this is a popular spot for rock hunters and gem collectors, including josh powell. or so from where josh says he went camping that cold december midnight. >> they are smelling something, and it's human decomposition. it could be coming from blood, it could be coming from tissue, it could be coming from bones or a variety of different sources, but it is human decomposition, human remains. >> except there were no bones, no pieces of clothing, nothing that looked human. only some bits of charred wood. police had them analyzed but won't say what the tests revealed. but ask josh powell where to look and he offers not a location, but a state of mind. >> i think they should be searching for a woman who is struggling, someone who wants to come back, who's having a difficult time understanding how to come back in the face of all this media, in the face of all the lies that her parents are telling about her. building her up to be something that she's not. susan is a good person. she's not a perfect person, she's a good person. >> and that has been their position, both of them

that we're getting closer to whether the police can complete their investigation. >> reporter: josh powell susan's parents are continuing to struggle over custody of those little boys. one hearing scheduled for today was canceled. josh has filed a declaration claiming that the coxs are trying to turn those boys against him. the coxs say they're trying to protect the boys from some of the strange developments in some very strange case, which -- of which those boys are the innocent victims. >> keith morrison, thank you very much. for more on the story, including josh powell's most exclusive interview to date catch a special tonight at 10:00 central here on nbc. now let's get a check of the weather with al from los angeles. >> today's weather is brought to you by kay jewelers. every kiss begins with kay. >> all week we've been reporting just to our north there are air stagnation advisories. here is what's going on. you can see from medford to spokane, we're talking about air stagnation. why? big area of high pressure dominating. we've got calm winds. the jet stream is off to the east and so w

her doubts. >> his actions have told me all along there's something wrong there. >> after all, josh powellave seen her alive. he says he left to go camping with their two very young boys around midnight with a serious winter storm on the way. susan's parents among others have questioned the story. >> she would not leave the children. for her to leave the house without her purse or her cell phone or anything is just -- she would not do that. >> susan and josh seemed to have a fine marriage, as far as anybody could tell, at least. >> they're kind of sfil in the newly wed stage even though they were married for three years. they were kujdzing and hugging each other. >> josh's father interpreted susan's affectionate in a different way. >> susan was very open, and i would say very aggressive in male/female relationships. she called the shots. >> behind steven powell's public theories about susan and sexuality was evidence of private activities that have landed him in jail. he's now awaiting trial on charges of voyeurism and possessing child pornography. while in family court, susan's parents fi