Texas Cold Case: She Went Out in Midland in 1980 and Vanished

Midland's oldest cold case turns 43 years old this month.

According to Crime-Reader.com, Kristy Lynn Booth was 19 on the evening of February 2, 1980, when she decided to go out with friends at one of Midland's most popular nightspots at the time, the now-demolished Dimensions Nightclub at 411 Airpark Drive.

That was the last time Kristy Booth would ever be seen again.

She was dropped off at the nightclub by her friend Ron Ferrengberg so he could borrow her white and maroon 1977 AMC Pacer under the pretense that he would come back to pick her up at about 11 pm.

She met with friends at the club who enjoyed a night of dancing and drinks. Ferrengberg would return as he was supposed to at 11 pm only to find no sign of Kristy except her purse, coat, and shoes left at the table that she and her friends had partied at that night. She was seen that night dancing with a white male who was muscular in build with a goatee and mustache.

She was last seen in a white button-down blouse with a pink dress and Levi's. Since she left her purse, shoes, and coat behind, that gave the idea that she was going to return to the club at some time, but that never happened.

It was a typically cold February night in Midland with temperatures below freezing so there is no reason she would leave the club willingly without her coat and shoes.

The Midland Reporter-Telegram would report that Ferrengberg said he drove around looking for her after he searched for her in the nightclub until her car ran out of gas on Highway 349 (Rankin Hwy) about a mile and a half south of Interstate 20, which is the place where her car was found by police on February 4, 1980.

Following an investigation, Midland Police discovered the vehicle had 268 miles on it that were unaccounted for after it had been repaired the day before she disappeared.

Ferrengberg became the main suspect until it was determined after questioning and a polygraph that he had no knowledge of where Kristy was and was dropped as a suspect in the case.

Kristy lived with her parents at 4406 Monty Ave. and worked as a waitress at The Great Gatsby on Cuthbert (where Heavenly Cuts is now located). There was no report of problems at home, which led police to suspect foul play had been involved. Here is a picture of where The Great Gatsby Restaurant used to be located.

The Dimensions Nightclub, and the Airpark Bowling Alley that it was attached to, were next to the Midland VFW but were demolished a few years later to make way for the construction of the ClayDesta complex. The Midland VFW is still there but here is a pic of what the location of the old Dimensions Nightclub and bowling alley looks like today.

Ron Ferrengberg died in October of 1981.

To see a copy of the MRT article a month after her disappearance, go to Newspapers.com.

Her parents have since passed away, and sadly without even knowing what happened to their daughter.

People are still talking about the case even today and some people have said on Facebook they think they know where she is rumored to be buried.

Here is a special report on her disappearance done in 2018 courtesy of KOSA-TV/CBS 7.

If you have any information on what happened to Kristy Lynn Booth, you are urged to contact the Midland Police Department at (432) 685-7108 or the Texas Department of Public Safety at (800) 346-3243.