Investigators search Puyallup home of Josh Powell

Published 5:23 pm Thursday, August 25, 2011

PUYALLUP — Two years after a Utah mother vanished, her case has spiraled into a salacious saga of finger-pointing and accusations of sex and lies between two sparring families.

Susan Cox Powell was last seen by her husband Dec. 6, 2009, in her West Valley City home outside Salt Lake City. S

he was reported missing the next day when she didn’t show up for work.

Police say her husband, Josh Powell, is the only person of interest, although he’s never been arrested.

Investigators on Thursday searched the home Josh Powell shares with his father as they sought new clues in th

e disappearance.

The development came the same day Josh Powell and his father, Steve Powell, went on national television to discuss the case, taking the saga to tawdry new levels. The father-in-law says he and the missing woman had a flirtatious relationship and that he believed they were in love.

Josh Powell’s family also claims Susan was sexually promiscuous, emotionally unstable and suicidal — offering as proof several diary pages from the missing woman’s teenage years. Susan’s family says the entries were written by a young girl still growing up and have no bearing on her disappearance. They say they’ll sue if the Powell family publishes them as promised.

Josh Powell, who now lives with family in Puyallup, has mostly remained quiet throughout the investigation but in a string of national television interviews Thursday, he denied killing his wife or having anything to do with her disappearance.

“I would never even hurt her,” a tearful, red-eyed Powell told CBS’ Early Show. “People who know me know that I could never hurt Susan.”

Powell, who still wears his wedding ring, said he loves his wife. He said she came from an emotionally abusive home with controlling, manipulative parents.

In an interview on ABC’s Good Morning America, Steve Powell said he and Susan were falling in love and even implied a sexual relationship had occurred.

“Susan was very sexual with me,” Steve Powell said. “We interacted in a lot of sexual ways because Susan enjoys doing that.”

Susan’s father, Chuck Cox, says all the allegations are false and claims it was Steve Powell who initiated unwanted sexual advances, and that his daughter had no interest in her father-in-law.

Cox told the AP that Susan claimed years ago that “something had happened” with Steve Powell that made her uncomfortable. He said she didn’t disclose the details.

“She said something about Steve had wanted her to be a common wife for him and Josh,” Cox said. According to Cox, when Susan discussed the remark with Josh, he dismissed it as part of his father’s penchant for saying outrageous things.

Cox said he believes Susan’s discomfort with her father-in-law was part of what motivated her to move her family to Utah from Washington.

“She wanted as far away from him as possible,” Cox said.

Cox, who also lives in Puyallup, denies allegations in court filings by Josh Powell seeking a protective order that he’s harassed or threatened his son-in-law and said he only wants to spend time with his young grandchildren.

A court commissioner in Washington state on Tuesday ordered Cox and Josh Powell to keep 500 feet apart.

Cox has never said he believes his son-in-law is responsible for Susan’s disappearance, but wants him to be more forthcoming with police, who claim Powell hasn’t been cooperative.

“If he can get himself cleared, that’s fine with me,” Cox said. “But he has obstructed the investigation of the police, he has refused to talk to them and there’s enough inconsistencies … they have to look into it.”

The case has ebbed and flowed over the years with numerous tips leading nowhere. Last week, authorities renewed their search for signs of the 28-year-old mother of two, scouring a network of abandoned mines in eastern Nevada. They haven’t said what they found, if anything, or what they were looking for.

Police say Josh Powell has refused to answer questions about a supposed midnight camping trip he said he took with the couple’s sons — then ages 4 and 2 — in the mountains west of Salt Lake City the night before Susan was reported missing.

The AP was unable to reach Josh Powell or his father for comment. A telephone number for their home remained busy throughout the day Thursday.

Alina Powell, Josh’s sister, says her family has cooperated with the FBI, and will continue to do so, but they have nothing new to contribute. She said the family allowed its Puyallup home to be searched last year without a warrant.

“Josh spoke extensively to police but when they began lying to him he said, ‘I guess I need an attorney.’ They haven’t called us since then,” she said.

The Powells also have been saying they believe Susan may have run off with another man, although Josh Powell said in interviews Thursday he doesn’t know if his wife was ever unfaithful.

He said he would like to tell her that he loves her and her children love her, but that he vacillates in his beliefs about whether Susan is still alive.

“It’s a roller coaster,” he told ABC News.

Cox said his family remains hopeful, but they are preparing “for the worst.”

West Valley City police spokesman Mike Powell, who is not related to the family, declined to comment on the swirling accusations and family disputes. He said the investigation is ongoing.