WEST VALLEY CITY — No new leads were reported Monday in the disappearance of a West Valley woman missing for more than a week. Meanwhile, her husband, who police have not labeled as a suspect, has hired a high profile Salt Lake attorney.
Josh Powell has retained the services of Scott Williams, sources told the Deseret News. Williams did not return a call Monday placed by the News to his office.
Williams has been involved in a couple of recent high profile cases, including the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping in which he represented co-defendant Wanda Barzee in both her state and federal court proceedings. Williams also represented Christopher Jeppson, one of two men charged in the 1995 murder of Kiplyn Davis.
Police continued looking Monday for Josh Powell's wife, 28-year-old Susan Powell, who has not been seen since Dec. 7.
He told police he left his house about midnight on Dec. 6 to go camping with their two sons, ages 2 and 4. He said they went to the Simpson Springs recreation area in Tooele County. Temperatures that night were well below 32 degrees.
Powell later told police he slept with his boys inside their van. Investigators searching that area over the weekend said they could neither prove nor disprove Powell was there, due to a layer of fresh snow.
On Dec. 7, Josh Powell's mother went to her son's house after the couple's employers called asking why they had not shown up for work, and their day care called asking why their children were not dropped off. The doors were locked, and there were no signs of forced entry, said West Valley police Capt. Tom McLachlan.
Officers were called and broke a window to get into the house, fearing possible carbon monoxide poisoning. Inside, they found two fans directed at a spot on a floor that was wet, according to Susan Powell's father, Chuck Cox. Cox flew to Salt Lake City from Washington state Sunday to assist in the search for his missing daughter.
Josh Powell returned to his house the afternoon of Dec. 7, less than 24 hours after he said he went camping.
Police say items belonging to Susan Powell that "one would normally take" when leaving the house were still in the residence.
Police interviewed Josh Powell the night of Dec. 7. Investigators had asked Powell to come in again this week for follow-up questions, and there was speculation he would be interviewed Monday. But by Monday afternoon, he had not shown up at the West Valley Police Department.
JoVanna Owings told KSL-TV she had dinner with the Powells the afternoon of Dec. 6 and may have been the last person to see Susan Powell, other than Josh Powell.
"There was no indication that there were any problems, nothing that would indicate that anything was any different than any other day," Owings said.
There was no mention of camping that afternoon.
Owings told KSL she spoke with Josh Powell on his cell phone the following day before he came home, but she declined to talk about what was discussed.
Court records show Josh Powell filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2007 with nearly $188,000 in unsecured debt, including a nearly $60,000 debt for student loans and $90,000 owed to a collection agency.
e-mail: preavy@desnews.com