Overview

• Full name: Kristy Lynne Booth (also identified as Kristy Lynn Booth)
• Age at disappearance: 19
• Date of birth: December 26, 1960
• Date last seen: February 2, 1980
• Last known location: Dimensions Nightclub, 411 Air Park Road, Midland, Texas
• City and county: Midland, Midland County, Texas
• Classification: Endangered missing person; possible foul play
• Current status: Missing; unresolved
• Investigating authorities: Midland Police Department and Texas Rangers
• Texas Missing Persons Clearinghouse number: M8809003
• Texas Rangers cold-case reference: 230

Main circumstances: Kristy disappeared while socializing with friends at a nightclub. She left personal belongings behind despite freezing weather. Her borrowed vehicle was found abandoned two days later, with questions surrounding its movements before recovery. No publicly confirmed resolution has been announced.

Detailed Case Breakdown

Kristy Lynne Booth: The Unsolved 1980 Disappearance from a Midland, Texas Nightclub

On February 2, 1980, 19-year-old Kristy Lynne Booth vanished during a night out with friends at the Dimensions Nightclub in Midland, Texas. Her shoes, coat, and purse were left behind, and two days later, her car was discovered abandoned along State Highway 349.

More than four decades later, Kristy’s disappearance remains one of Midland’s longstanding unsolved missing-person cases. Investigators have pursued numerous leads, and the Texas Rangers have publicly appealed for information. Although foul play is suspected, the circumstances of her disappearance have never been conclusively established.

Her case remains listed in the Texas Missing Persons Clearinghouse and the Texas Rangers cold-case database.

Case Summary

• Full name: Kristy Lynne Booth (also identified as Kristy Lynn Booth)
• Age at disappearance: 19
• Date of birth: December 26, 1960
• Date last seen: February 2, 1980
• Last known location: Dimensions Nightclub, 411 Air Park Road, Midland, Texas
• City and county: Midland, Midland County, Texas
• Classification: Endangered missing person; possible foul play
• Current status: Missing; unresolved
• Investigating authorities: Midland Police Department and Texas Rangers
• Texas Missing Persons Clearinghouse number: M8809003
• Texas Rangers cold-case reference: 230

Main circumstances: Kristy disappeared while socializing with friends at a nightclub. She left personal belongings behind despite freezing weather. Her borrowed vehicle was found abandoned two days later, with questions surrounding its movements before recovery. No publicly confirmed resolution has been announced.

Sources: Texas DPS Missing Person Bulletin; The Charley Project.

Kristy Booth’s Background and Life Before Her Disappearance

Kristy Lynne Booth was born on December 26, 1960. She grew up in Midland, a West Texas city associated with the Permian Basin’s oil industry.

According to The Charley Project, Kristy graduated from Lee High School, where she participated in extracurricular activities, including the Art Club and Future Homemakers of America.

At the time she disappeared, Kristy lived with her parents and siblings in the 4400 block of Monty Avenue in Midland. She worked as a cocktail waitress at The Great Gatsby, a restaurant on Cuthbert Avenue that has since closed.

Available case information does not describe any significant problems at home or a known intention to disappear voluntarily.

Kristy was approximately 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighed about 120 pounds, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. She had brown hair, blue eyes, pierced ears, and a birthmark on the right side of her abdomen. Other identifying features reported by The Charley Project include a dimple on her left cheek and a missing tooth. She was also known by the nickname “Kriss.”

Some historical accounts contain conflicting descriptions of her height, weight, hair color, and birth date. The Texas DPS missing-person bulletin provides the identifying information used here.

February 2, 1980: Disappearance at the Dimensions Nightclub

On Saturday, February 2, 1980, Kristy went to the Dimensions Nightclub, a disco located in the 400 block of Air Park Road in Midland.

The establishment was a popular gathering place for young adults. Kristy was spending the evening with friends when she disappeared.

According to published accounts, a male friend named Ron Ferrengburg had dropped her off at the club and borrowed her white and maroon AMC Pacer.

Ferrengburg returned later that evening to pick her up but could not find her. Reports place the discovery of her disappearance at approximately 11:00 to 11:30 p.m.

Personal belongings left behind

One of the most concerning circumstances was that Kristy’s shoes, coat, and purse remained inside the nightclub.

She was reportedly wearing a white button-down blouse, pink vest, and blue jeans when she disappeared.

