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West Valley City police on Friday refused to expand on any details revealed in the search warrant because the investigation is still ongoing, said Sgt. Mike Powell, who is not related to the Powell family. "This case began as a missing person case and remains as such," he said. "But due to the suspicious nature ... murder and kidnapping have not been excluded." Although police have only identified Josh Powell as a "person of interest," Sgt. Powell didn't rule out eventual charges against his father, Steven Powell. Josh Powell moved with the boys to Steven Powell's home in Puyallup, Wash., but the grandfather was arrested and charged with voyeurism and child pornography last September. The boys were placed with Susan Powell's parents for their safety. On Feb. 5 -- a few days after incestuous images found on Josh Powell's computer prompted a judge to order him to undergo a psycho-sexual evaluation
-- he locked a social worker out of his rental house, attacked the boys with a hatchet and ignited the home in an explosive, gas-fueled inferno. The social worker was not injured. Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said his detectives would have arrested Powell "a long time ago" if this had been their case. He said a detective in Washington state was aware of the details gathered and local authorities had been anticipating that Utah investigators would pursue an arrest. "Obviously, it's frustrating," Troyer said. "We were always waiting for the phone call to go arrest him." The documents also describe how Steven Powell had an apparent obsession with his daughter-in-law. A locked cabinet in Steve Powell's bedroom contained multiple images of Susan Powell, including some of her in her underwear. Other images showed nude female bodies with Susan Powell's face copied onto them. Another image showed Steven Powell masturbating to an image of Susan Powell. Susan Powell wrote in her personal journals that she did not want Steven Powell involved in her life and wished that Josh Powell would sever ties with him. She described Steven Powell as a pedophile.
[Associated
Press;
Associated Press writer Josh Loftin contributed to this report from West Valley City, Utah.
Mike Baker can be reached at http://twitter.com/MikeBakerAP.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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