crawl.
Chuck Cox had reportedly heard that the West Valley City police expected to arrest Josh Powell in the summer of 2011, but it was the middle of August and Josh, Charlie, and Braden were still living with Steven.
No arrests had taken place.
* * *
Since 2009, Chuck Cox had appeared on more than forty television and radio shows, including Good Morning America, Today, Dr. Phil, and Larry King Live, to fulfill his promise to his daughter that he would “shout her name from the rooftops” until she was found, and he wasn’t about to stop.
On August 20, 2011, Chuck and Judy, along with members of their family and friends, stood in the Fred Meyer mega-store parking lot in Puyallup and handed out fliers with Susan’s photo and announced to shoppers that their daughter and sister was still missing.
Suddenly Chuck Cox and Steven Powell met head-on. It was definitely not a friendly encounter. Steven confronted Chuck and began shouting that he was deliberately embarrassing the Powell family at the store where they shopped. That was true about the Fred Meyer store, but it was also the store where Chuck and Judy shopped regularly, too.
Fred Meyer employees knew Josh Powell well; he was a problem customer, and clerks dreaded seeing him entering the store.
“He’s always complaining,” a department manager said later. “Nothing suits him, he returns stuff—and I think everybody who works here knows him.”
But the conflict in their parking lot had nothing whatsoever to do with Fred Meyer—“Freddie’s,” as north westerners call it. It was strictly between Chuck Cox and Steven Powell, and television reporters rapidly got word of it and clustered around them.
Steven Powell accused Chuck Cox of humiliating his family, warning people against them—especially against Josh—and he was dismissive of any suggestion that Susan had come to harm.
As he and Josh had been doing of late, Steven Powell smeared her reputation and continued in his monologue about how she had run off with another man, leaving his poor son to grieve.
A few minutes later, Josh came driving up and joined them. Tears ran down his face as he maintained his stance as a cuckolded husband, left to raise two small boys alone, reviled by the public because of what his father-in-law was saying.
Chuck Cox was angry; he had held his temper for twenty-one months, waiting and hoping for word of his precious daughter. Now he reminded Steven Powell that he was the one breaking a restraining order by showing up and interrupting them as they handed out fliers. He was clearly more in control of the situation than either Steven or Josh was, but he was upset, too.
There seemed to be a disconnect of empathy on the Powells’ part as their voices rose. Beyond Josh’s showing up at the December 2009 vigil shortly after Susan vanished, neither he nor his father had demonstrated any concern for her family’s pain.
More than ever, the Powells simply wanted it all to go away. In less than four months, Susan would be gone for two years. All that time without a word. Steven Powell was furious that Chuck wouldn’t just let it drop. Why did he have to keep talking about it, and handing out his damned fliers? Didn’t he know how upsetting this was to their mutual grandsons?
Probably less upsetting than losing their mother.
Neither grandfather was deterred by the media teams who stood by with mikes and cameras watching what one reporter called “a surreal scene.”
Did either man know what was about to come to a head in this tangled case? When Josh drove up and broke into tears, it would seem so. The world was closing in on him.
Chapter Nine
The Utah police were searching in the west desert of Utah and also near Ely, Nevada. Breaking news bulletins shouted that “remains” had been found, and that they could be what was left of Susan. But the decomposed body was soon identified as a Mexican citizen—a male.
Then there was another find of what looked
Chuck Cox had reportedly heard that the West Valley City police expected to arrest Josh Powell in the summer of 2011, but it was the middle of August and Josh, Charlie, and Braden were still living with Steven.
No arrests had taken place.
* * *
Since 2009, Chuck Cox had appeared on more than forty television and radio shows, including Good Morning America, Today, Dr. Phil, and Larry King Live, to fulfill his promise to his daughter that he would “shout her name from the rooftops” until she was found, and he wasn’t about to stop.
On August 20, 2011, Chuck and Judy, along with members of their family and friends, stood in the Fred Meyer mega-store parking lot in Puyallup and handed out fliers with Susan’s photo and announced to shoppers that their daughter and sister was still missing.
Suddenly Chuck Cox and Steven Powell met head-on. It was definitely not a friendly encounter. Steven confronted Chuck and began shouting that he was deliberately embarrassing the Powell family at the store where they shopped. That was true about the Fred Meyer store, but it was also the store where Chuck and Judy shopped regularly, too.
Fred Meyer employees knew Josh Powell well; he was a problem customer, and clerks dreaded seeing him entering the store.
“He’s always complaining,” a department manager said later. “Nothing suits him, he returns stuff—and I think everybody who works here knows him.”
But the conflict in their parking lot had nothing whatsoever to do with Fred Meyer—“Freddie’s,” as north westerners call it. It was strictly between Chuck Cox and Steven Powell, and television reporters rapidly got word of it and clustered around them.
Steven Powell accused Chuck Cox of humiliating his family, warning people against them—especially against Josh—and he was dismissive of any suggestion that Susan had come to harm.
As he and Josh had been doing of late, Steven Powell smeared her reputation and continued in his monologue about how she had run off with another man, leaving his poor son to grieve.
A few minutes later, Josh came driving up and joined them. Tears ran down his face as he maintained his stance as a cuckolded husband, left to raise two small boys alone, reviled by the public because of what his father-in-law was saying.
Chuck Cox was angry; he had held his temper for twenty-one months, waiting and hoping for word of his precious daughter. Now he reminded Steven Powell that he was the one breaking a restraining order by showing up and interrupting them as they handed out fliers. He was clearly more in control of the situation than either Steven or Josh was, but he was upset, too.
There seemed to be a disconnect of empathy on the Powells’ part as their voices rose. Beyond Josh’s showing up at the December 2009 vigil shortly after Susan vanished, neither he nor his father had demonstrated any concern for her family’s pain.
More than ever, the Powells simply wanted it all to go away. In less than four months, Susan would be gone for two years. All that time without a word. Steven Powell was furious that Chuck wouldn’t just let it drop. Why did he have to keep talking about it, and handing out his damned fliers? Didn’t he know how upsetting this was to their mutual grandsons?
Probably less upsetting than losing their mother.
Neither grandfather was deterred by the media teams who stood by with mikes and cameras watching what one reporter called “a surreal scene.”
Did either man know what was about to come to a head in this tangled case? When Josh drove up and broke into tears, it would seem so. The world was closing in on him.
Chapter Nine
The Utah police were searching in the west desert of Utah and also near Ely, Nevada. Breaking news bulletins shouted that “remains” had been found, and that they could be what was left of Susan. But the decomposed body was soon identified as a Mexican citizen—a male.
Then there was another find of what looked
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