Current:Home > ContactRemains of at least 189 people removed from funeral home that offered "green burials" without embalming fluid -Wealth Axis Pro
Remains of at least 189 people removed from funeral home that offered "green burials" without embalming fluid
View
Date:2025-04-20 06:23:50
The remains of at least 189 people have been removed from a Colorado funeral home, up from an initial estimate of about 115 when the decaying and improperly stored bodies were discovered two weeks ago, officials said Tuesday.
The remains were found by authorities responding to a report of an "abhorrent smell" inside a decrepit building at the Return to Nature Funeral Home in the small town of Penrose, about 100 miles south of Denver. All the remains were removed from the site as of Oct. 13, but officials said the numbers could change again as the identification process continues.
The updated count comes as families who did business with the funeral home grow increasingly concerned about what happened to their deceased loved ones. Local officials said they will begin notifying family members in the coming days as the remains are identified.
There is no timeline to complete the work, which began last week with help from an FBI team that gets deployed to mass casualty events like airline crashes. Fremont County Coroner Randy Keller said he wanted to provide accurate information to families "to prevent further victimization as they continue to grieve."
Keller had previously said the identification process could take several months, with the focus on showing respect for the decedents and their families, CBS News Colorado reports.
Officials have not disclosed further details of what was found inside the funeral home, but Fremont Sheriff Allen Cooper described the scene as horrific.
Authorities entered the funeral home's neglected building with a search warrant Oct. 4 and found the decomposing bodies. Neighbors said they had been noticing the smell for days.
The owners of the Return to Nature Funeral Home had missed tax payments in recent months, were evicted from one of their properties and were sued for unpaid bills by a crematory that quit doing business with them almost a year ago, according to public records and interviews with people who worked with them.
A day after the odor was reported, the director of the state office of Funeral Home and Crematory registration spoke on the phone with owner Jon Hallford. He tried to conceal the improper storage of corpses in Penrose, acknowledged having a "problem" at the site and claimed he practiced taxidermy there, according to an order from state officials dated Oct. 5.
Attempts to reach Hallford, his wife Carie and Return to Nature have been unsuccessful. Numerous text messages to the funeral home seeking comment have gone unanswered. No one answered the business phone or returned a voice message left Tuesday.
In the days after the discovery, law enforcement officials said the owners were cooperating as investigators sought to determine any criminal wrongdoing.
The company, which offered cremations and "green" burials without embalming fluids, kept doing business as its financial and legal problems mounted. Green burials are legal in Colorado, but any body not buried within 24 hours must be properly refrigerated.
As of last week, more than 120 families worried their relatives could be among the remains had contacted law enforcement about the case. It could take weeks to identify the remains found and could require taking fingerprints, finding medical or dental records, and DNA testing.
Authorities found the bodies inside a 2,500-square-foot building with the appearance and dimensions of a standard one-story home.
Colorado has some of the weakest oversight of funeral homes in the nation, with no routine inspections or qualification requirements for funeral home operators.
There's no indication state regulators visited the site or contacted Hallford until more than 10 months after the Penrose funeral home's registration expired. State lawmakers gave regulators the authority to inspect funeral homes without the owners' consent last year, but no additional money was provided for increased inspections.
veryGood! (82797)
Related
- Nearly 400 USAID contract employees laid off in wake of Trump's 'stop work' order
- Hurricane Milton has caused thousands of flight cancellations. What to do if one of them was yours
- SpongeBob SquarePants Actors Finally Weigh in on Krabby Patty Secret Formula
- Airheads 'treats feet' with new cherry scented foot spray ahead of Halloween
- Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow owns a $3 million Batmobile Tumbler
- Crane collapses into building where Tampa Bay Times is located: Watch damage from Milton
- 'Super/Man' Christopher Reeve's kids on his tragic accident's 'silver lining'
- Florida races to clean up after Helene before Hurricane Milton turns debris deadly
- In ‘Nickel Boys,’ striving for a new way to see
- Dogs fatally attack a man behind a building in New York
Ranking
- What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
- 16-year-old bicyclist struck, driven 4 miles while trapped on car's roof: Police
- How to help people affected by Hurricane Milton
- Lupita Nyong'o Confirms Joshua Jackson Breakup
- NHL in ASL returns, delivering American Sign Language analysis for Deaf community at Winter Classic
- Ethel Kennedy, Widow of Robert F. Kennedy, Dead at 96
- 'No fear:' Padres push Dodgers to brink of elimination after NLDS Game 3 win
- Lupita Nyong'o Confirms Joshua Jackson Breakup
Recommendation
Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
'Golden Bachelorette' judges male strip contest. Who got a rose and who left in Ep. 4?
Sum 41's Deryck Whibley alleges sex abuse by ex-manager: Biggest revelations from memoir
Wisconsin dams are failing more frequently, a new report finds
From family road trips to travel woes: Americans are navigating skyrocketing holiday costs
Kate Middleton Makes First Public Engagement With Prince William Since Finishing Chemotherapy
TikTok star now charged with murder in therapists' death: 'A violent physical altercation'
This Under Eye Mask Is Like an Energy Drink for Your Skin and It’s 46% Off on Prime Day