Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY -- A new Susan Powell website believed to be created by her husband is drawing skepticism and ire.
Susanpowell.org claims to be "the only source of new photos, videos, and even Susan's own words." The site says it has "exclusive access and copyright to more photos, videos, and even continuing information about the beautiful woman."
The front page features a picture of Susan, Josh and the children perched on a snowy night in front of a campfire, a detail that didn't escape the attention of former cop and Utahdetective.com owner David Lundberg.
"Clearly he's trying to demonstrate they do go camping often with the children in the snow," Lundberg said Monday. Powell has said he took his boys camping the night Susan disappeared.
Lundberg says the site appears to be more about backing up Josh's alibi than finding Susan. "It wasn't much where you would think someone was losing somebody or missing someone or they were reaching out to the public to help find that person," Lundberg said.
Lundberg also told KSL Newsradio he was struck by the watermarks on the site's pictures. "If someone in my family came up missing like that, I would not copyright anything," Lundberg said. "I'd want that information out anywhere. I would share that picture with anyone that might help me get that person back."
Cox family spokeswoman Shelby Gifford says Susan's parents aren't giving the website much credence. "It's all about Joshua," Gifford told KSL.
Gifford says the family believes Josh purchased the domain name in 2006 at the same time he had purchased domain names for other family members. The family isn't sure whether Josh, a computer programmer, created the site.
"It's not a hugely complicated website -- probably would have taken an hour of his time [if he did create it]," Gifford said. "It could have been an hour he could have spent talking to investigators."
The page refers people to a number for West Valley City police if they have information about Susan. The West Valley City Police Department has no comment on the website.
Another website, www.susancoxpowellfoundation.org, was established by her family earlier this month to fight domestic violence and provide strategic media consulting to families of missing persons. Susan's family and friends started a Facebook page, "Friends and Family of Susan Powell," days after she was reported missing. It is billed as a clearinghouse for information.
Police call Josh Powell a "person of interest" in his wife's disappearance. The 28-year-old mother of two has been missing since Dec. 6. On the night that Susan went missing, Josh told investigators he was camping in Utah's west desert with his two young sons during a snowstorm. He has since moved to Washington state.
E-mail: aadams@ksl.com
