Susan Powell -- Missing 12/7/09

Police scaling back search for Susan Powell: Family asking for "acts of kindness"


This Christmas Eve West Valley Police confirm that they will scale back their investigation for Susan Powell over the holiday. Meanwhile, family and friends of Susan are asking for people to step up and doing something nice for someone else in her honor.

Detectives have been working around the clock since December 7th searching for answers in Susan's disappearance. Captain Tom McLachlan said some of his investigators will take tomorrow off to spend time with their families.

Yesterday, Susan's family sent out a press release asking those who want to honor Susan to go out and do some "acts of kindness" for others. People went straight to work donating to families in need.

There are also questions surrounding some of the anonymous emails that have been reported from Susan saying she would never commit suicide and that she was afraid of her husband. Police won't discuss any emails or other evidence gathered in this investigation.



http://www.abc4.com/content/news/state/story/Police-scaling-back-search-for-Susan-Powell/KiChmFmN1EO058JXV6PYww.cspx?rss=1451

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/state/story/Constant-new-leads-coming-in-over-Susan-Powell/Z7bSW8RIuEyo0IDQQ4AL0g.cspx

Search warrants relating to missing Utah Mom sealed
Search warrants in the case of a 28-year-old Utah woman missing for three weeks have been sealed.

SALT LAKE CITY, Ut. (KKCO) - Search warrants in the case of a 28-year-old Utah woman missing for three weeks have been sealed.

Susan Powell was last seen Dec. 7, when her husband Josh Powell says he left their suburban home in West Valley city about 12:30 a.m. to take their two boys camping in freezing conditions.
Click here to find out more!

She was reported missing the same day when she failed to show up for her stockbroker job and her kids weren't dropped off at day care.

Josh Powell returned later that evening to find his wife missing. He has been named a person of interest in the case, but not a suspect.

Police have searched the Powell home and van. The 3rd District Court Clerk's office said Monday that the search warrants have been sealed by a judge.


Warrants sealed in Susan Powell case, newspaper plans challenge
Court » The Tribune, in a motion it intends to file today, wants to have that information made public.

Police and prosecutors don't want the public to know what they took from Susan Powell's house and husband.

State court clerks on Monday confirmed search warrants in the Powell case have been sealed. A lawyer for The Salt Lake Tribune said Monday the newspaper plans to file a motion today to have those warrants disclosed.

"Public access helps ensure accuracy, accountability and fairness in the court systems simply because it is a lot easier for abuses to occur in secret than in the light of day," Tribune attorney Michael O'Brien said Monday. "Access is especially important in prominent cases, such as the Powell case, because the public is paying more attention to how well the court and law enforcement systems work in such cases."

West Valley City police referred comment to prosecutors. A spokesman for the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office declined to comment.

Police have said they executed three search warrants in the Powell case. Two warrants were to search the Powell home and van; one warrant was to draw blood and other biological samples from her husband, Joshua Powell.

Search warrants in Utah typically include written statements by police officers explaining why they have cause to search. After a search warrant is executed, it is returned to a courthouse with an inventory of what police seized. The warrant and inventory log are made public 20 days later.

Brian Barnard, a Salt Lake City attorney who in 2004 sued the state court system over its handling of search warrants, said law enforcement can only seal a search warrant by showing a judge disclosure would harm an investigation. That might mean tipping off coconspirators or identifying a police informant, Barnard said.

But Barnard said it's rare for law enforcement to seek such seals because word of the search usually spreads.

"The proverbial cat is out of the bag to someone," Barnard said.

Susan Powell was reported missing on Dec. 7. Joshua Powell said he took their two sons, Charlie, 4, and Braden, 2, on a camping trip in Utah's snowy west desert the previous night. Susan »Powell's friends and family have acknowledged their marital problems, but have also said she would never leave her children.

Family spokeswoman Shelby Gifford said Chuck and Judy Cox, Susan Powell's parents, spoke with police investigators Monday and were told there were no new developments in the three-week-old case.

The Coxes, who live in Pullayup, Wash., were able to see their grandsons on Christmas and hope to have another visit soon, Gifford said. Joshua Powell traveled to Washington before Christmas with the boys and is staying with his father, who also lives there.

Gifford said Chuck Cox will stay in Pullayup to care for his wife Judy, who is not in good health, until there is a "reason or role" for him to fill by returning to Utah.

Gifford said that West Valley City police are receiving dozens of leads a day and are devoting "unfathomable" hours to running those tips down.

"We feel like we're trying to put together a puzzle without all the pieces," Gifford said. "Until we get all that information, we are going to proceed and take actions as though Susan is being held some place against her will, and doing whatever we can to help the police department."

