TX TX - Kristy Booth, 19, Midland, 2 Feb 1980

Kristy Lynn Booth
Missing since February 2, 1980 from Midland, Midland County, Texas.
Classification: Endangered Missing

Vital Statistics
Date Of Birth: December 26, 1960
Age at Time of Disappearance: 19 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'8", 115-120 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Blue eyes; brown hair.
Marks, Scars: She has pierced ears and a birthmark on the right side of her stomach.
Dentals: Available
Clothing: She was last seen wearing a white button down blouse, pink vest and blue Levi jeans. She was not wearing shoes.

Circumstances of Disappearance
Booth's 1975 maroon and white AMC Pacer was found abandoned 2 miles south of HI-20 on SH 349 (Rankin Highway). Circumstances of this case indicate foul play is possible.

Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact: Midland Police Department 915-685-7110 Or
Texas Missing Persons Clearinghouse 512-424-2811

Agency Case Number: 44928
NCIC Number: M-077752671

Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.
Source Information:
Texas Department of Public Safety
The Doe Network: Case File 704DFTX

Link:
704DFTX - Kristy Lynn Booth

<MOD NOTE: Several original links throughout the thread were broken and have been edited to include the current link (when available) and images as of July 12, 2023>

I wonder if she had car trouble? If so, it seems like she would have struck out walking to look for help. If she did that, then she would have probably taken at least the keys with her and locked the car. Was the car out of gas? Did it have a flat?

The fact that she was not wearing shoes indicates that she was probably not driving far, and maybe? not planning on getting out of the car at her destination....or either she was on a long road trip during which she removed her shoes....

I wonder if she was married or living with her parents?

I wonder what "circumstances" indicate foul play? Was blood found in the car; a weapon? signs of struggle? Was the car hit---did it have paint swipes that might have indicated she was run off the road by another vehicle? Were any hitchhikers spotted in or around the area during the time frame?

Bumping this case up. Soon to be the 27 year anniversary of her disappearance.


See also Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community thread titled - Unidentified Female Oklahoma, Found April 18, 1980 - for further discussion.

I just contacted LE to give them the possible match of OK UID, http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/255ufok.html will post when/if they return my call.

ETD: LE was notified months ago of the potential match, but no word has been heard either way.

hopefully they'll get back to you on that good match,and hopefully soon!!!!


I hate it when they can not at least get back to ya in a timely fashion

To make it a bit easier for you to compare these two cases, click each of the below updated links and move the photos on your screen so that they are side by side. Also note the descriptions, proximity of locations and dates.

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Kristy Lynn Booth
Missing since February 2, 1980 from Midland, Midland County, Texas.
Classification: Endangered Missing

Vital Statistics
Date Of Birth: December 26, 1960
Age at Time of Disappearance: 19 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'8", 115-120 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Blue eyes; brown hair.
Marks, Scars: She has pierced ears and a birthmark on the right side of her stomach.
Dentals: Available
Clothing: She was last seen wearing a white button down blouse, pink vest and blue Levi jeans. She was not wearing shoes.

Agency Case Number: 44928
NCIC Number: M-077752671
Source Information:
Texas Department of Public Safety
The Doe Network: Case File 704DFTX

LINK:
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/704dftx.html

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Unidentified White Female
Found on April 18, 1980, on a bank of the Canadian River near Jones, 20 miles NE of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma.

Cause of death was homicide. The victim was shot three times with a .45-caliber revolver.

Vital Statistics
Estimated age: 18 - 25 years old.
Approximate Height and Weight: 5'6"-5'7" ;120 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: Light reddish/brown hair. Fair complexion with freckles on face and upper torso. Appendectomy scar. No fractures.
Clothing: None found.
Dental: Extensive dental work done, some teeth out of alignment.
Tattoos: Tattoo of small heart above left breast; heart and line in blue ink, center of heart colored with red ink.
Fingerprints: Available

Case History

The victim is believed to have been dressed at the time of the murder as a dime was hit by a bullet and driven into her body.

On 18 April 1980, fisherman found her nude body, covered with lime, on the bank of the Canadian river near Jones.

Attempts at identification have been made, including fingerprint comparisons, the circulation of a composite drawing of the victim, and a facial reconstruction made with modeling clay sculptured over the scull.

