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March 18, 2010 - (Updated) Linda Osborne, who has been out in the desert for months trying to find clues into the disappearance of Susan Cox Powell, came across a cement strip last month the size of a body that she reported to police.
On February 16 Osborne was out searching in Utah's West Desert. She stumbled upon a concrete strip about 7' long and about 2.5' to 3' wide. One area of the strip was wider than the other, appearing it could be covering a body, the wider area possibly the size of a person's shoulders.
The area where Osborne located the cement strip is off of Hwy 80 near the Skull Valley Road off ramp, There is an old abandoned gas station at Rowley Junction. The cement strip is down a dirt road off of Skull Valley Road at Rowley Junction about 500 to 750 feet from the abandoned gas station.
"This piece of cement is not something that was left behind from the abandoned station. It was clearly poured in its current location," Osborne said.
Osborne has found many things while searching in the desert. She's found items such as one child's shoe with no matching shoe in the area, which she's found suspicious. She once found a plastic bag with what appeared to be trash, clothing, and two large jars of Vaseline. One jar was ½ empty, the other almost empty. These types of findings are disturbing.
It is rare that Osborne reports such things to the police as the West Desert is, unfortunately, used as a dumping ground by many.
But, she believes this cement strip is suspicious and worthy of an investigation.
Osborne understands police don't have time to investigate everything, but believes the cement strip is something that should be looked into. In all the time she's been searching she's never seen anything like it.
On February 17 Osborne contacted the West Valley City Police via email to their investigative department through their website, providing information about her finding.
She did not hear back from the department for about a week. Then, she received an email from Kim Waeley of West Valley Police, requesting photos.
Osborne emailed two photos of the cement strip to Waely and has never heard back from West Valley City Police.
Examiner.com contacted West Valley City Police Department Capt. McLachlan late Thursday afternoon for comment. McLachlan said, "I passed the information along to investigators but I'm not sure who's handling it. We can't look here and there, it would be a dog and pony show. We can't check everything and report back to everyone, it would be counterproductive."
Osborne also contacted the Tooele County Sheriff's Department via email, providing them with a map, information about her findings, and photos. She never heard back from them either.
On March 16 Osborne returned to the site to see if investigators had removed the cement strip, or had thoroughly investigated it.
Osborne was surprised to find it had not been moved and that the only change she could see was one area where small pieces of cement were missing from one corner from the narrow end of the strip. The largest chip was about 5" by 4" in size, the others were quite small. It did not appear an extensive search was done on the cement.
Osborne told Examiner.com there are free-range cattle in the area and that on both February 16 and March 16 she saw horse hoof prints close to the cement strip.
She believes the missing pieces could be a result of horses or free-range cattle stepping on the cement strip, causing it to chip.
Osborne also mentioned there is a well about 5 feet from where the cement strip was seen that could have been used as a water source for mixing cement. The well is such that someone could jump into it to retrieve water, or that someone could use a bucket to retrieve water.
"We understand the understaffing of law enforcement agencies today, but volunteer services can do much to assist police," Osborne said. "Volunteers can handle much of the legwork. Search groups are willing to help at no cost to the City. This includes certified cadaver search dogs and scent-tracking search dogs. "
Search dogs in this case, Osborne said, would be of great value in determining if further investigation is warranted. However, they cannot be utilized without the direction of police.
"I have learned from volunteer search and rescue groups that they will not respond to citizens' or volunteer searchers' requests without being asked by the law enforcement agency handling the case," Osborne said.
"In the case of the cement strip, it seems logical to initially utilize a cadaver dog to see if it picks up a scent. If so, it would call for further investigation. However," Osborne continued, "because the search and rescue groups will not respond without police direction, searchers are dependent upon police for the use of cadaver dogs and other search tools."
Without the tools available to police, searchers are extremely limited. This is why it police involvement would be helpful to citizens wishing to assist in the search for Susan.
"I also researched mine exploration groups and relayed to police that they are available at no cost," Osborne said.
It is well known that Utah has hundreds of mines in desolate areas of the desert, some with shafts dropping 100-200 feet.
It has been said that if someone were to use these mine shafts to dispose of a body, the body would never be found. "This comment is what initiated my investigating the availability of cadaver dogs for searches."
Osborne said, "I would hope to receive confirmation from police that they plan to check it out or that they have checked out the cement strip."
It could be Susan, it could be someone else, or it could be nothing.
The question is, what is worthy of reporting to police? What will they take seriously? What will they investigate?
"I'm not the only one seeking answers - Susan's friends, family, and all those who have grown to know and love her want to know what happened to Susan?"
Please leave your comments below or email them isabelle.zehnder@comcast.net.
For more information about Susan's case, visit www.seattleheadlinesexaminer.com and click on "missing persons" link. For articles prior to Dec. 31, visit www.seattlefamilyexaminer.com and click on "Susan Powell" link.
Susan Cox Powell, 28, was reported missing Dec. 7, 2009. The last person to see her was her husband, Joshua "Josh" Powell. Josh is the only person of interest in the case of his wife's disappearance. Shelby Gifford, spokeswoman for Susan's family, said police call this a missing person's case with suspicious criminal overtones.
Friends, family, the public at large, and police are frustrated at Josh's lack of cooperation with police. Josh is now living in Puyallup, Wash., about 900 miles from the home where he and his wife raised their two young sons.
