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By MATT MENDOZA
Traveler Correspondent

The night was crisp and cold. The sounds of sobs broke the silence and the soft light of candles lit the darkness.

Hope was in the air, and floating among the rising fog of warm breath were thoughts and prayers going out for Jodi Sanderholm.

This was the scene Saturday night outside the Ark City Dance building where community members, family, friends, colleagues and dance partners held a candlelight vigil for Sanderholm, a Cowley College freshman and Ark City native, who disappeared Friday afternoon.

A second candlelight vigil was held Sunday night at the dance building, where residents where still hopeful Jodi would be found alive.

"She just disappeared." Brianna Branine, a close friend of Sanderholm's, said, at the vigil. "She was in a good mood and was practically married to her boyfriend so she had no reason to leave."

According to Branine, there were no signs of anything out of the ordinary except a man who had been following many of the Cowley Danceline girls. Police have questioned the man but said there is no evidence he was involved in Sanderholm's disappearance.

Despite the unresolved search, the vigil proved that hope brings a community together. Sanderholm grew up in Ark City and is very active in the city's dance community as well as the First Methodist Church. At the vigil, people shared nothing but kind words and compliments.

"She was a sweet girl," family friend and fellow parishioner Jon Oak said. "She wasn't perfect, but she was close. She was a valedictorian, straight-A student and good person."

Sheri Green, mother of Morgan Green, a close friend of Sanderholm, agreed saying that she was "the most responsible teenager" she knows.

"She's awesome and one of the nicest people I've ever met," Shelby Scott, a close friend, said.

The vigil began and a pastor, who wished to remain anonymous, led with a speech about the night's silence and solemnity.

"We should pray to the Lord everyday to deliver us from evil," he said.

He concluded the vigil with the Lord's Prayer and a moment of opportunity for those who wanted to share thoughts or feelings about Sanderholm.

Nobody spoke and the crowd slowly dissipated to the sounds of sobbing and the hugs of consolation.