09-17-2011, 07:57 PM
![[Image: story_635]](http://www.ksl.com/emedia/slc/2493/249375/24937521.jpg?filter=ksl/story_635)
West Valley City police have concluded an investigation into a shallow grave found during a search of Utah's West Desert for clues in the disappearance of Susan Cox Powell.
KSL
DELTA — Police have found about 100 pieces of what appears to be charred wood with some human decomposition on them. They are unsure of how long it has been there, but they said it is likely that there was a crime scene at the dig site at some point.
Hopes for an end to the mystery of Susan Cox Powell’s disappearance were cut short when police found what cadaver dogs here had been alerting their handlers to: charred wood apparently used to burn human remains.
West Valley police expected the effort to search a suspected shallow grave would pick up significantly Saturday and investigators could get back to digging deeper into the ground by early afternoon. Mid-afternoon, they found the blackened pieces that ranged from dime to golf-ball sizes. They will be taken back to the state for analysis. More police are expected to arrive Sunday to continue the search.