Temperatures that night were below freezing, and the weather was described as cold and icy. Investigators questioned why Kristy would voluntarily leave the establishment without appropriate footwear or outerwear.

Two possibilities were discussed in subsequent reporting: she may have intended to step outside only briefly, or she may have left under circumstances beyond her control.

Neither explanation has been conclusively established.

The Texas Rangers confirm that Kristy’s shoes and coat remained inside the nightclub, while The Charley Project additionally identifies her purse among the belongings left behind.

Sources: Texas Rangers Cold Case; Midland Reporter-Telegram, June 2018.

February 4, 1980: Kristy’s abandoned car is discovered

Two days after Kristy’s disappearance, her white and maroon AMC Pacer was located abandoned along State Highway 349, also known as Rankin Highway, south of Midland.

Official Texas DPS records describe the location as approximately two miles south of Interstate 20 on Highway 349.

The vehicle was reportedly operational when discovered.

According to a June 2018 article in the Midland Reporter-Telegram, the car had accumulated 268 miles since being repaired on the day Kristy disappeared.

The public reporting does not establish who drove those miles, where the vehicle traveled, or whether its movements were directly connected to Kristy’s disappearance.

The vehicle’s recovery remains a significant part of the case because it created questions about the events surrounding the night she went missing.

Source: Crime of the Week: Authorities seek information in cold case.

Investigation History and Evidence

The initial missing-person investigation

Kristy’s disappearance was reported to the Midland Police Department in February 1980.

The Charley Project reports that she was not officially reported missing until approximately five days after she was last seen. That delay may have complicated efforts to reconstruct her movements, although publicly available records do not establish precisely what evidence was affected.

Investigators examined the circumstances at the nightclub, the recovery of her vehicle, and possible connections between people who knew her and her disappearance.

The Texas Rangers’ official cold-case summary confirms that authorities followed numerous leads but were unable to resolve the case.

There is no publicly verified account establishing exactly what happened after Kristy was last seen.

Examination of a male friend

Ron Ferrengburg, the friend who had borrowed Kristy’s car, became a focus of investigative attention.

The Charley Project reports that he was considered a suspect and underwent a polygraph examination, which he reportedly passed.

A polygraph result does not independently establish guilt or innocence, and no verified public record located in the reviewed sources establishes that Ferrengburg was charged in connection with Kristy’s disappearance.

Ferrengburg has since died.

His involvement with the vehicle and his reported examination are documented aspects of the investigation, but they do not establish responsibility for a crime.

Historical investigation of another possible lead

Historical newspaper coverage preserved in the Texas Tech University newspaper archive reports that investigators questioned Henry Lee Lucas about possible involvement in Kristy’s disappearance.

The archived reporting indicates that Lucas was questioned on more than one occasion, without producing a verified connection to the case.

His questioning is part of the historical investigative record, not evidence that he was responsible for Kristy’s disappearance.

No publicly verified information reviewed for this article establishes that Lucas was charged or conclusively connected to Kristy’s case.

Source: Texas Tech Historical Newspaper Archive.

Physical evidence and forensic questions

Several documented details continue to raise important investigative questions:

• Kristy’s shoes, coat, and purse were left at the nightclub.
• Her AMC Pacer was found abandoned two days after her disappearance.
• Historical reporting identifies unexplained mileage accumulated by the vehicle.
• The public record does not establish what happened to Kristy after she disappeared.

The California Department of Justice’s missing-person listing indicates that dental X-rays are available, potentially providing an identification resource if unidentified remains were ever considered in connection with the case.

However, the available sources do not establish whether usable DNA evidence was recovered, whether biological evidence was preserved, or whether investigative genetic genealogy has been applied.

No publicly confirmed forensic identification, DNA match, or recovery of Kristy’s remains was located in the reviewed records.

Source: California DOJ Missing Person Profile.

Theories and Unresolved Questions

Although the Texas Rangers include Kristy’s disappearance in their unsolved homicide cold-case collection, the state’s missing-person clearinghouse classifies her as endangered, with foul play possible.

That distinction is important. The placement of a missing-person investigation in a homicide-oriented cold-case program does not, by itself, prove that a homicide occurred.

Possibility of an abduction or involuntary disappearance

The abandoned personal belongings, freezing weather, and lack of subsequent confirmed contact have led authorities to suspect foul play.

