Police ask why Powell drove so far in rental car

WEST VALLEY CITY — A car rented by Josh Powell two days after his wife was reported missing was returned just 24 hours later with a lot of miles on it, according to police.

"It looks like there were several hundred miles driven," West Valley Police Capt. Tom McLachlan told the Deseret News.

Investigators do not know where the car was taken or where Josh Powell was during that 24-hour period. There was no GPS data stored in that rental car, said McLachlan, who declined Monday to say from where the vehicle was rented.

Powell reportedly rented the car after police seized his minivan — his only vehicle — to be processed for evidence in connection with the disappearance of his wife, Susan Powell. The van has since been returned to Josh Powell.

Questions surrounding the rental car are just a few of many to which West Valley police would like Josh Powell to provide detailed answers. But as of Monday, they say, he continues to be non-forthcoming and has not accepted their open invitation to return to police headquarters for another interview.

Powell has been named a person of interest in the missing person case by police, but not a suspect.

Susan Powell has been missing for more than two weeks. She was last seen Dec. 6. Josh Powell said he took his two young sons camping in remote Tooele County about midnight that night. Temperatures that night were well below freezing.

When Powell returned the following afternoon, his wife was gone.

West Valley police attempted to search the Simpson Springs recreation area in Tooele County along the Pony Express Trail, but their efforts were hampered by fresh snow and the vastness of the area. McLachlan said Monday there were currently no active searches happening.

"There is just no specific area or location you can go to," he said.

But investigators continue to receive tips and are following potential leads. "We're moving forward with it," McLachlan said of the case.

Also Monday, an anonymous donor offered a $10,000 reward for original information that results in Susan Powell being found. No other information about the donor was available.

Two vigils were held Sunday night — in West Valley City and Puyallup, Wash., Susan Powell's hometown — for the mother of two.