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Comforter in Powell unit tests positive for blood

FILE - In this Aug. 23, 2011 file photo, Josh Powell, husband of missing Utah woman Susan Cox Powell, walks to a court hearing in Tacoma, Wash. Emergency call logs show that nearly eight minutes elapsed between when a social worker called 911 to report that Josh Powell's children were in danger and when sheriff's deputies were dispatched. By the time officers were on their way, the home was exploding in a gas-fueled inferno, with Powell and his two young boys inside. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)

In this bank surveillance photo released by the Pierce Co. Sheriff's Dept., Josh Powell, left, is seen making a withdrawal at a bank in Puyallup, Wash. Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012, the day before Powell and his two young sons were killed after police say Powell set fire to the home he was living in during a visit with his sons. (AP Photo/Pierce Co. Sheriff's Dept.)

Karen Livolsi , upper left, walks with her daughter Katie, 16, center, and friend Alex Ramirez, 17, right, as they view a growing memorial to Charlie and Braden Powell, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2012, at Carson Elementary School in Puyallup, Wash., where Charlie attended school. Charlie and Braden were killed Sunday, along with their father, Josh Powell, in what police said appeared to be a deliberately set fire by Powell at a home in Graham, Wash. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

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By MIKE BAKER, The Associated Press Updated 11:16 PM Friday, February 10, 2012

SEATTLE — Police in Washington state who searched a storage unit rented by Josh Powell found a stained comforter that tested positive for blood in initial exams, according to documents filed in court Friday.

Pierce County detectives reported finding a gray-blue-pink comforter with a stain. The search warrant documents say the comforter tested positive for blood. Investigators planned to perform further tests.

Powell killed himself and his two young sons in a gas-fueled inferno Sunday, and Pierce County authorities consider the murder-suicide an admission that he killed his wife.

Investigators had considered Josh Powell a person of interest since his wife, Susan Powell, disappeared in Utah in 2009. At the time, Powell said he took his two sons ice camping in subfreezing temperatures.

Also on Friday, the sheriff's department released a timeline that spans from Saturday, the day before the blast, to Monday, the day after. Among the details that police are trying to determine is if Powell bought the gas cans at a local Fred Meyer store the night before the house fire.

This past week, investigators have tried to piece together Powell's last days, serving search warrants for his sister's cell phone and a local Bank of America branch where security cameras captured him withdrawing money.

Police also received tips from the public, such as a woman who noticed donated books had Josh and Susan Powell written in them.

On blood found on the comforter, Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist said presumptive tests are conducted with a field kit and that a determination of blood won't be confirmed until the item is examined in the lab.

"Field tests are not infallible," he said.

Lindquist said he expects the finding will be something law enforcement will share with colleagues in Utah who have been investigating Susan Powell's disappearance.

The comforter was the only item police kept from what they found in the storage facility, located in Sumner, a city about 12 miles from Graham, where Powell rented a home.

Investigators also found toys and kids' clothes in garbage bags, as well as framed pictures. Those items were given to Susan Powell's family.

In the warrant, the investigator wrote items were "returned to Cox family."

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Baker reported from Olympia, Wash.

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February 11, 2012 04:13 AM EST

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