March 18, 2010 - (Updated) Linda Osborne, who has been out in the desert for months trying to find clues into the disappearance of Susan Cox Powell, came across a cement strip last month the size of a body that she reported to police.
On February 16 Osborne was out searching in Utah's West Desert. She stumbled upon a concrete strip about 7' long and about 2.5' to 3' wide. One area of the strip was wider than the other, appearing it could be covering a body, the wider area possibly the size of a person's shoulders.
The area where Osborne located the cement strip is off of Hwy 80 near the Skull Valley Road off ramp, There is an old abandoned gas station at Rowley Junction. The cement strip is down a dirt road off of Skull Valley Road at Rowley Junction about 500 to 750 feet from the abandoned gas station.
"This piece of cement is not something that was left behind from the abandoned station. It was clearly poured in its current location," Osborne said.
Osborne has found many things while searching in the desert. She's found items such as one child's shoe with no matching shoe in the area, which she's found suspicious. She once found a plastic bag with what appeared to be trash, clothing, and two large jars of Vaseline. One jar was ½ empty, the other almost empty. These types of findings are disturbing.
It is rare that Osborne reports such things to the police as the West Desert is, unfortunately, used as a dumping ground by many.
But, she believes this cement strip is suspicious and worthy of an investigation.
Osborne understands police don't have time to investigate everything, but believes the cement strip is something that should be looked into. In all the time she's been searching she's never seen anything like it.
On February 17 Osborne contacted the West Valley City Police via email to their investigative department through their website, providing information about her finding.
She did not hear back from the department for about a week. Then, she received an email from Kim Waeley of West Valley Police, requesting photos.
Osborne emailed two photos of the cement strip to Waely and has never heard back from West Valley City Police.
Examiner.com contacted West Valley City Police Department Capt. McLachlan late Thursday afternoon for comment. McLachlan said, "I passed the information along to investigators but I'm not sure who's handling it. We can't look here and there, it would be a dog and pony show. We can't check everything and report back to everyone, it would be counterproductive."
Osborne also contacted the Tooele County Sheriff's Department via email, providing them with a map, information about her findings, and photos. She never heard back from them either.
On March 16 Osborne returned to the site to see if investigators had removed the cement strip, or had thoroughly investigated it.
Osborne was surprised to find it had not been moved and that the only change she could see was one area where small pieces of cement were missing from one corner from the narrow end of the strip. The largest chip was about 5" by 4" in size, the others were quite small. It did not appear an extensive search was done on the cement.
Osborne told Examiner.com there are free-range cattle in the area and that on both February 16 and March 16 she saw horse hoof prints close to the cement strip.
She believes the missing pieces could be a result of horses or free-range cattle stepping on the cement strip, causing it to chip.
Osborne also mentioned there is a well about 5 feet from where the cement strip was seen that could have been used as a water source for mixing cement. The well is such that someone could jump into it to retrieve water, or that someone could use a bucket to retrieve water.
"We understand the understaffing of law enforcement agencies today, but volunteer services can do much to assist police," Osborne said. "Volunteers can handle much of the legwork. Search groups are willing to help at no cost to the City. This includes certified cadaver search dogs and scent-tracking search dogs. "
Search dogs in this case, Osborne said, would be of great value in determining if further investigation is warranted. However, they cannot be utilized without the direction of police.
"I have learned from volunteer search and rescue groups that they will not respond to citizens' or volunteer searchers' requests without being asked by the law enforcement agency handling the case," Osborne said.
"In the case of the cement strip, it seems logical to initially utilize a cadaver dog to see if it picks up a scent. If so, it would call for further investigation. However," Osborne continued, "because the search and rescue groups will not respond without police direction, searchers are dependent upon police for the use of cadaver dogs and other search tools."
Without the tools available to police, searchers are extremely limited. This is why it police involvement would be helpful to citizens wishing to assist in the search for Susan.
"I also researched mine exploration groups and relayed to police that they are available at no cost," Osborne said.
It is well known that Utah has hundreds of mines in desolate areas of the desert, some with shafts dropping 100-200 feet.
It has been said that if someone were to use these mine shafts to dispose of a body, the body would never be found. "This comment is what initiated my investigating the availability of cadaver dogs for searches."
Osborne said, "I would hope to receive confirmation from police that they plan to check it out or that they have checked out the cement strip."
It could be Susan, it could be someone else, or it could be nothing.
The question is, what is worthy of reporting to police? What will they take seriously? What will they investigate?
"I'm not the only one seeking answers - Susan's friends, family, and all those who have grown to know and love her want to know what happened to Susan?"
Please leave your comments below or email them isabelle.zehnder@comcast.net.
For more information about Susan's case, visit www.seattleheadlinesexaminer.com and click on "missing persons" link. For articles prior to Dec. 31, visit www.seattlefamilyexaminer.com and click on "Susan Powell" link.
Susan Cox Powell, 28, was reported missing Dec. 7, 2009. The last person to see her was her husband, Joshua "Josh" Powell. Josh is the only person of interest in the case of his wife's disappearance. Shelby Gifford, spokeswoman for Susan's family, said police call this a missing person's case with suspicious criminal overtones.
Friends, family, the public at large, and police are frustrated at Josh's lack of cooperation with police. Josh is now living in Puyallup, Wash., about 900 miles from the home where he and his wife raised their two young sons.