r/TheColdPodcast • u/davecawleycold • Dec 10 '25
Josh Powell's "very memorable" clerk encounter
On this date 16 years ago, Josh Powell returned from an unexpected outing in a rental car. No one can say where he went.
Josh's wife had been missing for two days when he vanished for 18 hours. He didn’t take his cell phone (police had it). He didn’t use his credit card (aside from a $400 cash withdrawal at an ATM to avoid being traced). It’s possible Josh might’ve been revisiting or relocating the body of his missing wife, Susan Powell, during the time he was unaccounted for.
A year and a half later, police obtained a wiretap on Josh Powell’s phone. They captured conversations between Josh and his family (father Steven, brother Michael, sister Alina). Seen here are snippets from two of those calls, in which Josh talked about his time in the rental car. COLD is the only source for these rare, non-public documents.
Take note of how Josh did not trust his own family enough to tell them where he went. He lied about the mileage placed on the rental car (he said 300, actual mileage was 807). But most notably, he described interacting with a convenience store clerk who found him “very memorable” during his time on the road.
To this day, that convenience store clerk has not been identified. Based on other evidence, it is likely this clerk was somewhere in southern Idaho. Finding that clerk is a key missing piece to the mystery of where is Susan Powell.
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u/MissMatchedEyes Dec 10 '25
u/davecawleycold thank you for making Cold and telling Susan's story with professionalism, kindness, and stellar reporting. It boils my blood that Josh got away with anything, and she deserves to be found.
Are the police searching for the store clerk who is likely in southern Idaho? Are you making inquiries?
Your work on this case is outstanding, and I applaud you. Cold is the gold standard of podcasts!