</s>FBI WASH DC FBI EL PASO 1:12PM 4-30-66 URGENT CEJ 10 DIRECTOR (44-38861) AND MEMPHIS (44+1987) FROM EL PASON (157-1866) (P) 2 PAGES MURKIN. RE SUSPECT ROBERT DALE PONTER. RE OKLAHOMA CITY TELETYPEITE TO THE BUREAU, OMAHA, MEMPHIIS, EL PASo. ETC ., APRIL TWENTYINNE, LAST. RECORDS CHECKED AT THE CLARK HOTEL, VAN HORN, TEXAS, APRILY THIRTY, INSTANT, REFLECT ROBERT PORTER. SAME DESCRIPTION AS FURNISHED IN RETEL, CAME ON FOOT TO FOOT THE HOTEL AT ABOUT SEVEN P.M ., APRIL THREE, LAST, AND RENTED ROOM SEVEN PAYING TWO DOLLARS FOR ROOM AS PORTHER STATED TO CLEK THAT TWO DOILLARS WAS ALL THE MONEY HE HAD. PORTERN SPENT NIGHT IN ROOM SAVEN GIVING ADDRESS OF ONE SERIO THREE AND ONE HALF BALMER WAVERLY, IOWA. PORTER MADE NO TELEPHONE CALLS AT HOTEL AND DID NOT INQUIRTE AS TO WHERE HE COULD MAKE A TELEphone CALL AWAY FROM HOTEL. POTTER WAS ALONE AND HAD NO VISITORS WHILE AT HOTELS. PONTELE. POMTER HOTEL WAS ABOUT TEN A.M. ON FOOD APRIL FOUR, LAST DIRECTION OF TRAVEL NOTATED 10 HOTEL PERSONNEL AND UNKNOWN. END PAGE ONE SEARCHED. DIR-121 WPK SERIALIZED. DIR-12-SAB INDEXED. FILED- 051 071 157-186-165 2025 RELEASE UNDER E.O. 14176

Summary  
The document contains FBI records detailing investigations into Robert Dale Pontier’s activities in Texas during April 1966, including his stay at the Clark Hotel in Van Horn, where he rented room seven with limited funds. No telephone calls were documented from the hotel, and he departed on foot. Later sections reference James Earl Ray as a fugitive, focusing on long-distance telephone calls traced to Texas, Louisiana, and other states during December 1967. The FBI requested reviews of toll records to identify potential connections to Ray’s movements, including calls from pay stations in Van Horn, Texas, and efforts to locate him through telephone company records. A separate section details an investigation into telephone calls made by an individual identified as "Ray" traveling from Los Angeles to New Orleans in late 1967, with calls recorded from public coin phones in Alpine, El Paso, Marfa, and Presidio, Texas. The FBI sought subscriber information for these phone numbers and documented call times and locations, including specific dates (December 15–17, 1967).  

Key People  
- Robert Dale Pontier  
- James Earl Ray  
- Gerald D. Galbreath (FBI SAC, El Paso)  
- SAC Dallas (44-5849)  
- SAC El Paso (157-186)  
- Memphis (44-1987)  

Key Locations  
- Van Horn, Texas  
- Clark Hotel (Van Horn, Texas)  
- Alpine, Texas  
- El Paso, Texas  
- Marfa, Texas  
- Presidio, Texas  
- Los Angeles, California  
- New Orleans, Louisiana  

Key Events  
- FBI investigation into Robert Dale Pontier’s hotel stay in Van Horn, Texas, during April 1966.  
- Tracking of long-distance telephone calls linked to James Earl Ray during December 1967, including calls from pay stations in Van Horn, Texas.  
- Efforts by the FBI to locate James Earl Ray through telephone company records and public notices.  
- Investigation into telephone calls made by an individual identified as "Ray" from public coin phones in Texas locations (Alpine, El Paso, Marfa, Presidio) during late 1967.  
- Documentation of call times, dates, and locations for Ray’s travel from Los Angeles to New Orleans.  

Key Organizations  
- Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)  
- Special Agent in Charge (SAC) offices in Dallas, El Paso, and Memphis  
- U.S. Savings Bonds program (mentioned as a reference point for one individual’s activity)

MLK Declassified Files

157-ep-186_hs1-852950407_179-03-part_2_of_9.pdf

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