TACOMA, Wash. — Nearly 45 years to the day after her disappearance, the family of a Tacoma teen is asking for the public’s help in generating new leads.
To family and friends, she was simply known as “Angie” – she vanished days before she turned 14. Her family is still hopeful someone will come forward with new information about her disappearance.
“She was 13, two days short of being 14 when she disappeared, and it’s been 45 years. I’m begging for any kind of knowledge that anybody’s got,” said Angie Meeker’s father, John R. Meeker.
She was, by all accounts, a normal and happy middle school-aged girl.
“On July 7, 1979, Angela Meeker left her home on the south end of Tacoma to go to the Tacoma Mall to pick up a birthday card. She was never seen again,” said Tacoma Police Department Det. William Muse.
According to Angie’s sister, Dee Knee, they lived just minutes away from the mall and walked there often.
Tacoma police insist the case is not cold; they have a detective assigned and, in 2016, learned new information – Angela Meeker had concert tickets for the same weekend she went missing.
“I personally knew from day one or day two that she didn’t run away. I know she would not have left us like this. I just knew it,” John R. Meeker said.
Despite many interviews, no suspect was identified and no arrests were made.
Angie Meeker was 5 feet tall and weighed just over 100 pounds. Her disappearance was initially classified as a “run away” – a criminal detective was not assigned until years later.
“She was supposed to be home for her birthday," Knee said. "We kept those presents wrapped for I don’t know how long. They sat on the mantel. I want to say over a year, we kept those presents just sitting there.”
Angie Meeker would have been 59 years old today and her family still wants answers.
“It could be a phone call tonight that changes everything,” said her brother, John Glenn Meeker. “Anything could help. So please do the right thing.”
Her father said he gave up hope of finding her alive a long time ago but is still trying to get the case closed.
“Everybody that has never been through this talks about ‘closure.’ It’s the hardest word in my life; I just hate that word. There is no closure," John R. Meeker said.
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