After she went missing, her husband Josh Powell - father to the couple's two boys - was refused custody of the children. Josh Powell had deliberately destroyed his own property with his two children trapped inside. ‌Five-year0old Braden and seven-year-old Charles were on a supervised visit to see their father in Graham, Washington, accompanied by a social worker. Following his 28-year-old wife's disappearance, Josh Powell was under scrutiny after he claimed to have taken his children on a late-night trip in bitter cold on the day his spouse vanished. Sherry Hill, a spokeswoman for the state of Washington's Department of Social and Health Services, explained at the time how the incident unfolded, despite having a social worker present.