"The idea that there's a button you can push on a kid to make them safe just isn't the case," Brown said. "What we have to do is listen to the kids and be in touch with them."

But in living rooms and at coffee tables in Moab, the grief continues.

Not too long ago, Sherilyn Sowell, Kelly's mother, called Sharla Lovato, Mario's mom.

The two women had become acquainted through the tragedy of their children's suicides. All the questions, all the blame, all the what ifs and worry. On that day, Sherilyn Sowell was sobbing.

"Please tell me it's going to get better," Kelly's mother pleaded.

"I can't. I wish I could, but I can't," Lovato replied. "It's not going to get better."

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E-mail: romboy@desnews.com; lucy@desnews.com