TAYLORSVILLE – This weekend marks the tenth anniversary of the disappearance of Susan Powell. Her friends are family are trying to keep her memory and her story alive, even though, they know they may never learn the truth.
On one hand, friends of Powell say they’re extremely frustrated at the lack of answers about what happened to her. She was last seen alive on December 6, 2009, and was reported missing by her husband, Josh, the next day. Her friend, Kiirsi Hellewell, is convinced Josh killed his wife then had help disposing of her body. However, that theory has never been confirmed.
On the other hand, Hellewell is delighted to see Susan’s story is continuing to spread across the globe. She hopes there is someone out there, near or far, who may know something.
“It could be somebody in Russia or in Israel. Both of those places have done stories on Susan,” Hellewell says. “Japan sent a camera crew here, France sent camera crew here and they both did documentaries on Susan. Her story has spread all over the world.”
While it appears that West Valley police have exhausted every lead they could find, Hellewell says they hope someone might remember having an online conversation with either Josh or Steven Powell. She says, you never know, one of them might have accidentally let a detail slip.
Hellewell says, “They could come across something, because, it has been documented that many in Josh’s family liked to do things online, and they liked to use aliases. So, who know what somebody could come across even if they’re somewhere across the world.”
In the meantime, Hellewell and others tried a different tactic to keep Susan’s memory top of mind. Inside the Taylorsville Public Library, they painted rocks in bright colors, and they put the website susanshelp.net on the back. That website connects people to the Susan Cox Powell Foundation.
Her sister-in-law, Jennifer Graves, says the rocks will be spread in places where Susan liked to go.
Graves says, “Perhaps this valley, or perhaps, beyond, as people travel and put them in whatever location they travel to. It will hopefully be a bright spot in somebody’s day when they find it.”
A lot has changed for Graves over the past decade. While she would like to learn what actually happened to Susan and if her brother had anything to do with the disappearance, she has made peace with the fact that she may never learn what took place.
Graves is happy that Susan’s story has resonated with a lot of people. She says they’ve heard so many stories from people who say Susan’s case helped them recognize they were in a potentially abusive relationship.
“I think the biggest thing at this point is that we need to make other people aware of abuse and the patterns that it runs in families and in relationships,” Graves says.
