Family remembers missing Kings Mountain mother as a joyful spirit and music lover
In the years since her disappearance, Katira Burris has missed many things about her mom, Angela Burris.
Things like, their deep, girl chats where they could talk about anything from boys and relationships to friends. Using the car as their stage as they sang karaoke to the tune of early 90s and 00s hip-hop and R&B. And taking over the dance floor at birthday parties.
Burris misses watching the relationship between her mom and her oldest child, Malik. Her mother, who her son called “maw maw” would pick him up from daycare and spend quality time with him.
But this week, after nearly four years of waiting, Katira Burris and her family received tragic news.
On Monday, the Kings Mountain Police Department and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation identified remains found in Gastonia in 2022 as those belonging to Angela Burris.
Angela was reported missing four years ago in April 2021 when she was 36. Burris’ aunt has said Angela sat outside their home with a teddy bear and a duffel bag on the day she went missing, according to The Charley Project, which logs missing people, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.
She would have celebrated her 40th birthday this past Jan. 20, her daughter said.
Her faith and hope helped her stay grounded as she waited for her mother to be identified, Burris said.
“I just knew that she wasn’t going to be lost forever,” she said. “I knew she was going to be found eventually.”
Her mother was an unforgettable person, her daughter said. She had a joyful, magnetic personality and showed up everywhere unapologetically as herself.
Antoine Meeks, Katira’s father and friend of Angela’s, said she was the person he’d call any time to share a story, laugh or even cry with.
In their early days of dating, before Katira Burris was born, Angela invited Meeks to her church. Angela and her grandmother knew his love for music and encouraged him to play at a service. But at that time, it had been nearly 20 years since he’d performed, he said.
“They were the ones that were saying, you play,” he said. “(They said) your mother invested in you. And God blessed it in you. Get up there and play.”
It was their support and motivation that got Meeks to perform again and eventually become the minister of music for a local network of churches.
Angela’s love for music followed her everywhere. For a period of time she traveled with Meeks singing with the choir at Vestibule AME Zion Church in Cleveland County.
Angela was a lover of all genres. Meeks said even now he can picture her sitting under a tree in her front yard playing her music loud on the speakers.
In the years since her disappearance, Meeks said their daughter has been his foundation.
“I tell Katira, whenever you miss your mom, look in the mirror,” he said.
While police say there is no indication of foul play, her family says they still have many questions about what happened to Angela. Her remains were found in Ferguson Park in Gastonia nearly 12 miles away, the Observer’s news partner WSOC reported.
Her daughter says this wasn’t a place her mother normally went or had knowledge of her ever being to.
Burris wishes the Kings Mountain and Gastonia police departments came together sooner when her mother’s body was found. Meeks said their family will keep pushing to ensure her death is investigated properly.
As they wait for more answers, Katira Burris said she’s choosing to remember the light her mother was in her life.
“I just want people to remember her light that she brought, and the joy that she brought, and all the happy memories,” she said. “I just want people to remember all the good things. Not just to focus on her being missing. I want her people to remember her life that she had before that.”
Anyone with information can call 704-734-0444 to speak to Kings Mountain police. To remain anonymous, tips may be submitted through the Cleveland County Crime Stoppers P3 app, or by calling 704-481-8477.
This story was originally published March 20, 2025 at 2:01 PM.