Susan Powell Search Turns Up Human Remains in Desert

Nearly two years after she vanished, a search for missing mom Susan Powell has uncovered human remains of unknown origin in the Utah Desert.

37-year-old Susan Powell was last seen in 2009, reported missing on December 27th of that year after she failed to show up for her job as a stockbroker. The last confirmed sighting of Powell occurred on the 26th, when she was spotted by family and friends both at church and dinner.

Powell’s husband, Josh Powell, has remained a person of interest in the disappearance but was never charged in relation to the case. His behavior at the time his wife vanished- Powell brought the couple’s two toddler sons on a mid-winter camping trip near the Pony Express trail, claiming he left the home with his sons at 12:30 AM. The boys were four and two at the time, and the elder boy confirmed that the trip occurred. Josh Powell’s family believed that his wife fled with another man and was not convinced that the odd behavior on his part indicated any involvement in Susan Powell’s disappearance.

Since Susan Powell vanished, the families of the missing woman and her husband have sparred publicly. Josh Powell’s family allege that Susan was unstable, suicidal and promiscuous, while Susan’s family has angrily refuted the accusations. Weirdly, Susan’s father-in-law even insinuated he’d engaged in inappropriate relations with his son’s wife, claiming in a Good Morning America interview last spring:

“Susan was very sexual with me… We interacted in a lot of sexual ways because Susan enjoys doing that.”

Chuck Cox, Susan Powell’s father, said that the allegations were false but that his daughter had been on the receiving end of unwanted sexual advances by the father of Josh Powell in the past. A search of the desert earlier this year also yielded human remains, but the body found turned out to be that of a young male.