Tombstones are seen at the Houston National Cemetery on September 10, 2022 in Houston, Texas. People around Houston have begun visiting and preparing ahead of the 21st anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City.
The Return to Nature Funeral Home, a green funeral service company in Colorado, is under investigation after authorities discovered hundreds of corpses improperly stored.
Officials said they were alerted to the funeral service's location in Penrose, Colorado after residents complained that the establishment was reeking of foul stench.
Colorado Green Funeral Found Storing Hundreds of Corpses Improperly
The Return to Nature Funeral Home, which specializes in green burials, is being investigated by the Fremont County Sheriff's Office. The investigation is being assisted by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and the FBI.
When authorities arrived at the scene, they discovered over 115 dead bodies improperly stored at the Colorado funeral building. Unfortunately, officials said that identifying all the corpses would take months to complete.
During a press conference on Friday, Oct. 6, officials said that the improperly stored corpses at the Return to Nature Funeral Home created a hazardous scene.
"Without providing too much detail to avoid further victimizing these families, the air of the funeral home where the bodies were stored was horrific," explained Fremont County Sheriff Allen Cooper.
Since the issue is quite serious, Colorado Governor Jared Polis decided to issue a local disaster emergency to make state resources available to investigators.
Authorities said that it is unclear whether the discovered corpses were intended for cremation or burial. However, the official website of the Green Funeral Home confirmed that they already halted their cremation services in July.
"There have been a lot of questions and concerns expressed by the community, especially those families who entrusted their loved ones to this funeral home," explained Cooper via Yahoo News.
He added that their main priority right now is to focus on the families of the dead bodies.
What Return to Nature Funeral Home Clients Should Do
Crosses stand at a German war cemetery and memorial where over 2,000 German soldiers, mostly killed in 1945, lie east of Berlin on April 15, 2015 in Lietzen, Germany. Cemeteries for German and Soviet Red Army soldiers lie scattered across the region between Berlin and Poland.
The Associated Press reported that family members getting the Return to Nature Funeral Home services or if their deceased loved ones are already in the green funeral service provider should contact the sheriff's office and other investigators.
Fremont County Coroner Randy Keller already warned that the ongoing investigation could be a very long process since they need to conduct forensic identification, such as getting the DNA and fingerprints of the affected corpses.
As of press time, the FBI is sending additional investigators. These include a technical hazardous response team and a disaster recovery team.
The FBI promised that family members would receive a notification and further assistance once the dead bodies were identified.
Related Article: NYC Funeral Home Gets Body and Botches Embalming, Family Files Court Case
