PUYALLUP, Wash., Feb. 16 (UPI) -- Friends and relatives say a missing Utah woman's husband was emotionally abusive and controlling.
At a news conference Monday in Puyallup, Wash., Susan Powell's family said she told a friend about 18 months ago that she and her husband had a fight that got physical, The Salt Lake Tribune reported. She did not file a police report or get medical help.
Shelby Gifford, a spokeswoman for Susan Powell's parents, Chuck and Judy Cox, said Joshua Powell used different techniques to keep his wife isolated, including constantly changing access codes on their bank accounts and denying her use of the car.
Powell has not been seen since Dec. 7. Her husband told police he left her at home in West Valley City while he took their two young sons on a brief winter camping trip and she was gone when he returned about 17 hours later.
Gifford said the family did not know all the details of Susan Powell's married life until she vanished. "We didn't have all the pieces. Everyone knew just a little bit," she said.
The Coxes announced Monday they have created the Susan Cox Powell Foundation to help the families of missing people.
