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Chuck Cox hopes warrant release leads to answers

Posted at 9:56 AM, Mar 31, 2012
and last updated 2012-04-01 01:06:53-04

PUYALLUP, Washington -- The father of missing West Valley City mother Susan Cox Powell said he hopes the release of warrants detailing police's investigating into her disappearance provides more answers and helps solve the case.

In remarks broadcast on FOX 13's Good Day Utah Weekend Edition on Saturday, Chuck Cox acknowledged that his daughter is likely dead, but said he continued to hope that police would recover her body.

"I want them to keep looking," Cox said. "I want to look around here, I want to look down there (in Utah). I want to look anywhere where Steve or Josh would have access. They've had two years to move the body. She could be anywhere."

The warrants were unsealed Friday in connection with the criminal case pending against Steven Powell, Susan's father-in-law. They reveal that investigators had found Susan's blood on the tile floor of the Powell home, and that Josh Powell had Susan's cell phone in a car he rented days after her death.

[Read the PDF of the Powell search warrant (WARNING: Graphic)]

Investigators also found a hand-written letter titled "Last will & testament of Susan Powell" in a safe deposit box. In that letter, Susan said she didn't trust Josh, that he had threatened to "destroy her" if she left him and a warning that if she died, it was probably not an accident.

Cox told reporters in Washington that he wonders why Josh Powell hadn't been charged if the circumstantial evidence him was so strong.

"He should have been arrested a long time ago," said Cox. "Obviously something was dropped somewhere, the judge should have never allowed the visitation."

Steven Powell is in jail facing voyeurism and child pornography-related charges. He is accused of taking inappropriate images of girls and woman. Police have alleged Susan was also among the victims. Cox said he believes Steven Powell knows something about Susan's disappearance.

"I think Steve Powell knows where she is," he said. "This may help push him along because he still thinks he's going to get away with something and this is another thing that he can no longer deny."

It was Steven Powell's arrest that led to Josh Powell losing custody of his children. On Feb. 5, he killed himself and Charlie and Braden in a house fire and explosion.