The woman is described as being 18-25 years old, weighing 118-120 pounds. She has shoulder-length medium to light brown hair with a fair complexion and freckles. Her most unusual identifying mark, however, is a small red and blue heart-shaped tattoo over the left breast.

Source:
The Oklahoman April 19, 1982
The Doe Network: Case File 255UFOK

LINK:
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/255ufok.html

bumping case up...

Its been 28 years since then-19-year-old Kristy Lynne Booth disappeared from a nightclub on Airpark Road, but Midland Police Department investigators arent ready to give up on the case.

According to a Midland Police Department news release, Booth disappeared from the Dimensions Nightclub, 411 Airpark Road, on Feb. 2, 1980.

Booth was discovered missing at 11 p.m. after partying with friends. Her friend, Ron Ferrengburn, had borrowed her 1977 white and maroon AMC Pacer. It was found abandoned 1.6 miles south on Highway 349 on Feb. 4, 1980. Ferrengburn has since died.

The news release said there has been no new information on the case for several years, but MPD doesnt want to close the case.

Anybody with information on the case is asked to call Lt. Ronnie Wilson at 685-7108.
<modsnip: broken link>

Bumping for Kristy

A little more info here.

5 Feb 08

Dimensions Nightclub, a popular disco club during its existence, catered mostly to the young adult crowd of Midland's population.

Located at 411 Airpark Lane -- right down the road from the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4149 -- the popular hangout was a hit with those between the ages of 18 and 28 before it closed its doors in the early 1980s.

Inside the club, a bar, where patrons could order drinks, was set up along one wall. Off to the side, a DJ booth played music that would have many of its customers up and out of their seats and dancing around the room.

And one customer did just that. She left her shoes under the table that she and her friends were occupying and her coat on the chair as she partied on a Saturday night.

But 28 years ago, on that cold night of Feb. 2, 1980, was the last time anyone saw the Midland native known as Kristy Lynne Booth.

rest of lengthy and informative article at link above

I noticed this statement in your article hoppyfrog about Kritsties last whereabouts -

Monday, Feb. 4, Booth's 1977, 2-door, white and maroon AMC Pacer was found abandoned less than two miles south of town on Rankin Highway. Police later found she had taken her car to be serviced the morning of her disappearance and since then the odometer showed it had been driven 268 miles.

Click to expand...

This makes me think a mechanic may have been involved since thats apparantly the last place she was at and made me wonder if she had ever been checked against this UID : http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/543uftx.html

Unidentified White/Hispanic Female

• The victim was discovered on October 29, 1981 in Grimes County, Texas.
• Estimated Date of Death: 1 - 5 years (1976 - 1980)
• Cause of Death: Blunt trauma to the head.
• Formerly Hot Case # 76

Vital Statistics

• Estimated age: 13 - 19 years old
• Approximate Height and Weight: 5'1" - 5'5".
• Distinguishing Characteristics: Red or auburn hair. There was evidence of prior abuse as several ribs had been broken but were healed.
• Clothing: She was found wearing only a pair of pink panties and a coin ring with the year "1904" engraved on it.
• Fingerprints: Not Available
• Dentals: Available; she had extensive dental work with about 14 fillings.
• DNA: mtDNA Available incomplete sample

Case History
The victim was located by a worker with the Texas Highway Department in Grimes County, Texas on October 29, 1981. She was found on F.M. 244, just south of Iola near Bull Creek Bridge.
The body was inside a large plastic bag, which also contained a type of rag commonly used by mechanics. An investigation was launched by the Grimes County Sheriff's Department and the Texas Rangers, but the identity of the girl was never established and no local children were reported missing about that same time.
Authorities theorize that the girl likely was physically abused and eventually killed. She possibly had dropped out of school. Considering the condition of the body, the killer or killers may have stored the body in a cool, dry place - possibly a closet - where it decomposed over several years. The killer probably needed to get rid of the body, then placed it in a bag and dumped it on the side of the road in 1981

The description matches her imo and circumstances could match.

do they say how long she was dead. or a guestimation of her date of death? i would pass that info on to the proper le it could be a match

hoppyfrog said:

rest of lengthy and informative article at link above

Click to expand...

An interesting excerpt from that long article:

On the Saturday night Booth disappeared, she had arrived at Dimensions wearing a white button-down blouse, a pink vest and a pair of Levi's blue jeans.