She said many individuals and groups have offered to help search or loan equipment that could be used in a search. Gifford said the family is asking that such efforts be coordinated with the West Valley City Police Department so as to not jeopardize any future court case.

Kiirsi Hellewell, one of Susan Powell's best friends, responded in a post on her personal blog Monday to criticism that there has been no coordinated search for the missing mother.

"There are things the general public has never even thought of about this investigation," Hellewell wrote.

Hellewell said in her post she has reasons for believing that Susan "has been taken against her will and is most likely not in the state of Utah. This is why I personally am not out searching the desert or mountains with my three little kids. I won't waste my time or resources fruitlessly looking for someone who may not even be in the state. Instead, what I believe to be the greatest help here is the vast power of the Internet."

Hellewell also helps run a Facebook page dedicated to the effort to find Susan Powell.

"I believe and hope that Susan is still alive," she wrote. "And even if she isn't, I also believe that someone, somewhere, knows or has seen something that will help us find her. So yes, I believe I am not wasting my time by doing everything I can do -- especially online -- to spread her name and picture to the far corners of the globe."

The Friends and Family of Susan Powell site is organizing a social media blitz Jan. 4-6 to spread word about the missing woman.


http://www.sltrib.com/News/ci_14082069

I pray to God she is ok. It doesn't look good though. Peace be with her family. I hope they at least get enough evidence to prove who is involved, I don't think any of us would be surprised if it is her husband.

The only thing else I can say is....Those poor boys! They are probably so confused that their Mommy is not there. What a horrible thing for a kid to face at Christmas. Everyone knows when kids are little they favor their Mom. How sad....they need her right now...I hope she is found soon. One way or the other, I hope she is found, I don't want those boys to ever think that she left them.

Social Media Plays a Major Role in Susan Powell Case

http://newsblaze.com/story/20091230091524kays.nb/topstory.html

New information in the missing persons case of Susan Powell is scarce. Speculation on the internet and TV suggests that the West Valley Police are carefully making their case. This kind of media blitz is nothing like anything that they have ever experienced. They feel the pressure and must get it right, a picture perfect investigation.

State court clerks confirmed on Monday that search warrants in the Powell case have been sealed. The Salt Lake Tribune has filed a motion to have the warrants opened. Michael O'Brian, a Tribune attorney, said: "Access is especially important in prominent cases, such as the Powell case, because the public is paying more attention to how well court and law enforcement systems work in such cases." (Warrants sealed in Susan Powell case, newspaper plans challenge by Nate Carlisle and Brooke Adams-The Salt Lake Tribune-12/29/2009)

The police had issued three search warrants, two were at the Powell home and one was to draw blood and other biological samples from 'the person of interest,' husband Joshua Powell. The contents of the warrants should be made public after 20 days, but the tension is mounting to make an arrest. (ibid-The Salt Lake Tribune)

The DNA tests and other tests from the lab will take a long time to produce results. I read that the Salt Lake City lab is understaffed, and they are under pressure to 'get it right.' Remember how Johnny Cochran nailed the L.A. prosecutors when he proved that the chain of evidence was tainted? Prosecutors must be able to demonstrate every move, every change in the providence of evidence.



Last night on the HLN show Issues with Jane Velez Mitchell (guest host last night) one guest suggested that the West Valley Police have other 'persons of interest,' besides Josh Powell. I don't see any way that there could be anyone else? Perhaps this is just a strategy by the police to get Josh's guard down, to make him calm down and possibly say the wrong thing.

This coming Monday, January 4th, the Friends of Susan Powell hope to organize a ribbon campaign to accompany a social media blitz. Kiirsi Hellewell, a close friend of Susan's, is organizing the ribbon campaign, and says that lavender and sage green were Susan's favorite colors. The social media blitz will last for 72 hours and will utilize Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. (Ribbon campaign planned for Susan Powell by Pat Reavy-Deseret News-12/29/2009)

We have never witnessed this type of coverage for a missing persons case. We now have more social media than ever before. Think back on the Scott Peterson case, for example. And people from all over the world want to get involved. Everyone is their own Sherlock Holmes, Johnny Cochran or Walter Cronkite.

I have seen up to 40 or 50 (even 100) comments on many of the Susan Powell articles that I have read. It's almost getting to be 'social network vigilantism' though? The West Valley Police must be quaking from the tremendous pressure? I myself am afraid they'll drop the ball. Some facts have just disappeared, like the two fans on the wet spot. Is this now a three ring circus' that is spinning out of control?

I am linking the full six minute pristine 'navy blue cap' interview with Josh Powell, that was conducted on December 10th. After each viewing it takes on different meanings.