In the summer of 1975, a young Fort Carson soldier's life was cut tragically short in a violent encounter that remains a mystery to this day. Francis Gerald Romisch, a 19-year-old male, was discovered deceased on June 17, 1975, along Highway 115 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. An autopsy would later reveal that the cause of his death was multiple gunshot wounds.
The case is being investigated as a homicide by the El Paso County Sheriff's Office.
Details that have emerged paint a grim picture of Romisch's final moments. It is believed that he was shot while inside his white two-door International pickup truck at a rest stop on Highway 115. Evidence suggests that after being wounded, Romisch attempted to flee the scene in his vehicle. He managed to drive only a few hundred feet before his truck veered off the road and came to a stop against a barbed wire fence.
When law enforcement arrived at the scene, they found Romisch's body on the ground just outside the driver's side door of his truck, which bore the signs of the violent attack with several bullet defects. A passerby had made the initial discovery. He was found wearing blue jeans, a brown shirt, a brown belt, and green socks, but his cowboy boots were found nearby, not on his feet.
Decades have passed since Francis Romisch's murder, and the case has grown cold. There have been no arrests made in connection with his death, and no suspects have been publicly identified. The El Paso County Sheriff's Office continues to seek information from the public that might lead to a resolution in this long-unsolved homicide.
