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Police Call Off Search for Susan Cox Powell

West Valley City Police are closing the investigation into Susan Cox Powell’s disappearance, but authorities say they will continue to pursue any credible leads should they arise. Susan Powell was last seen at her West Valley City home in December 2009. 

Police say there are no further active leads in the disappearance of Susan Cox Powell. Throughout the investigation that lasted more than three years, police zeroed in on a number of people, including Susan’s Father-in-law Steve Powell, Susan’s brother-in-law Michael Powell and Susan’s Husband Josh Powell, who according to West Valley City Police is the last person to have seen Susan.

“We are confident that Josh was definitely involved in her disappearance," says West Valley Deputy Police Chief Mike Powell. He says investigators firmly believe Michael Powell was also involved in the disappearance.

“The circumstances surrounding that are still unknown at this time," he says.

But without a body and only circumstantial evidence, Powell says West Valley City Police were unable to move forward with an arrest.

Kiirsi Hellewell is a friend of Susan Powell’s.

She says she doesn’t believe West Valley City Police are giving up.

“Obviously, logically there is a limited amount of money and a limited amount of resources," Hellewell says. "You can’t investigate a case like this full time forever, but it’s hard. And I hoped this day wouldn’t come so soon.”

Hellewell says she’s looking forward to finally seeing the documents relating to Powell’s case that were sealed during the investigation. West Valley Police released tens of thousands of pages of documents following the press conference on Monday.

The announcement to call off the search follows a horrific string of events including the murder suicide of Susan’s husband Josh Powell and her two sons Braden and Charlie in Puyallup Washington last year, and the suicide death of Josh Powell’s brother Michael in Minneapolis in February of this year. 

Whittney Evans grew up southern Ohio and has worked in public radio since 2005. She has a communications degree from Morehead State University in Morehead, Kentucky, where she learned the ropes of reporting, producing and hosting. Whittney moved to Utah in 2009 where she became a reporter, producer and morning host at KCPW. Her reporting ranges from the hyper-local issues affecting Salt Lake City residents, to state-wide issues of national interest. Outside of work, she enjoys playing the guitar and getting to know the breathtaking landscape of the Mountain West.
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