WEST VALLEY CITY — A car rented by Josh Powell two days after his wife was reported missing was returned just 24 hours later with a lot of miles on it, according to police.
"It looks like there were several hundred miles driven," West Valley Police Capt. Tom McLachlan told the Deseret News.
Investigators do not know where the car was taken or where Josh Powell was during that 24-hour period. There was no GPS data stored in that rental car, said McLachlan, who declined Monday to say from where the vehicle was rented.
Powell reportedly rented the car after police seized his minivan — his only vehicle — to be processed for evidence in connection with the disappearance of his wife, Susan Powell. The van has since been returned to Josh Powell.
Questions surrounding the rental car are just a few of many to which West Valley police would like Josh Powell to provide detailed answers. But as of Monday, they say, he continues to be non-forthcoming and has not accepted their open invitation to return to police headquarters for another interview.
Powell has been named a person of interest in the missing person case by police, but not a suspect.
Susan Powell has been missing for more than two weeks. She was last seen Dec. 6. Josh Powell said he took his two young sons camping in remote Tooele County about midnight that night. Temperatures that night were well below freezing.
When Powell returned the following afternoon, his wife was gone.
West Valley police attempted to search the Simpson Springs recreation area in Tooele County along the Pony Express Trail, but their efforts were hampered by fresh snow and the vastness of the area. McLachlan said Monday there were currently no active searches happening.
"There is just no specific area or location you can go to," he said.
But investigators continue to receive tips and are following potential leads. "We're moving forward with it," McLachlan said of the case.
Also Monday, an anonymous donor offered a $10,000 reward for original information that results in Susan Powell being found. No other information about the donor was available.
Two vigils were held Sunday night — in West Valley City and Puyallup, Wash., Susan Powell's hometown — for the mother of two.
Josh Powell left Utah this weekend with his two young boys to spend the holidays in Washington. Neighbors have reported seeing many of the family's items being moved out of their house. Police say Powell is free to come and go as he pleases because he is not a suspect. Investigators do not know how long he intends to stay in Washington.
Friends say Powell was recently fired from his job. They told the Deseret News that he said he was fired because of the attention surrounding his wife's disappearance.
He attended Sunday night's rainy vigil in Puyallup, as did Susan's grandparents, parents and siblings. Josh Powell did not speak to reporters gathered at the event.
Josh came after the vigil had ended and family members were hugging each other before leaving, said Shelby Gifford, a family spokeswoman and a friend of Susan Powell. He arrived with his 4-year-old son, Charlie, and a group of friends who shielded him from others already at the vigil, including Susan's family, with umbrellas, she said.
Chuck Cox, Susan's father, later posted on a Facebook page dedicated to Susan that he wasn't sure why Josh showed up at the vigil. The post has since been removed.
Gifford tried to clarify that statement Monday, saying, "It's not as big a production as it's made out to be."
Josh had every right to be at the vigil, she said. What puzzled the family was why Josh seemed to isolate himself from everyone else except his friends who came with him.
"Josh surrounded himself with friends. No one could speak with him," Gifford said. "There's not two different camps. It would have been nice to talk to Charlie and Josh."
Chuck Cox wanted a chance give his grandson a hug, she said, and even talk to Josh. Eventually, Susan's sister Denise pushed her way through the cover of umbrellas surrounding Josh and made him engage in a conversation with her. Gifford described their talk as "friendly" and "fine" and as normal as any conversation they had had prior to Susan disappearing.
"It wasn't hostile. It was normal," she said.
The two hugged and arranged to speak more at a later time.
Anyone with information on Susan Powell can call police at 801-840-4000.
Chuck and Judy Cox, Susan's parents, planned Monday night to attend the annual Washington State Santa Cops delivery event. Similar to Utah's Shop With A Cop program, Washington police deliver toys to unsuspecting needy families.
"(Chuck and Judy) want to focus on being of service to others, focus on the Christmas joy they've been robbed of this year," Gifford said.
e-mail: preavy@desnews.com