Police chief holds press conference to talk about results of search for missing woman
A multi-agency police search for a woman who has been missing since April 2021 turned up empty Friday.
Three years ago,
Angela Jamerica Burris went missing and over the course of those years, her family has had no information on her whereabouts. Friday morning around 8 a.m., local, regional and state investigators gathered to search for Burris, focusing on a wooded area in Gaston County off Lake Montonia Road near Crowders Mountain State Park, according to Kings Mountain Police.
Kings Mountain Police Chief Gerald Childress held a press conference Friday afternoon with the results of the search and said around 45 searchers and five cadaver dogs covered 18 to 20 acres of land over the course of the day but only recovered bone and bone fragments that were identified as animal remains.
"Several months ago we were able to develop some additional leads that led us to the area we searched today," Childress said. "What led us to that area, obviously you know technology increases and changes over time, and we're able to develop some pinpoint areas potentially to her last known location and that was our area of focus today."
He said due to the heat, they started early and covered the area quickly, calling the search around 1 p.m.
He said investigators are still trying to follow up on any leads and are asking for any information the public may have.
Childress said it isn't a cold case, and they continue to work the case in hopes of bringing closure to the family.
He said although it is assumed Burris is no longer alive, it is still considered a missing person case, and they continue to work diligently to find Burris.
Kings Mountain Capt. Lance Hamrick said they do not intend to search the area that was covered Friday again, and that "searchers came out of the woods and said we have turned every leaf in this area."
Officers with the Kings Mountain Police Department assembled with crews from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office, Cleveland County Emergency Management, Gaston County Emergency Management, Lincoln County Emergency Management, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office and the Kings Mountain Fire Department all worked together to conduct the search.
Burris was reported missing to the Kings Mountain Police Department on April 28, 2021. She was 36 years old at the time and last seen on April 19, 2021, getting into a black passenger vehicle near her home on Lake Montonia Road in Kings Mountain, according to police.
Although she was known to leave sometimes and then return without notice, the family grew increasingly concerned as she missed birthdays and holidays, according to previous interviews with the family.
“Although it’s been over three years since Angela Burris was last seen, we have not given up on finding her and bringing closure to her family,” Kings Mountain Police said in a press release Friday.
Anyone with information can call Kings Mountain Police Department at 704-734-0444
