Susan Powell Reportedly Made Plans to Leave Husband 1 Year Ago, Feared Kidnapping
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A year before her disappearance, Susan Powell thought about divorcing her husband and even put together a plan in case he tried to kidnap her sons or strip her of her finances, friends told The Salt Lake Tribune.
Susan Powell reportedly told her friends that she went so far as to set up her own bank account, prepare for a place to stay if she left her husband, Joshua Powell, and wrote up an informal will, the paper reported.
Her friends said Susan Powell wanted to make sure they all knew about her plans, the paper reported.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}After fasting and praying, she made the decision to stay in her marriage, which many friends and family say had improved over the last year, according to the paper.
Susan Powell, 28, was last seen on Dec. 7, when her husband says he left their suburban home in West Valley City at about 12:30 a.m. to take their two boys, ages 2 and 4, camping in freezing conditions.
She was reported missing on the same day when she failed to show up for her stockbroker job and her children were not dropped off at day care.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Meantime, police in West Valley City, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake City, are trying to determine where Joshua Powell traveled in a rental car two days after Susan was reported to have disappeared. He reportedly logged hundreds of miles on the rental vehicle, the Deseret News reported.
Joshua Powell — a person of interest in his wife's disappearance — rented the car for 24 hours while police had his minivan in custody to process it for evidence.
Police are now looking into where he drove during that 24-hour period because the car lacked a GPS tracking device but had "several hundred" extra miles on it when he returned it to the rental car company, the Deseret News reported.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Police did not hear from 34-year-old Joshua Powell during that period of time, the paper reported. His minivan has since been returned to him by police and he has not been named a suspect in his wife Susan's disappearance.
Joshua Powell's father says his son is being vilified, telling The Salt Lake Tribune on Sunday from his home in Puyallup, Wash., that the investigation has turned his son into a scapegoat.
"The whole thing has just turned into a vilification of Josh and it will turn into a vilification of me, my ex-wife and my other kids," Steven Powell said through the partially open front door of his home. "I'm not making any statement because it doesn't matter how benign it is or how supportive it is. Somebody will twist it around."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}On Monday, West Valley City Police Capt. Tom McLachlan said an anonymous donor is offering up to $10,000 for original information that may lead them to Susan Powell.
Investigators have grown increasingly suspicious of Joshua Powell. On Sunday, he attended a candlelight vigil in Washington, although he did not speak to reporters or Susan Powell's family.
Susan Powell's father, Charles Cox, wrote on a Facebook page for friends and family that he didn't understand why Josh was at the vigil.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I heard that Joshua (the husband) had arrived," he wrote in the posting. "I saw this (sic) brother doing an interview, I couldn't really understand why Josh was there."
Cox and Joshua Powell have barely spoken since Susan Powell was reported missing, although Cox has defended Joshua Powell as a good father.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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