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WEST VALLEY CITY -- On a sunny Saturday, several dozen adults and children gathered in a city park to celebrate a birthday with balloons and, of course, a cake.
Missing, though, was the guest of honor.
The cake was decorated with her smiling face and a pair of candles marking her age, 29. Her image also appeared on cards carefully tied to each of the purple balloons.
"Help Find Susan Cox Powell," the cards read, citing the details of the young mother's disappearance from her West Valley City home last December. "Hope. Pray. Help."
The balloons were released into the nearly cloudless sky, sparkling in the sunlight. "Like stars," one of the children said in awe as the balloons and their message floated away.
This is not a happy birthday. We miss her. If we could find her, we would. We haven't given up.
–Debbie Caldwell
"This is not a happy birthday," Debbie Caldwell told the group before the candles were blown out and the cake cut. "We miss her. If we could find her, we would. We haven't given up."
Powell's sister-in-law, Jennifer Graves, stood near the festive table with her husband and five children. She said she continues to cry for Powell, a close friend.
"I don't know that it will end well, but there is always hope," Graves said. "I believe it will be resolved eventually. Whether it will be happy or not, I have no idea."
Graves said she believes her brother, Josh Powell, holds the answers to his wife's disappearance. "He doesn't like me very much because he knows I know he is responsible," she said.
Josh Powell told authorities he last saw his wife just after midnight on the day she was reported missing, when he left to take their two young sons camping in a remote part of Tooele County.
He remains the only person of interest in the case but has moved to Washington state with the boys and reportedly has cut off contact with his wife's family. Graves said her own children miss playing with their cousins.
Her son, Jaren Graves, 10, said he hoped people would not forget about his aunt. "Let's go find her," Jaren said, adding he believes Susan Powell is out there "somewhere."
His father, though, said too much time may have passed since Susan Powell was reported missing on Dec. 7, 2009.
"The focus really is now, let's find out what happened," Kirk Graves said, describing how difficult the disappearance has been on his wife.
Events like the birthday celebration help, he said. "If nothing else, it just helps the healing aspect for those of us left behind."
Caldwell, who was the Powell's day care provider, said Susan Powell loved birthdays and even made her own "princess tiara" out of pink pipe cleaners when she had to work on her 28th birthday.
"She wore it all day," Caldwell recalled. "She created her own party."
E-mail: lisa@desnews.com
