Dec. 6, 2009, noon — Susan Cox Powell, 28, and her two sons attend church services at the Hunter 36th LDS Ward, and then walk home with friend Kiirsi Hellewell.
Dec. 6, afternoon — Neighbor JoVonna Owings visits the Powell's West Valley City home on Sunday afternoon to visit with Susan. The family had eaten pancakes and eggs for dinner. Susan, who was reportedly feeling ill, takes a nap at about 5 p.m. Owings left, as did Josh Powell, who said he was taking his two sons sledding.
Dec. 6, 8:30 p.m. — A neighbor saw Josh Powell as he returns home and parks in the garage of the Powell's West Valley City home.
Dec. 7, 12:30 a.m. — Josh Powell reports that he left his home with his two sons, then ages 2 and 4, to go camping at the Simpson Springs Campground, about 25 miles west of Vernon, in the remote west desert of Tooele County while Susan sleeps.
Dec. 7, 9 to 10 a.m. — The Powell's daycare provider becomes alarmed when the couple fails to drop off their sons on schedule and she could not reach either parent by cell phone or at their home. She contacts Josh Powell's mother and sister, who call police after they cannot locate the couple. Police break into the Powell's home and find no one there, but notice two fans blowing on a wet spot of the carpet in the home.
Dec. 7, 5 p.m. — Josh Powell and his sons return home. Powell is taken to the West Valley Police station for questioning.
Dec. 8, 11 a.m. — Susan's father, Chuck Cox, receives a telephone call from Josh Powell, who informs him that Susan is missing and that he is about to be interviewed by police again.
Dec. 9 — Police serve a search warrant on the Powell residence and remove boxes, bags and a computer.
Dec. 10 — Law officers search the Simpson Springs area, but find nothing.
Dec. 11 — Police report that snow hampers their search efforts in the Simpson Springs area of Tooele County.
Dec. 12 — Josh Powell, Chuck Cox and other family members gather outside the LDS Church's Hunter Central Stake Center to pray, sing hymns and start a 24-hour fast in hopes of Susan Cox Powell's safe return. A tearful Josh Powell does not speak. Chuck Cox says he is concerned about the focus on his son-in-law. That evening, Josh Powell joins an effort to hand out missing person fliers to fans attending a Jazz game.
Dec. 14 — Josh Powell hires Utah defense attorney Scott C. Williams and skips a third interview with West Valley City Police.
Dec. 15 — Josh Powell provides a DNA sample to police. Josh Powell is labeled as a "person of interest" in the case of his wife's disappearance.
Dec. 17 — West Valley City police subpoena Salt Lake City TV stations for footage of interviews with Josh Powell taken days after his wife's disappearance.
Dec.18 — Josh Powell and his sons travel to Puyallup, Wash., to stay in the home of his father, Steven Powell, for the holidays.
Dec. 20 — Friends and family of Susan Cox Powell hold vigils in Utah and Puyallup, Wash., to keep attention focused on finding the missing woman.
Jan. 4, 2010 — Family and friends of Susan launch a social media campaign to spread word of the woman's disappearance on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Jan. 6 — Josh Powell and his brother, Michael Powell, arrive at the Powell's West Valley City home to pack the family's belongings. Friends say Josh Powell, who has been fired from his job, may be unable to keep the home and is moving to Puyallup.
Jan. 27 — Neighbors decorate the Powell home in West Valley City with dozens of purple ribbons, hearts and signs to bring renewed attention to Susan's case.
Jan. 28 — Josh Powell returns to West Valley City to make home repairs to his property, in order to rent it.
Jan. 29 — West Valley City police serve a search warrant on Josh Powell and seize the blue minivan he drove the night his wife disappeared.
Feb. 15 — The Cox family holds a news conference in Puyallup, Wash. Cox family members allege Susan had a physical altercation with Josh Powell and detail the couple's problems, citing controlling behavior of Josh Powell. They say Susan had suggested to family and friends she would end the relationship by her April 6 wedding anniversary if the relationship did not improve. The family also announces a nonprofit organization in Susan's name, aimed at helping families of missing persons.
Feb. 25 — Neighbors of Steven Powell canvass the Washington neighborhood with missing persons posters and ribbons. The Coxes say it upsets the Powell children.
April 10 — Volunteers search for Susan in the Simpson Springs area but turn up nothing.
