Disappearance of Phyllis Berry
Phyllis Eleanor Berry (born September 16, 1954) is an American woman and citizen of the Chickasaw Nation who disappeared from Terlingua, Texas, on November 1, 1975. Berry, then 21, had traveled from Odessa, Texas, to attend the annual World Championship Chili Cook-Off and camp in the area. She was last seen near a campfire around midnight; her car, purse, camping supplies, clothing and dog were left behind. Searches of the surrounding desert and abandoned mines found no trace of her. Authorities suspect foul play, and the case remains open.
Background
Berry was born on September 16, 1954. She was a registered citizen of the Chickasaw Nation and was of Chickasaw and white ancestry. At the time of her disappearance, she lived in Odessa with a female roommate. The two women had left their jobs and intended to camp and travel for a period of time. They loaded food, clothing and camping equipment into Berry's car and brought along her Irish Setter puppy.
Berry was tall and weighed approximately . She had brown hair, hazel eyes, pierced ears and a small gap between her upper front teeth. She also had a flat brown mole on the lower right side of her abdomen and a freckle between her right thumb and wrist. Records list the alternate names Phyllis Benny and Phyllis Ecklison.
Disappearance
On November 1, 1975, Berry traveled to Terlingua with her roommate, Vangie Strait, and their friend Terry Robert Bailey. The community, near the Mexico–United States border, was hosting the World Championship Chili Cook-Off, which drew an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 visitors that year.
During the evening, Berry was seen socializing and dancing. She was also reported riding on the back of a dark-colored Honda 350 motorcycle driven by a blond man in his twenties. Later, she joined several acquaintances at a campfire about a quarter-mile from the cook-off headquarters. At around midnight, other members of the group briefly moved away to collect firewood. Berry was gone when they returned a few minutes later.
Her companions initially thought that she had returned to the festivities or gone elsewhere in the campground. They searched during the night and the following day before reporting her missing. Berry's vehicle remained at the campsite with her purse, food, clothes and puppy inside. Strait later rejected the suggestion that Berry had voluntarily left, saying that she had been in good spirits and would not have abandoned all of her belongings without telling anyone.
Investigation
The Brewster County Sheriff's Office began searching after Berry was reported missing. The search later involved the Texas Rangers, aircraft, mounted searchers, tracking dogs and ground teams. Searchers examined caves and abandoned mine shafts around Terlingua, but found no confirmed evidence of Berry's whereabouts. About a month after the disappearance, investigators said they feared foul play and had exhausted their leads. They sought a motorcycle rider who may have been among the last people to see Berry, while emphasizing that he was wanted as a witness rather than identified as a suspect.
By October 1976, Brewster County sheriff James Skinner said that he believed Berry was dead. He noted that the rugged area contained numerous open mine shafts and said that remains could go undiscovered there for years. Strait continued to believe that Berry had not left willingly, pointing again to the possessions and dog she left behind.
The investigation was publicly renewed in October 2000 at the request of Berry's sister, Lucy Wiley. Odessa Crime Stoppers held a press conference with relatives and law-enforcement officials, seeking information from people who had attended the cook-off. Carl Rogers, who had covered the original search as a television reporter and was by then an Ector County deputy sheriff, recalled that 50 to 100 people had searched the area without developing a promising lead. Investigators said that the passage of time might encourage witnesses who had withheld information to come forward.
Berry remains listed as an endangered missing person by the Texas Department of Public Safety and in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System under case MP2927. The Chickasaw Lighthorse Police Department also continues to publicize her disappearance. The investigating agency is the Texas Rangers.
See also
- List of people who disappeared mysteriously (1970s)