HANFORD — Dozens of friends gathered Monday for Debbie Hawk's birthday, determined not to give up hope that the missing mother of three will be found alive.
"She'd be ecstatic about everyone turning out for her birthday," said Taryn Maltes of Fresno. "And she'd want some wine."
Hawk, 47, vanished three weeks ago from her home on Tarragon Avenue. Her son and two daughters returned to the house June 13 after a weekend with their father and found the home ransacked.
Hawk's van was found abandoned two days later in southwest Fresno, with the keys inside and a stolen license plate attached to it.
Investigators found blood in the house and in the back seat of the van. Detectives believe Hawk was taken against her will and was the victim of an assault, but have released few details of their investigation.
"People want to know what happened and where she's at," said Eliza Carlson of Hanford, who with Maltes organized Monday evening's birthday celebration in front of the Hanford Civic Auditorium. "And they want her to come home to her children."
As time passes, Hawk's fate becomes more uncertain. But friends who have been distributing reward fliers with Hawk's face throughout the Valley are undeterred.
"We're very optimistic," Maltes said. "Each day that passes, we're more determined. … We wake up with a sense of priority that is above everything else."
About 50 other friends shared that hope, as well as laughter and tears, at Monday's event. Their words painted a portrait of a woman who loves her children and enjoys friendships, laughing and the occasional glass of good wine.
"Everyone has a story about Debbie," Maltes said.
A giant birthday card decorated with pictures of Hawk and her children — Conrad, 16; Chesla, 14; and 10-year-old Savannah — stood on the auditorium lawn, with pens for people to offer birthday wishes and prayers: "Please come home soon," one well-wisher wrote. "This community is waiting for you to come home."
The columns on the auditorium's facade, as well as the nearby trees and lampposts, were festooned with purple ribbons to remember Hawk. "Purple is the color we chose, not because it's her favorite color, but because it's regal, and she's our princess," Maltes said.
Many of those who gathered had worked with or for Hawk in the 1990s, when she was a manager for Gottschalks stores. And while she later moved on to manage the store at the Harris Ranch Inn and, after her divorce in 2000, to work as a pharmaceutical sales representative, she remained close to former colleagues such as Maltes.
Michael Ray of Fresno, Hawk's boyfriend, said the event was a way for friends and family to support one another and to keep the search in the forefront of the public's attention.
"We all need help dealing with this," he said, adding that volunteers will fan out to blanket Kings County with more fliers about Hawk's disappearance.
Hanford police had nothing new to report in their investigation Monday; they continue to look into various clues and, while no suspects have been named, they have said they are evaluating a handful of "persons of interest," including Hawk's ex-husband, Dave Hawk of Lemoore.
But until Debbie Hawk is found, said Kim Petersen, executive director of the Carole Sund/Carrington Foundation, it's important that the case be kept in the public eye, so people who come upon information or evidence in the future remember to contact police.
"People tend to forget and just go on to the next thing," she said.
The Sund/Carrington Foundation contributed one-third of the $15,000 reward being offered for information leading to Hawk's whereabouts.
Marla Krupens and Marcia Boros both worked with Hawk when she was a sales representative for drug company Astra Zeneca until early 2005. They've been busy distributing reward fliers to businesses in Fresno, Madera and Merced counties as they make their sales calls.
"People are very sad to hear that she's not been found," Boros said.
Krupens said she remains hopeful for her friend's safety: "There's always a small piece of worry on the back of my mind. But for the children and everyone, I want her to come home."
Ray said he spoke Monday to Hawk's son, Conrad, and said the children are coping well. For two weeks, the children stayed with their dad, but on Monday they were in the midst of a weekend with Debbie Hawk's parents at their home in Walnut Creek.
Ray also struggles to remain positive. "I'm trying to be hopeful; wackier things have happened," Ray said. "But there have been some very long days."
Petersen said the disappearance of a resident can be stressful to a small community like Hanford.
Petersen said no one wants to find that Hawk is dead, but she said not knowing what happened is sometimes worse than knowing what did.
"You can't begin the grieving process if you don't know what happened," Petersen said. "You feel helpless; you don't know what to feel."
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