Aug. 25 — West Valley City police say detectives have spent at least 6,850 man hours to date searching for Susan, at a cost of more than $150,000. Five of the department's 28 detectives are assigned full-time to investigating Powell's disappearance.
Sept. 10 — Chuck Cox and Ed Smart appear together in Utah as part of an effort to raise awareness for kidnapped children and promote legislation that would require that DNA samples be taken from people arrested on suspicion of a felony.
Dec. 6 — Josh Powell and his father, Steven, assert that Susan Cox Powell ran away with missing Utah man Steven Koecher, who disappeared in Nevada in December 2009. The Powells claim the pair ran off to Brazil, where Koecher had served an LDS mission, and they assert the missing duo may have married and started a new life together.
July 14, 2011 — Steven Powell appears on the Today Show, to announce his intention to publish Susan Cox Powell's teenage diary, which he says will show she was "sexually open."
Early August — Josh files restraining order against his father-in-law, forbidding Chuck Cox from approaching him or his boys.
Aug. 18 — West Valley City police report a break in the case and conduct a two-day search of abandoned mine shafts in Ely, Nev. Few other details are released.
Aug. 23 — Judge orders Josh Powell and Chuck Cox to stay at least 500 feet from each other.
Aug. 24 — Steven Powell tells national news that he was "in love" with Susan Cox Powell, and that she had been flirtatious and interacted "in sexual ways" with him.
Aug. 25 — Thirteen West Valley City investigators, with 10 from the Pierce County Sheriff's Office, serve a search warrant on the Puyallup, Wash., home of Josh Powell and his father, Steven Powell. Boxes of videos, photographs and various computer equipment, as well as Susan's childhood diaries, were taken as evidence from the home.
Aug. 26 — A Washington judge grants a temporary restraining order prohibiting Steven Powell and anyone in his home, including Josh Powell, from publishing or distributing any of Susan Cox Powell's diaries.
Sept. 13 — Investigators conduct an 10-day search, using cadaver dogs, near Topaz Mountain in Juab County. Details of the search are not released.
Sept. 22 — Washington police arrest and charge 61-year-old Steven Powell with 14 counts of voyeurism and possession of child pornography, based on evidence seized from his home during August search. A judge orders the sons of Josh and Susan Cox Powell to be removed from the home and placed in protective custody.
Sept. 23 — Steven Powell pleads not guilty to charges, but remains in jail. A Washington judge rules that Susan Cox Powell's childhood diaries cannot be released to the public. Josh Powell files a 22-page response to the order. Chuck Cox files petition for custody of the young boys.
Sept. 27 — West Valley City police Chief Thayle "Buzz" Nielsen tells Deseret News that the missing person case is at the "tipping point" of being solved.
Sept. 28 — A Washington judge grants custody of the sons of Josh and Susan Cox Powell to the boy's maternal grandparents, Chuck and Judy Cox. Order cites safety concerns. Judge also orders Josh Powell to undergo a psychological evaluation and attend parenting classes.
Oct. 6 — The mother of Josh Powell says her son is a "loving and very engaging father in the care of his sons." Terri Powell had never publicly commented about her son or her missing daughter-in-law's case.
Oct. 15 — Friends and family members of Susan Cox Powell celebrate her 30th birthday.
Oct. 27 — Steven Powell's trial is delayed until March 2012. He remains in jail.
Nov. 15 — In court filings, Chuck Cox says his grandsons are seeing therapists. One boy is having nightmares. He reports the boys are more obstinate and defiant after weekly visits with their father. Cox requests a copy of his son-in-law's court-ordered psychological evaluation.
Dec. 6 — Friends and family of Susan Cox Powell hold charity event in Utah, marking two years since her disappearance.
Dec. 7 — Josh Powell files a declaration in Washington court as part of ongoing custody battle for his two children. He says the boys are in the middle of a "very hostile war."
Jan. 30, 2012 — Josh Powell's brother, Michael Powell, launches a website accusing the Coxes of "maiming" one of the boys, alleging that the children are in danger.
Feb. 1 — A Washington judge orders Josh Powell to undergo a psychosexual evaluation, including a polygraph test. The order comes during a hearing about the custody status of Josh and Susan Cox Powell's two young boys, now ages 4 and 7.
Feb. 5 — Officials say Josh Powell and his sons are killed in an explosion inside Powell's Washington state home.