresh leads are coming in all the time.

“It's been a continuous stream,” said Capt. Tom McLachlan, West Valley Police.

In fact, police said they're getting tips about Susan's disappearance from all sorts of sources.

“People have called in leads, we get leads over the internet, some of them have information that we deem as high priority and some of them have lower priority, but we follow up on everyone of them,” said McLachlan.

Susan's family and one of her closest friends Kiirsi Hellewell said they're encouraged from the constant energy police are getting in the case.

“Because I know they're working hard, but it's nice to hear confirmation of that, that the case is still going on, and they're still looking,” said Kiirsi Hellewell, Susan Powell’s best friend.

Hellewell said she's also finding comfort through the internet.

“People all over the country and all over the world are constantly sending messages saying we're praying for you guys, we're posting her flyer even here in Europe, don't give up, keep going, we believe that she'll be found, and it's really encouraging,” she said.

But right now police said everything that's coming in about Susan hasn't changed the nature of the case.

“This is a suspicious missing person’s case, but like I say it's still a missing person’s case,” said McLachlan.

One thing Susan's friends and family are doing to help police keep up the constant stream of new leads is they're planning a media blitz in the next few days to get Susan's picture in every house in America.

http://www.abc4.com/content/news/top%20stories/story/Constant-new-leads-coming-in-over-Susan-Powell/Z7bSW8RIuEyo0IDQQ4AL0g.cspx

[Edward]

He / They are members of the LDS church.

I am almost ready to call this guy Scott Peterson..

How he acts and the lame excuses and  reasoning are so similar it is Erie !!

Also the circumstances surrounding the disappearance and although this wife was not pregnant Both this wife and Scott Petersons wife wanted OUT!
Both had financial problems and Both have family members backing them up !
Scott Peterson also had his family backing him up and helping him any way they could..

Anyways I find it strange..
They live in a Court where various homes look right at there front door !!
There is no escape out the back yard..
Anybody see him loading up for a camping trip ??? Where is the witness that Had seen him load the vehicle ?
Did he load the vehicle from within the garage ??

Do they have a septic tank ?


OMG


At one point Scott Peterson and his wife owned a Restaurant and Bar not far from Neverland ranch and Scott and her lost it to financial problems and there was a bankruptcy if I remember correct..
This couple also got themselves in over there head by 200,000.00 and filed a bankruptcy..
That kills your credit for 7 years !!

Money worries are what I think motivate murder from husband to wife.. The person who murders is the one that will have to pay...
Often times while in fighting or arguments MONEY is held as a weapon...
He who has to paychild support or give up property rights gets a twisted mind.
Sometimes people kil over such things. I have seen it hppen in the parking lot of the courthouse..

[Northern Rose]

He / They are members of the LDS church.

I am almost ready to call this guy Scott Peterson..

How he acts and the lame excuses and  reasoning are so similar it is Erie !!

Also the circumstances surrounding the disappearance and although this wife was not pregnant Both this wife and Scott Petersons wife wanted OUT!
Both had financial problems and Both have family members backing them up !
Scott Peterson also had his family backing him up and helping him any way they could..

Anyways I find it strange..
They live in a Court where various homes look right at there front door !!
There is no escape out the back yard..
Anybody see him loading up for a camping trip ??? Where is the witness that Had seen him load the vehicle ?
Did he load the vehicle from within the garage ??

Do they have a septic tank ?


OMG


At one point Scott Peterson and his wife owned a Restaurant and Bar not far from Neverland ranch and Scott and her lost it to financial problems and there was a bankruptcy if I remember correct..
This couple also got themselves in over there head by 200,000.00 and filed a bankruptcy..
That kills your credit for 7 years !!

Money worries are what I think motivate murder from husband to wife.. The person who murders is the one that will have to pay...
Often times while in fighting or arguments MONEY is held as a weapon...
He who has to paychild support or give up property rights gets a twisted mind.
Sometimes people kil over such things. I have seen it hppen in the parking lot of the courthouse..

Edward excellent post as always!  I recall one of the videos was a neighbour who heard the car alarm going off in their garage around the time that Josh said he left to go camping.  The Neighbour said it went off for quite some time, long enough that his wife asked him to go over and see what was going on.  His response to his wife was if they could hear it as neighbours and the car was in a closed garage surely the people living in the house could hear it. 

[Northern Rose]

IMO he put Susan in a mine shaft.  There are so many mines in that area it is scary and it looks like many are not blocked off.  The wind burn on his hands could be chemical burn (lye or something similar) or heat burn as well. 

[Northern Rose]

Volunteers searching for Susan Powell
As thousands around the world learn about the story of Susan Powell, more and more perfect strangers are moved to help. ABC4 spent the afternoon with two of those strangers who have dedicated hours to searching for susan.

Together and apart, Susan and Travis have covered hundreds of miles. They've scoured as close as Susan's neighborhood, and even out as far as the marshes of the Great Salt Lake, Utah Lake and Saratoga Springs and today, the search begins at Stansbury Lake. But what makes two people who've never met Susan, one of them a 19-year old boy, moved to help? Laurell Lowe says, "I have a 2-year old and 4-year old as well, and I just can't imagine my kids being without their mom." She's not the only one. Today, there were several different facebook posts responding to an online inquiry about searching.

Just as Laurel and Travis have been doing, the Cox family spokeswoman advises anyone who wants to help to first coordinate with police before searching any undisturbed areas. Susan's friends advise searchers to not tamper with evidence....but saying, they appreciate the gesture.

Travis Hill says, "Just go out and help, you may not know susan, but...it's a human. Lowe adds, "She's a mom, and there needs to be closure for that family, and those little boys."

Speaking of those who've never met Susan and are touched by her story, ABC4 will be covering what's called a "social media blitz" that's planned for the first week in January. This is an effort planned by a perfect stranger to make a "youtube" slideshow of Susan viral. Their hope is that the video will be watched by "every person in the world."

http://www.abc4.com/content/news/top%20stories/story/Volunteers-searching-for-Susan-Powell/jLPjgvcYz0GovDt1V-rmRw.cspx