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SALT LAKE CITY — Friends and family have begun preparations for plans to remember Susan Powell, who disappeared 10 years ago this December.
Not a day goes by where Kiirsi Hellewell doesn’t think about her best friend Susan Powell.
The tough part is it has been more than 3,600 days.
“We’ve all been through ten years of horrible stuff that no one should ever have to go through,” Hellewell said. “We just love Susan so much.”
Next month will mark 10 years since Susan Powell was last seen by her friends and family.
It’s a story that still gets a lot of attention, thanks in part to the Cold podcast.
KSL NewsRadio investigative reporter Dave Cawley launched the podcast, where he outlines Powell’s case in agonizing and heartbreaking detail, one year ago Friday.
“It is the most accurate and the most detailed investigation or report of Susan’s story that I have ever seen or heard or come across. It has been invaluable in bringing thousands and thousands of people to recognize Susan’s name and her picture and to hear her story,” Hellewell said. “I myself have received messages from several women just in the past year telling me I heard the podcast, I recognized that I was having the exact same thing going on in my own life I didn’t realize, and I was able to get out and me and my children are safe today because of hearing the Cold podcast.”
To mark the 10 years, Hellewell and Debbie Caldwell, who was also friends with Powell, are organizing and inviting the public to a memorial event.
“We just really wanted to honor and remember Susan and keep reminding people she’s still out there,” Hellewell said. “We still need help finding her. And we also want to help other people who may be in a situation like Susan to get out before it’s too late.”
The free event, which will include a panel of speakers, including KSL NewsRadio’s Cawley, will be held at Hunter Junior High School in West Valley City on Friday, Dec. 6, at 6:30 p.m.
“We’ll have an opportunity for anyone in the audience to come and ask a question and have any questions about Susan or her case discussed and talked about,” Hellewell said.
On Monday, Dec. 2, Hellewell is also planning an event at the Taylorsville Library from 5 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. to paint small rocks in Powell’s favorite colors.
Those rocks will include inspirational messages and a link to the Susan Cox Powell Foundation.
For those who can’t make either event but still want to help in some way, Hellewell encouraged them to consider a donation to Gib’s Kids.
It’s a food pantry a teacher at West Jordan Middle School started to feed hungry children whose only meal comes from school.
“So many times, Susan would call me and ask for hot dogs because her children were hungry,” Hellewell said. “I would tell her to come over and cook a bowl of spaghetti for her because that was her favorite. She would come over with her boys and I would feed them. That was just a sign of how things have gotten with Josh.”
Hellewell figured that at the very least, she has to keep Susan’s memory alive and help in any way she can.
“She was such a loving, giving, kind person,” Hellewell said. “I know that she would be glad her story and her legacy is helping others. She would be so grateful for that.”
