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WEST VALLEY CITY — The Mayor of West Valley City is weighing in on what he says is the biggest police case in his six years in office: the search for Susan Powell.
According to Mayor Mike Winder, police have spent a lot of time and resources on this case — much of it behind the scenes — and he says the evidence is mounting.
The case is red hot, and we will find out what happened to Susan Powell.
–Mayor Mike Winder, West Valley City
"The case is red hot, and we will find out what happened to Susan Powell," Winder said in an interview with KSL News Wednesday.
Despite public scrutiny, the confident mayor says it's only a matter of time before West Valley City Police solve the 2-year-old mystery.
"We're getting really close to cracking this case and going public," he said.
Winder says what's been made public so far doesn't tell the entire story. Real evidence, he says, led to the searches in Ely, Nev., and Topaz Mountain. Those efforts, although seemingly futile, were just a small part of a bigger investigation.
"It was not just a wild goose chase," Winder said, noting the arrest of Josh Powell's father is another example of that.
Winder says Steven Powell's arrest on pornography and voyeurism charges was a long-time coming. Winder knew about the arrest four days before it happened.
We first had tips on Steven Powell's creepy behavior months ago. We've been laying the groundwork, and frankly that all helped us get a search warrant to go to the house in Puyallup.
–Mayor Mike Winder, West Valley City
"We first had tips on Steven Powell's creepy behavior months ago," Winder said. "We've been laying the groundwork, and frankly that all helped us get a search warrant to go to the house in Puyallup."
Winder also talked about the cost of the investigation — between $500,000 and $750,000 spent so far. He says West Valley Police Chief Thayne "Buzz" Nielsen has worked within his budget, but money is no object.
"We have put our full resources behind (this case), and especially with the evidence we have and the hot leads we have, we will continue to do so," Winder said.
The mayor says federal and other law enforcement agencies have helped shoulder the cost. Private donors have also offered to foot travel costs for Powell's attorneys, should Powell accept an open invitation to talk to the FBI.
"So there's no excuse in the world why he can't be talking to authorities," Winder said.
Winder also said despite Josh Powell's comments in a Washington state courtroom Tuesday, Powell has never talked with police in West Valley City or anywhere else.
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Written by Sandra Yi with contributions from Peter Samore.
