And here's the text from the November 1975 article from the Odessa American. Some of it might not make sense because the OCR was poor, but at least it is the jist of the article without having to pay the subscription fee:
Texas Hangers are apprehensive about the fate of a pretty 21-year-old Odessa woman who disappeared a month ago while attending a chili cookoff at Terlingua Phyllis Eleanor Berry disappeared without a trace from a crowd of 10,000 She hasnt been seen or heard from since "Under the circumstance, I fear foul play," said Texas Ranger A Y Allee who has been on the case for the past four weeks. Allee, who is stationed at Alpine, said Miss Berry was last seen about midnight on Nov. 1 sitting around a camp fire about a quarter of a mile from the main headquarters of the chili cooking contest. A vast search of the area by helicopter, on horseback and the use of specially-trained police dogs failed to turn up a single clue "Weve just run out of leads," Allee explained "We need help Bad "
Miss Berrys foreign-made auto, containing her purse and her pet dog. was found the morning after her disappearance where she had originally parked it on arriving in Terlingua, Allee said he is pushing his hunt for a missing witness who might be able to shed some light on the case. The Ranger said Miss Berry was seen riding a motorcycle with a youthful companion for a couple of hours before she disappeared "It was a Honda 350 and dark in color," Allee said. "It was driven by a young man with blond hair in his early 20s " Alee was emphatic that the man on the motorcycle is not a suspect "We just want to talk to him," Allee said The investigator said he has been unable to substantiate two reports circulating about the missing woman. One said Miss Berry called lawmen in Odessa to report she was alive and well. Another was that she was spotted in a tavern across the Rio Grande in Mexico. "We just cant run them down," Allee said "Weve heard that a girl and a guy were spotted in the bar But we can't say for sure that it was Miss Berry Although he personally checked with the Odessa Police Department and the Ector County Sheriffs Department, Allee said he can find no one who received a telephone call from the missing girl, "Maybe it was a prank call. Something to throw us off the track."
Allee said Miss Berry made the weekend trip to Terlingua with two other Odessans, her roommate Vangie Strait and a friend, Terry Robert Bailey. After arriving at Terlingua. Allee said, Bailey went to visit friends while Miss Strait took a nap in a friends camper and Miss Berry went motorcycle riding. Later that evening, after the sun had gone down, a large crowd attended an impromptu dance. Miss Berry ran into two friends from Odessa, John Jackson and Dale Wade. She also met a third man named Jim from Austin who Jackson had picked up as a hitchhiker en route to Terlingua. According to Jackson, Miss Berry appeared in good spirits I saw her dancing with several fellas and she appeared to be having a good time," Jackson recalled. Shortly before midnight, Jackson said, he and Miss Berry returned to camp with Wade on Wades motorcycle. He said Jim followed a few moments later on foot. "Wc just stood around for a few minutes eating Fritos and bean dip." Jackson said "The fire had just about burned down and she asked us to get more wood for the fire," Jackson said "I dont remember her exact words, but she said she was going to sit by the fire and wait for us to return. "Jim sat with her on the cot for a minute or two and then joined us about 20 feet away where we were gathering the wood. "We all walked back to the campfire a few minutes later and she was gone," Jackson said. "She was there one minute and gone the next. She just kinda slipped away. "At first I thought she must have gone down the hill to party some more," Jackson said Or to use the Hammond Draws Line On Closed Door Meets bathroom." A short time later, probably not more than five minutes, Bailey came to the camp in Miss Berrys auto looking for her. "He was driving her car and had her Irish setter puppy." Jackson said He said Wade rode around for about an hour on his motorcycle looking for the girl unsuccessfully. "We didnt think too much about it," Jackson explained. "We figured maybe she just went down the hill " The trio turned in for the night The next morning, Jackson said. Jim walked down the road to catch a ride back to Austin Wade packed up and headed back to Odessa Jackson said he remained behind and spent half of Sunday with Bailey searching, for the missing woman. Jackson returned to Odessa Sunday night but Miss Strait and Bailey remained behind to hunt for their missing friend Miss Strait said she and Bailey telephoned back to Odessa Sunday night thinking Miss Berry caught a ride home with friends The first missing person report to the sheriff's office at Alpine was made Sunday night by telephone from Odessa "The last time I saw her was about 10:30 or U oclock Saturday night," Miss Strait said "She seemed to be having a good time .
A light plane was called into the search Monday morning as Terlingua returned to ghost town status with the exodus of the throng It was fruitless Miss Strait said another plea was made to the sheriffs office at Alpine Monday night when no trace had been found of Miss Berry. Texas Ranger and a larger ground party joined in the search Tuesday morning The manhunt continued Wednesday, but was called off after the false report that Miss Berry had been in telephone contact with law enforcement officials in Odessa Miss Strait and Bailey returned to Odessa Wednesday night. When she was last seen. Miss Berry was wearing a pair of blue jeans, a tan and black shirt and a pair of knee-high granny boots which laced up the front "We havent been able to come up with anything concrete," said another Texas Ranger working on the investigation "The longer she is gone, the more apt we are to think that something has happened to her "We have no evidence that she went off by herself On the other hand, we have nothing to indicate she was carried away by force. "We need to find out when she was last seen and by whom." Allee said he fears foul play "because she wasnt in trouble and had no reason to run." "Something is wrong," said Mrs Ruth Matheny of 4209 Locust, Miss Berrys aunt also said she fears for her niece's safety. "She just vanished info thin air," Mrs. Matheny said "Its just not like her," Mrs. Matheny said "If she was okay, she'd get in touch with us. I just know she would " Mrs Matheny said. "Her car was left behind and her dog was in it So was her purse I know she didnt go off alone and leave everything behind " She called the disappearance. A complete mystery " "Because of the false reports," Mrs Matheny said, "a lot of people think she has been found But we dont know any more today than we did. four weeks ago " "God, I wish we could hear some good news."