According to police, a male friend of hers, Ron Ferrengburg, who is now deceased, dropped Booth and a female friend off at the club. He took her car and told the two he would return around 11 that night. But when he did, he said, he couldn't find the girls anywhere.

It was five days later before a police report was filed through the city.

"You don't worry too much about a person at that age in the beginning," said MPD Lt. Ronnie Wilson.

The police worked hard over the next several days to track down hundreds of leads. They interviewed a number of people, including those who had been at the bar that night.

They retraced her steps and found she had left her shoes and coat inside the club and had gone outside on that cold night that hit a low of 21 degrees.

Police then were led to believe she either left the club unwillingly or had gone outside with the intention of staying only a short time.

Monday, Feb. 4, Booth's 1977, 2-door, white and maroon AMC Pacer was found abandoned less than two miles south of town on Rankin Highway. Police later found she had taken her car to be serviced the morning of her disappearance and since then the odometer showed it had been driven 268 miles.

One of their suspects then was Ferrengburg. But Feb. 15, just two weeks after Booth vanished, he passed a polygraph test.

From there, all the leads that investigators tracked led to dead ends.

Click to expand...

Raises a couple of questions:

-Why did she go out of the club in sub-freezing weather without her shoes and coat? What could have been so urgently in need of her attention that she didn't take the time to shoe up in the dead of winter? I remember those days, the main reason for sneaking out of a bar was to smoke pot but even that didn't warrant freezing one's butt (or feet in this case), you would at the very least wear your shoes.

-So it was Ferrenburg who was using her car that night? He claims Booth and her friend weren't at the club when he came back to pick them up. What did he do with the car after that? The fact that it was abandoned seem to indicate it hadn't been returned to the family. Who drove 268 miles with it?

-Did LE ever published Ferrenburg's explanations regarding his use of Booth's car?

-What was Ferrenburg's relation with Booth? Was he close enough that she would lend him her car over a long period of time (several days/weeks), which could account for the mileage? This could explain why he didn't return the vehicle to the family immediately if he wasn't aware that Booth had gone missing. Doesn't explain why it was later abandoned though.

There is no mention of the girl she went with. Did she disappear too? If not, has she been questioned?

KarlK said:

An interesting excerpt from that long article:

Raises a couple of questions:

-Why did she go out of the club in sub-freezing weather without her shoes and coat? What could have been so urgently in need of her attention that she didn't take the time to shoe up in the dead of winter? I remember those days, the main reason for sneaking out of a bar was to smoke pot but even that didn't warrant freezing one's butt (or feet in this case), you would at the very least wear your shoes.

-So it was Ferrenburg who was using her car that night? He claims Booth and her friend weren't at the club when he came back to pick them up. What did he do with the car after that? The fact that it was abandoned seem to indicate it hadn't been returned to the family. Who drove 268 miles with it?

-Did LE ever published Ferrenburg's explanations regarding his use of Booth's car?

-What was Ferrenburg's relation with Booth? Was he close enough that she would lend him her car over a long period of time (several days/weeks), which could account for the mileage? This could explain why he didn't return the vehicle to the family immediately if he wasn't aware that Booth had gone missing. Doesn't explain why it was later abandoned though.

Click to expand...

You raise some good questions. I don't know much about this Ferrenburg character, but my guess is that if you asked him what time it was, and he told you, you would want to look at your watch to be sure.

His story is total nonsense. Why would anybody loan a car to him and then walk off without shoes or coat? I would think that it is more likely that he took her somewhere, killed her and then ditched the car. 268 miles might have gotten him to Oklahoma City and back. (see earlier post about the OK City Jane Doe). I wonder if Ferrenburg had a large caliber pistol?

This UID says hazel eyes but just in case


*morgue picture*
http://www.unsolved-crimes.com/walkerco.html

kaylenbabysims said:

This UID says hazel eyes but just in case


*morgue picture*
http://www.unsolved-crimes.com/walkerco.html

Click to expand...

Here is the basic information from the above link. Some points do seem to match with the info available on Kristy. Some is a bit different. The biggest discrepancy would seem to be the nine month gap between Kristy's disappearance and the October/November 1980 death of this unknown girl.

