WEST VALLEY CITY (ABC4 News) – Close friends of Susan Powell doubt her husband was inside a bar drinking the day after she went missing.
Customers and employees of the Deuces Wild in South Salt Lake were investigated by West Valley Police about the possible sighting.
They claimed that a man believed to be Josh Powell was inside the bar drinking and being obnoxious.
But it’s hard to believe that it was Josh according to Susan’s close friends.
"It's extremely uncharacteristic of him,” said Kiirsi Hellewell, a close friend of Susan. “I don't think you could find anyone who knows Josh that he would be drinking."
JoVonna Owings is also a close friend of Susan and even spoke with Josh by phone the following day after her disappearance in December.
“I personally can't imagine that he could do anything like that,” Owings said.
Josh Powell's a non-practicing Mormon.
And Owings said Susan never told her that he ever drank.
"I think she would have expressed it if there was a problem she would have expressed it,” she said.
Police investigated the possible sighting but couldn't confirm it beyond a reasonable doubt.
Investigators learned of it days after her disappearance. And pictures of Josh Powell were all over the news.
“There was opportunity for them to see Josh's photograph on the news and see footage of him and there could possibly be some transposing of ideas there and that may either taint or support their account," said Captain Tom McLachlan.
And if Josh was inside the bar, where were his children? Were they outside in the van?
“I don't think he would have ever done that,” said Owings. “No he was very attentive to those children, very attentive to those boys and he always knew where they were at and what they were doing all the time.”
Police also said that Josh Powell was interviewed about ninety minutes after he was supposedly at the tavern.
“They had not detected any presence of alcohol odor or anything like that,” said Cpt. McLachlan.
