(Canon City) – Police said on Friday that they had found at least 115 bodies at a “green” funeral home in Colorado, United States, under investigation for improper handling of bodies.
Fremont County Sheriff Allen Cooper said he is coordinating with other agencies to determine if any wrongdoing has been committed.
Return to Nature Funeral Home in Penrose, Colorado, performs “green” burials without chemicals, embalming, or metal coffins.
The investigation focused on a building belonging to the funeral home, where municipal residents reported smelling a foul odor before the police intervened.
Deputies were called to the one-story building Tuesday evening in connection with a suspicious incident. Investigators from the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office returned the next day with a search warrant and found poorly preserved remains.
Authorities said in a press conference on Friday that they believe there is currently no risk to public health. They declined to describe the scene in detail inside the 232-square-meter facility, located next to the city’s post office, about the size of an average American home.
“It is unclear whether a crime was committed, which is the focus of the investigation at the state and federal levels,” FBI spokeswoman Vicki Migoya said.
Investigators have been in contact with the funeral home operators and have been cooperating, Cooper said.
Under Colorado law, green burial is legal, but state law requires any body not buried within 24 hours to be properly refrigerated.
