James Irvin Jim Plance, 54, was killed in Burlington, Colorado, in 1980 while working on the McCormick farm as either the cook or the foreman. His death emerged as part of a broader set of allegations when Mike McCormick, the farm owner’s son, confessed in 1986 in exchange for a reduced sentence and implicated his father, Tom McCormick, in multiple murders. Mike said Plance had broken into his trailer to steal and that Mike called his father, who then dealt with Plance, resulting in Plance’s death.

Tom McCormick was arrested in 1986 after Mike’s initial, detailed testimony and after Mike pointed investigators to the location of another victim’s remains. However, Mike’s story later shifted during interviews and a preliminary hearing, and he began to implicate other family members, creating significant inconsistencies. A planned search for additional bodies on the property was eventually halted because of funding limits and changes to the land, leaving unanswered questions about how many victims there might have been and the exact circumstances of Plance’s death.

If anyone knew Jim Plance, worked on the McCormick farm, or has information about the events in 1980 and the subsequent 1986 revelations, please come forward.