In the wake of Josh Powell's tragic choices, a community struggles to overcome loss

SALT LAKE CITY — For more than two years, family members, friends, neighbors and complete strangers kept a close eye on the case of Susan Cox Powell, the missing mother from Utah.

Anyone could relate to some aspect of the tragic story, and that makes the search for answers during the grieving process more pronounced. And it's left both those who knew the Powells and others seeking comfort in their faiths and communities.

"In the Jewish faith, it is understood that Moses asked God, 'Why do people suffer?' and his answer from God was that we will find out at the right time," Alan Bachman, chairman of the Salt Lake Interfaith Roundtable and member of the local Jewish community said. "No faith has the answer to why innocent people suffer."

Tragic events, he said, "shake us out of our current pattern, causing us to look for deeper meanings to life."

"In some cases, there are answers there, but in some cases, it is part of the mystery," Bachman said. "That's why they call it faith."

Debbie Caldwell, a former day-care provider for the two young Powell boys, Charlie and Braden, said she found comfort in her belief that the boys are now with their mother.

"I know that her boys are with her, they're with her," she said. And while she hoped the saga had ended differently, or not ever begun, Caldwell's faith was all she had to hold onto in the aftermath of another's seemingly senseless decisions.

"I think there is a lot of anger out there right now," said Barry Rose, a licensed clinical social worker and the county's mental health crisis line manager. He said the more a person has been following the issues surrounding the Powell family, the more likely it is that they're going to experience a reaction to the events that unfolded Sunday at the home of Josh Powell in Washington.

"Probably every DCFS caseworker is relating to that worker who was at the door. I would imagine that every law enforcement officer that has been involved in any way, or is connected to the case, is reviewing their piece or their part or their association," said Jackie Webb, a licensed clinical social worker who works with LDS Family Services in West Valley City. "I can't think that any parent wouldn't be thinking, 'How could you do this horrendous thing to your children.' The impact is very far-reaching."

When Susan Cox Powell first went missing, Webb was invited to speak to the Powells' LDS ward, members of which were struggling to deal with the news of of Susan's disappearance and the questions surrounding Josh Powell's involvement.