light-colored minivan racing away.
She didn’t call the police, thinking she had probably just overheard a family argument, and she didn’t want to be a busybody. Still, the incident troubled her and she didn’t sleep much that night, wondering if she should have done something more.
* * *
Neither Susan nor Josh arrived at work the next morning, nor did they call in sick that Monday of December 7, 2009. Even if Susan’s nausea had been the precursor of the flu or serious stomach trouble, she would have phoned her supervisors at Wells Fargo. Or she would have asked Josh to call. It wasn’t in her nature to simply fail to show up at her job without any explanation. Even more disturbing, the Powells didn’t call the day-care mom, who expected Charlie and Braden, to let her know that the boys wouldn’t be coming.
Since Josh often worked at home, it wasn’t particularly unusual for him to be away from the trucking company’s offices, so no one there was concerned about his absence.
No one saw any of the Powell family around their house that Monday. Their day-care provider tried to call them, but no one answered. Alarmed, she called Josh’s mother, Terry Powell, and his sister Jennifer Graves—both of whom lived nearby—to tell them how concerned she was. They too tried to get in touch with Josh and Susan, with no success. Neither of the missing pair answered their cell phones.
Susan had told many women in her circle about her fears, and that may have been why the babysitter called Josh’s family— and why Terry called the West Valley City Police Department with a “check on the welfare” request at 10 A.M. Although an adult has to be missing for at least forty-eight hours before an official search is begun, and it was awfully soon to file a missing person’s report, the investigators heard the anxiety in Terry’s and Jennifer’s voices, and with their permission, activated a missing person’s report at once.
Still, at this point, there could be some reasonable explanation for all four of the Powells being gone.
* * *
Jennifer Graves finally reached Josh Powell’s cell phone at 5:27 that afternoon. At first she felt relief, but when she asked him where he was, and he told her he was at work, she knew that didn’t compute.
“You’re lying, Josh,” his sister said. “We know you’re not at work. Where are you?”
Josh then changed his story and told Jennifer that he and the boys had been camping.
“Well, you’d better get home. The police are there, and Susan is missing.”
“How much do you know?” Josh asked Jennifer.
“What do you mean,” she responded. “Why did you ask me that?”
Josh hung up.
Twenty minutes later, in an attempt to avoid unnerving Josh Powell more, West Valley City police detective Ellis Maxwell borrowed Jennifer Graves’s cell phone and used that to dial Josh’s number. Josh picked up, seeing his sister’s number on the Caller ID.
Maxwell identified himself and told Josh to return to his house as soon as possible.
“I have to get my sons something to eat first,” Josh said. “Then I’ll be home.”
It was close to an hour before Josh drove up. Detective Maxwell walked up to the passenger side of the minivan before Josh could exit the driver’s seat.
“People have been looking for you,” Maxwell said. “Why didn’t you answer your cell phone or call someone all day today?”
“I had to keep my phone turned off to save the battery,” Josh replied. “I don’t have a phone charger.”
That was a ridiculous excuse. Maxwell could clearly see Josh’s mobile phone resting on a front seat console. The phone was plugged into a cigarette lighter phone charger.
Josh appeared to be shocked to learn that people—including his own mother and sister—had been concerned enough about his family’s safety to call the police. He said he and the boys were fine. And as Maxwell peered into the backseats, he was reassured to see Charlie
She didn’t call the police, thinking she had probably just overheard a family argument, and she didn’t want to be a busybody. Still, the incident troubled her and she didn’t sleep much that night, wondering if she should have done something more.
* * *
Neither Susan nor Josh arrived at work the next morning, nor did they call in sick that Monday of December 7, 2009. Even if Susan’s nausea had been the precursor of the flu or serious stomach trouble, she would have phoned her supervisors at Wells Fargo. Or she would have asked Josh to call. It wasn’t in her nature to simply fail to show up at her job without any explanation. Even more disturbing, the Powells didn’t call the day-care mom, who expected Charlie and Braden, to let her know that the boys wouldn’t be coming.
Since Josh often worked at home, it wasn’t particularly unusual for him to be away from the trucking company’s offices, so no one there was concerned about his absence.
No one saw any of the Powell family around their house that Monday. Their day-care provider tried to call them, but no one answered. Alarmed, she called Josh’s mother, Terry Powell, and his sister Jennifer Graves—both of whom lived nearby—to tell them how concerned she was. They too tried to get in touch with Josh and Susan, with no success. Neither of the missing pair answered their cell phones.
Susan had told many women in her circle about her fears, and that may have been why the babysitter called Josh’s family— and why Terry called the West Valley City Police Department with a “check on the welfare” request at 10 A.M. Although an adult has to be missing for at least forty-eight hours before an official search is begun, and it was awfully soon to file a missing person’s report, the investigators heard the anxiety in Terry’s and Jennifer’s voices, and with their permission, activated a missing person’s report at once.
Still, at this point, there could be some reasonable explanation for all four of the Powells being gone.
* * *
Jennifer Graves finally reached Josh Powell’s cell phone at 5:27 that afternoon. At first she felt relief, but when she asked him where he was, and he told her he was at work, she knew that didn’t compute.
“You’re lying, Josh,” his sister said. “We know you’re not at work. Where are you?”
Josh then changed his story and told Jennifer that he and the boys had been camping.
“Well, you’d better get home. The police are there, and Susan is missing.”
“How much do you know?” Josh asked Jennifer.
“What do you mean,” she responded. “Why did you ask me that?”
Josh hung up.
Twenty minutes later, in an attempt to avoid unnerving Josh Powell more, West Valley City police detective Ellis Maxwell borrowed Jennifer Graves’s cell phone and used that to dial Josh’s number. Josh picked up, seeing his sister’s number on the Caller ID.
Maxwell identified himself and told Josh to return to his house as soon as possible.
“I have to get my sons something to eat first,” Josh said. “Then I’ll be home.”
It was close to an hour before Josh drove up. Detective Maxwell walked up to the passenger side of the minivan before Josh could exit the driver’s seat.
“People have been looking for you,” Maxwell said. “Why didn’t you answer your cell phone or call someone all day today?”
“I had to keep my phone turned off to save the battery,” Josh replied. “I don’t have a phone charger.”
That was a ridiculous excuse. Maxwell could clearly see Josh’s mobile phone resting on a front seat console. The phone was plugged into a cigarette lighter phone charger.
Josh appeared to be shocked to learn that people—including his own mother and sister—had been concerned enough about his family’s safety to call the police. He said he and the boys were fine. And as Maxwell peered into the backseats, he was reassured to see Charlie
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