Welcome to the Susan Cox Powell Foundation Website
On December 7, 2009, Susan Cox Powell was reported missing from her home in West Valley City, Utah. Detectives working on the case have characterized her disappearance as suspicious and having criminal overtones. The investigation into her disappearance continues.
The Susan Cox Powell Foundation was established in 2010 by Susan’s family and friends. The mission of the Foundation is:
To assist families of missing persons by providing no-cost strategic media consulting services to ensure that their loved one’s face and name remain in the public eye as long as possible;
To research and catalog resources across the United States that may be helpful to families of missing persons in an effort to create a resource clearinghouse for other families to use in their time of crisis, and;
To support domestic violence prevention efforts and to participate in community- and school-based education about domestic violence prevention with a special emphasis on recognizing the early signs of abuse.
The services of the Susan Cox Powell Foundation will allow family members of missing persons to receive multi-faceted support during the critical first days after their loved one’s disappearance. We have found that the opportunity to talk with family members who have endured this unique trial was of tremendous value to us when Susan went missing. We hope to provide the same strong shoulder and caring heart to families of missing persons that others have granted us during this difficult time. Our goal is to help others recognize the early signs of domestic abuse so that their families can be spared from the agony that arises when a loved one goes missing.
Susan’s legacy is service. Her example of providing for others and loving her friends and family through their trials has set the standard for the foundation which bears her name. We share her desire to help others and to provide service to those who experience the painful ordeal of a missing loved one.
On February 5th, 2012, Charlie Powell age 7 and Braden Powell age 5 died of smoke inhalation when their father Joshua Powell committed suicide by burning down the house he rented. During the first supervised visit following Josh's failure to regain custody of the boys, Joshua locked the visitation supervisor out of the house, then attacked Charlie then Braden with a hatchet and set the house ablaze. Joshua left messages with his attorney and family members stating he was sorry "for all the people he had hurt".
The Susan Cox Powell Foundation has an even stronger desire to reach out and provide assistance to other families as a legacy to our daughter Susan, and our Grandsons Charlie and Braden Powell.