Susan Powell search continues, moves to Topaz Mountain itself - Salt Lake Tribune
Topaz Mountain • Undeterred by a failure to find tangible human remains where cadaver dogs last week detected the scent of human decomposition, police are continuing their search of the desert near Delta for missing woman Susan Powell.
The number of searchers climbed to 100 on Sunday — the largest group yet to assemble in the area — as the focus moved from the flatlands to the slopes surrounding Topaz Mountain itself.
West Valley City Police Lt. Bill Merritt expressed disappointment that the suspected shallow grave they began excavating on Wednesday contained only small pieces of charred wood, which he believes may have been used to burn human remains and which will be examined by a forensic specialist.
The hole was 2 feet wide and 3 feet long and a little over 2 feet deep at point when excavation was halted Saturday evening. Cadaver dogs — trained to detect human decomposition — lost interest in the hole after 100 or so pieces of charred wood were removed.
"Yesterday was a little bit of a blow to us, Merritt said Sunday. "We had really been hoping that this would be something. We worked on that for several days. Everybody was waiting very anxiously to find the latest news on it. When it turned out to be nothing obviously significant to us, it was a big disappointment."
But Merritt added: "We went home last night. We had a good meal. We had a good rest. We're back at it today. We are not going to give up."
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Searchers likely will continue looking through Tuesday, said Merritt, who noted that his officers were being assisted by volunteer members of the Juab and Millard county search and rescue teams. But most of those volunteers —as well as the cadaver dogs and their handlers— will not be returning Monday.
Merritt said he was pleased with how much ground searchers were covering Sunday.
"We've been able to really step things up with the extra personnel," he said. "We are making a lot of progress, covering a lot of mileage and it's just looking really good."
A large map in a trailer at the command post shows the areas that searchers — equipped with GPS tracking devices — have already covered.
Police searchers have found numerous items like clothing and blankets. And a group of women camping in the area reported finding a jacket. In each case, the dogs have been called over to see if they smell any sign of a dead human being.
Chuck Cox, Susan Powell's father, said Saturday he has no doubt there are traces of human remains in the shallow hole that police processed for four days last week. But he said he doesn't hold out a lot of hope for what could be "taken off" a piece of wood that has been burned.
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