A photo of Susan Cox Powell that appears on her missing person flyer.
In another startling development, the man who alleged to police that Josh Powell bragged he "could kill someone ... and not get caught" has taken his story to ABC-affiliate KTVX in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The media outlet did not name the man but ABC News has identified him as Scott Hardman.
Speaking with KTVX, Hardman said the conversation took place at a 2008 Christmas party, roughly a year before the disappearance of Powell's wife, Susan Cox Powell.
"He was basically telling me about how the best way to dispose of a body would be down a mineshaft like a vertical one," Hardman said in the KTVX interview. "It would be the best way of disposing one because they're so unstable."
Hardman said Powell was obsessed with television crime shows and credited them with teaching him how to get away with murder.
Susan Powell was reported missing by her family on Dec. 7, 2009, when she failed to show up for her job as a stockbroker at Wells Fargo Financial. Josh Powell told police he had been camping with their two children, then ages 2 and 4, and had last seen his wife around midnight. Suspicious of his story, investigators named Powell a "person of interest" in his wife's disappearance. Not long after, Powell and his two children moved back to his hometown of Puyallup, Wash.
Hardman said when he learned of Susan Powell's disappearance, he told police about the conversation he allegedly had with her husband.
"It was like a year later," Hardman told KTVX. "All of a sudden Susan was missing, it was like, 'Whoa, are you kidding me? Did we really have this conversation a year ago?' and I had no idea."
Hardman's tip prompted police to search dozens of abandoned mines outside of Ely, Nev., but they found no evidence that Susan Powell's body had been disposed of in a shaft.
On Feb. 5, police say Josh Powell attacked his two boys, Charlie, 7, and Braden, 5, with a hatchet and then ignited his home, killing the three of them in a gas-fueled explosion.
SUSAN POWELL CASE PHOTOS: (Article Continues Below)
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Father Kills Sons And Self
Pierce County sheriff's deputies and Graham firefighters work through the wreckage of a home in Graham, Wash. where the bodies of Josh Powell and his two sons were found on Feb. 5, 2012 in a double-homicide suicide.
The boys had just been brought by a Child Protective Services worker to Powell's home for a supervised visit when police say the dad deliberately blew up the house. A judge had denied the previous week a request by Powell to regain custody of his sons, who had been living with the parents of his missing wife, Susan.
Pierce County sheriff's officials said it appears Josh Powell used an accelerant to increase the power of a gas fire that he intentionally set to kill himself and his two sons inside his Graham, Wash., home on Feb. 5, 2012. The saga of the Powell family began in 2009 when Josh Powell reported that his wife, Susan, had gone missing. That night he claimed he took his sons on an overnight camping trip in freezing temperatures.
Aerial View Of Josh Powell's Home
The explosion at Josh Powell's home left smoldering remains in Graham, Wash. Police say Powell deliberately detonated the home moments after a Child Protective Services worker brought his sons Braden, 5, and Charles, 7, for a supervised visit.
Braden And Charlie Powell
This undated photo provided by Chuck and Judy Cox shows their grandsons Braden, left, and Charlie Powell. (AP Photo/Courtesy Chuck and Judy Cox)
Chuck Cox, Braden Powell, Charlie Powell
This undated photo provided by Chuck and Judy Cox shows them with their grandsons, Charlie, left, and Braden, right. Charlie and Braden were killed along with their father, Josh Powell, on Sunday in what police said was an intentional fire set by Powell. The Coxes are the parents of Powell's wife, Susan, who has been missing since 2009. (AP Photo/Courtesy Chuck and Judy Cox)
Braden And Charlie Powell
This undated photo provided by Chuck and Judy Cox shows Braden, left, and Charlie Powell. (AP Photo/Courtesy Chuck and Judy Cox)
Police and other officials from Washington state and Utah view charred rubble, Monday, Feb. 6, 2012, at of the home where Josh Powell and his two sons were killed in the fire Powell set Sunday. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
In this pool photo provided by the Pierce County Sheriff's Dept., a melted gas can is marked with an evidence flag, Monday, Feb. 6, 2012, in the rubble of the home in Graham, Wash., where Josh Powell and his two sons were killed. (AP Photo/Pierce County Sheriff's Dept., Ed Troyer, Pool)
Susan Cox Powell
This image from<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Friends-and-Family-of-Susan-Cox-Powell/158207040909324" target="_hplink"> Friends and Family of Susan Cox Powell</a> Facebook page shows missing Utah mother Susan Cox Powell. Powell has been missing since December 6, 2009. Her husband Josh Powell was a person of interest in her disappearance before he killed himself and their two sons on Feb. 5, 2012.