--------------------------------------------------
Name:Unknown White Female - Walker County Jane DoePlace:Walker County, TexasAge: Estimated: 15 - 20 years oldDescription:White Female,
5'5" - 5'7" tall,
100 - 108 lbs,
Medium brown hair
Hazel eyes
She wore thin gold chain hung from her slender neck with a smoky stone attached
Her toenails were painted pink.
Case Details:
Walker County Jane Doe was found lying face down and nude by a truck driver on November 1, 1980 near the Sam Houston National Forest in Walker County Texas. This is about a half mile south of the FM 1696 exit near Huntsville.

The victim, an attractive young teenage girl, had been savagely beaten and sexually assaulted before dying by slow strangulation. Her face and body were covered with bruises from the beating and there was a human bite mark on her back near her right shoulder. The autopsy revealed she had been sexually assaulted with a blunt instrument.

When the murder was reported, several people came forward and said they'd seen a teenager matching her description the day before her body was found. One witness, the manager of a gas station which no longer exists, positively identified the victim as a girl who had been at the station around 6:30 p.m. Halloween night asking for directions to the Ellis prison unit. She was wearing blue jeans, a yellow pullover sweater with big pockets that hung below her waist, and carrying high-heeled sandals in her hand. To the best of his recollection, she had been let out of a 1973 or 74 blue Chevrolet, possibly a Caprice, with a lighter colored top, which was being driven by a white male. She looked disheveled like she had been traveling and perhaps sleeping in her clothes. She left the station, walking north on Sam Houston avenue.

A waitress working at the Hitchin Post truck stop out on Interstate 45 said the girl came into the restaurant the same evening and again, asked for directions to the Ellis Unit, saying she had a friend there. A map was drawn for her and she departed. She never reached the Ellis Unit and she was never seen alive again.

Contact Information:
If you have any knowledge of the identity of this child or the crime itself contact Lt. Perkins at the Walker Co. Sheriff's office in Huntsville, Texas at 936-435-2406.

Bumping case up. Has anyone heard any updates?

This case will be 30 years old this February. Here is a new Doenetwork summary and link:

---------------------------------

Kristy Lynn Booth
Missing since February 2, 1980 from Midland, Midland County, Texas.
Classification: Endangered Missing

Vital Statistics

Date Of Birth: December 26, 1960
Age at Time of Disappearance: 19 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'7-5'8"; 115-120 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Blue eyes; reddish-brown hair, long and straight.
Marks, Scars: She has pierced ears and a birthmark on the right side of her stomach. A dimple in her left cheek.
Clothing: She was last seen wearing a white button down blouse, pink vest and blue Levi jeans. She was not wearing shoes.
AKA: Kriss
Dentals: Available. #30 tooth missing.
DNA: Available

Circumstances of Disappearance

Booth was last seen on February 2, 1980 at the Dimensions Nightclub at 411 Airpark. According to police, a male friend of hers, who is now deceased, dropped Booth and a female friend off at the club. He took her car and told the two he would return around 11 that night. But when he did, he said, he couldn't find the girls anywhere.


Booth walked outside around 11 o'clock that night. It was five days later before a police report was filed through the city.


Booth's 1977 maroon and white AMC Pacer was found abandoned 2 miles south of HI-20 on South Highway 349 (Rankin Highway). Police later found she had taken her car to be serviced the morning of her disappearance and since then the odometer showed it had been driven 268 miles.


Investigators do not believe Booth left the club willingly, because she left without her shoes and coat, and the weather was cold and icy. Police then were led to believe she either left the club unwillingly or had gone outside with the intention of staying only a short time.


Between the years of 1978 and 1979, Booth was a senior at Lee High School.


A year after graduating, Booth still lived at her family home in the 4400 block of Monty Avenue with her father Tom, mother Myra and her two siblings. Police said that she never had any problems at home.

Her nights were spent at The Great Gatsby, a restaurant on Cuthbert Avenue , where she worked as a cocktail waitress.

Investigators

If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:

Midland Police Department
Lieutenant Ronnie Wilson
915-685-7110
915-685-7108
Email: mpd@mail.ci.midland.tx.us


Or
Texas Missing Persons Clearinghouse
512-424-2811

Agency Case Number: 44928

TXDPS M88-09-003

NCIC Number: M-077752671

Please refer to these numbers when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.

Source Information:

Texas Department of Public Safety
Midland Reporter-Telegram
CA DOJ
Odessa Crime Stoppers
The Doe Network: Case File 704DFTX

LINK:

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/704dftx.html