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SANDY, Utah (AP) — A 25-year-old Utah woman says she's still holding out hope the mystery surrounding her mother's disappearance 20 years ago will be solved.
Stephanie Cook renewed an annual tradition on Saturday by gathering with friends and family at a Sandy cemetery, releasing balloons and remembering Bobbi Ann Campbell, who vanished Dec. 27, 1994.
Cook was 5 years old when Campbell dropped her off at a friend's house that day to pick up a paycheck and shop for groceries.
Police later found Campbell's car unlocked and abandoned near the Jordan River, with her money and purse still inside.
She hasn't been seen since.
Cook said the observance near the memorial stone at Larkin Sunset Gardens cemetery that honors her mother serves a twofold purpose: to remember her mother and keep her story before the public.
She encourages anyone who might know something about her mother's disappearance to come forward. Any small detail might help Cook learn about her mother's fate.
"Somebody knows what happened. She didn't just vanish," Cook told the Deseret News (http://bit.ly/1zMymdC ). "Hopefully, we don't need to wait any longer. Twenty years is way too long."
Cook, who is married and has a 16-month-old son, has many unanswered questions.
"It has been a rough 20 years," she said. "There is not a day that goes by that I don't think about my mom and wonder what may have happened to her."
Because she shared a close bond with her mother, the years since her disappearance have been particularly challenging.
"Each year seems to be harder," she told the Deseret News. "I didn't have my mom here for all of the big moments in life like graduation, my wedding and when I had my son. It has been really hard."
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Information from: Deseret News, http://www.deseretnews.com
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