It’s been 37 years since Angela Meeker disappeared just two days before her 14th birthday.
On Thursday, the FBI offered $200,000 for information leading to the recovery of the Tacoma girl’s remains or an arrest.
She was last seen July 7, 1979, walking from her South Tacoma home to the Tacoma Mall to buy a birthday card for a friend.
An acquaintance later told police he saw Angela on the street and gave her a ride, but there’s no confirmation she went inside the mall.
There are conflicting reports about whether Meeker attended a birthday party that night for herself and a friend.
“She didn’t show up to the party, which was odd since the party was for her,” Tacoma police Detective Lindsey Wade said.
Meeker never went home and didn’t show up for a Rush concert two nights later. Her family then reported her missing.
Although the teen had run away in the past, it was for only a few days at a time and always to a friend’s house. Police do not believe she ran away before her birthday.
“We don’t really know what happened, but we believe something happened to her,” Wade said.
Meeker is 51 if still alive.
At the time of her disappearance, she was 5 feet 1 and about 100 pounds, with blondish-brown hair and hazel eyes.
Detectives recently developed new information in the cold case but declined to say what it is. The new lead prompted the reward money from the FBI.
“The FBI hopes that this reward is an additional incentive for people to come forward with information,” said Kelly Smith, who oversees the FBI’s criminal investigations in Pierce County.
Anyone with information is asked Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).