Chuck And Judy Cox
Chuck and Judy Cox, the parents of missing Utah mother Susan Cox, talk to reporters at their home in Puyallup, Wash., Monday, Feb. 6, 2012. They had custody of their grandchildren, Charlie and Braden Powell, who were killed by their father Josh Powell during a supervised visit to his house on Sunday.
Their daughter Susan Cox Powell went missing in December 2009 from the West Valley City, Utah home where she lived with her husband and sons. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Candlelight Vigil
Supporters held an impromptu candlelight vigil for Braden and Charlie Powell, who were killed by their father Josh when he deliberately torched his Graham, Wash. home on Feb. 5, 2012. The brothers had been living with their maternal grandparents in a simmering custody dispute stemming from their mother's disappearance in Utah in 2009.
Flowers and two stuffed animals are left near crime-scene tape, Monday, Feb. 6, 2012, near the home where Josh Powell and his two sons were killed Sunday, in Graham, Wash., in what police said appeared to be a deliberately set fire. Powell's wife Susan went mysteriously missing from their West Valley City, Utah, home in December 2009. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Mourners posted signs and lit candles at Carson Elementary School in Puyallup, Wash. where Braden and Charles Powell attended school. The brothers were killed in an explosion caused by their father Josh Powell at his home on Feb. 5, 2012 -- days after a judge denied his request to regain custody of them.
A Pierce County fire investigator works his way through charred rubble, Monday, Feb. 6, 2012, at the home where Josh Powell and his two sons were killed Sunday, in Graham, Wash., in what police said appeared to be a deliberately set fire. Powell's wife Susan went mysteriously missing from their West Valley City, Utah, home in December 2009. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Josh And Braden Powell
In this Aug. 19, 2011 photo, Josh Powell plays with his son Braden in a park near his home, in Puyallup, Wash. Powell had long been a person of interest in his wife. (Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune Friday, August 19, 2011)
This photo from Facebook shows Susan Cox Powell in December of 2008.
A flier seeking information on the whereabouts of Susan Powell, who was reported missing Dec. 7, 2009, in Utah, is shown, Thursday, Dec. 17, 2009, at a press conference in Puyallup, Wash. Powell's family said Thursday they are saddened but not surprised that her husband Josh Powell has been named a person of interest in the investigation.
Josh Powell
Josh Powell, the husband of Susan Powell, stands with supporters after a candle light vigil for his wife at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Puyallup, Wash., Sunday Dec. 20, 2009.
Judy Cox, the mother of Susan Powell, who was reported missing Dec. 7, 2009, in Utah, becomes emotional during a press conference, Thursday, Dec. 17, 2009, in Puyallup, Wash. Powell's family said Thursday they are saddened but not surprised that her husband Josh Powell has been named a person of interest in the investigation.
Charlie Powell
This undated photo provided by Chuck and Judy Cox shows Charlie Powell, who was killed along with his brother Braden by their father Josh Powell in a double-murder suicide. (AP Photo/Courtesy Chuck and Judy Cox)
Braden Powell With HIs Grandmother Judy Cox
In this undated photo provided by Chuck and Judy Cox, Judy Cox, right, sits at a table with her grandson Braden. (AP Photo/Courtesy Chuck and Judy Cox)
Braden Powell
This undated photo provided by Chuck and Judy Cox shows Braden Powell. (AP Photo/Courtesy Chuck and Judy Cox)
Chuck Cox With Grandsons Charlie And Braden Powell
In this undated photo provided by Chuck and Judy Cox, Chuck Cox sits with his grandsons, Charlie, left, and Braden, right, at the Coxes home in Pullayup, Wash. (AP Photo/Courtesy Chuck and Judy Cox)
Chuck Cox With Braden And Charlie Powell
In this undated photo provided by Chuck and Judy Cox, Chuck Cox plays with his grandsons, Charlie, right, and Braden, left. (AP Photo/Courtesy Chuck and Judy Cox)
Since that time, a mountain of evidence has emerged that supports law enforcement's decision to name Josh Powell the prime suspect in his wife's disappearance. The most recent clue emerged earlier today and involved Josh Powell's father, Steve.
According to The Salt Lake Tribune, a former employer of Steve Powell has confirmed that Powell called in sick to work on Dec. 8 and 9, 2009 -- the days immediately following Susan Powell's disappearance. Those days would coincide with Josh Powell's rental of a Ford Focus from the Salt Lake International Airport. He put more than 800 miles on the vehicle before he returned it on Dec. 10, 2009.
West Valley City police have declined to elaborate on the most recent development, but Chief Thayle Nielsen did tell the Tribune that he suspects Steve Powell and "a few others" could have been involved in Susan Powell's disappearance.
On Sept. 22, 2011, Steve Powell was arrested on 14 counts of voyeurism and one count of possessing an image of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Powell has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
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Posted: 04/ 5/2012 4:37 pm Updated: 04/ 6/2012 9:40 am