One possibility is that Kristy was persuaded or forced to leave the nightclub.

However, the public record does not establish an abduction, identify a confirmed abductor, or explain how she left the premises.

Questions surrounding the vehicle

The abandoned AMC Pacer remains another unresolved element.

Who drove the vehicle after it was borrowed? Where did it travel? Why was it left along Highway 349?

The reported mileage makes these questions particularly relevant, but mileage alone does not establish criminal activity.

No verified public investigative conclusion answers these questions.

Could Kristy have left voluntarily?

A voluntary departure cannot be definitively excluded solely from the publicly available evidence.

Nevertheless, investigators have considered the circumstances suspicious, particularly because she left essential belongings behind in freezing weather.

The available records do not document a confirmed plan to leave Midland, an intended destination, or verified subsequent contact.

Rumors and unverified allegations

Over the decades, Kristy’s disappearance has generated online discussions and allegations about potential perpetrators.

Such claims must not be confused with established investigative findings.

Without official confirmation or independently corroborated evidence, allegations circulating in forums or social media cannot responsibly be presented as facts or used to identify someone as responsible.

The central unresolved question remains what happened to Kristy after she disappeared from the Dimensions Nightclub on February 2, 1980.

Latest Publicly Available Investigative Updates

June 2018: Midland authorities renew their appeal

On June 22, 2018, the Midland Reporter-Telegram published a Crime of the Week appeal concerning Kristy’s disappearance, later updated on June 24.

The article described the circumstances of her disappearance, the recovery of her vehicle, and the absence of significant new information for several years.

The Midland Police Department and Midland Crime Stoppers continued requesting information from the public.

The appeal showed that authorities were still seeking answers nearly four decades after Kristy disappeared.

Source: Crime of the Week: Authorities seek information in cold case.

September 16, 2018: Texas DPS announces increased reward

On September 16, 2018, the Texas Department of Public Safety issued a public appeal concerning Kristy’s disappearance.

The agency temporarily increased the potential reward to $6,000 for qualifying information leading to an arrest, subject to the announcement’s deadline.

The usual Texas Rangers cold-case reward was $3,000.

The department confirmed that Kristy remained missing and that extensive investigative efforts had not resolved her case.

The temporary $6,000 offer was specific to the 2018 campaign and should not be interpreted as the current reward.

Source: DPS Offers Increased Reward, Seeks Leads in 1980 Cold Case.

July 11, 2023: Charley Project profile updated

The Charley Project records July 11, 2023, as the date of its most recent listed update to Kristy’s profile.

The update involved an added photograph and revisions to the disappearance details.

This was a case-profile update, not a publicly confirmed investigative breakthrough.

Source: Kristy Lynne Booth – The Charley Project.

Current case status as of October 19, 2026

Kristy remains listed as missing in the Texas Missing Persons Clearinghouse and as an unresolved case in the Texas Rangers cold-case database.

The Texas Rangers’ published case page continues to invite tips and advertises a reward of up to $3,000 under its stated eligibility conditions.

No publicly confirmed recent investigative breakthroughs, arrests, charges, identification of remains, or DNA-based developments were located in the sources reviewed for this article.

The absence of publicly announced developments does not establish that investigators have stopped working on the case. It means that no newer substantive progress could be independently verified from the available public records.

Sources: Texas Rangers Case Reference 230; Texas Missing Persons Clearinghouse.

Conclusion: The Search for Kristy Lynne Booth Continues

Kristy Lynne Booth was 19 years old when she disappeared from a Midland nightclub on a cold February night in 1980.

Her personal belongings were left behind, her car was later discovered abandoned, and investigators were left with questions that have remained unanswered for decades.

The case has survived through the efforts of law enforcement, missing-person organizations, journalists, and members of the public who continue to share her story.

Kristy should be remembered as more than the circumstances of her disappearance. She was a daughter, sister, graduate, and young woman whose future was interrupted by an unexplained event.

Anyone with credible information about Kristy’s disappearance, the events at the Dimensions Nightclub, or the movements of her AMC Pacer in February 1980 is encouraged to contact the Midland Police Department or Texas Rangers.

Even information that seemed insignificant at the time may be worth sharing with investigators.

The Texas Rangers accept information through their missing-person hotline at 1-800-346-3243. Anonymous tips eligible for consideration under the Texas Crime Stoppers reward program may be submitted through 1-800-252-8477.