On a quiet evening in Southern Yuma County, Colorado, the life of a retired farmer was brought to an abrupt and violent end. Merton Andrew Dickson, a 71-year-old white male known to his friends as 'Mutt,' was murdered on June 17, 1989. The incident occurred sometime between 8:20 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. at the desolate intersection of Highway 385 and County Road 7.
Dickson was on his way home from Burlington, a short distance from where his life would be taken.
It was at this rural crossroads that he was shot multiple times with a 9-millimeter weapon. The motive for the shooting and the identity of the perpetrator or perpetrators remain unknown. The investigation that followed the discovery of the crime scene revealed the brutal nature of the attack, but offered few immediate leads.
Following the shooting, Merton 'Mutt' Dickson was rushed by the Idalia Ambulance to Burlington Hospital. Tragically, the efforts to save his life were unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead. The case has since become a cold case, a lingering mystery in the quiet farming community he called home. Decades later, law enforcement continues to seek information from the public that might lead to a breakthrough in the unsolved murder of the elderly farmer. To this day, no arrests have been made and no suspects have been publicly identified in connection with his death.
