Authorities in Colorado say they are investigating after bodies were found being improperly stored at a building owned by a funeral home that is known for offering “green” burials.
Deputies were first dispatched to a building in Penrose, Colorado, on Tuesday to investigate reports of a suspicious incident, the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Thursday. When they arrived, they learned the building was owned by the Return to Nature Funeral Home based in Colorado Springs, it said.
The following day, the sheriff’s office executed a search warrant at the property, along with the Fremont County Coroner’s Office and the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies, and found human remains were being “improperly stored” at the site.
The sheriff’s office did not state what condition the bodies were in, but said a “criminal investigation” was underway.
The Return to Nature Funeral Home did not immediately respond to an overnight request for comment from NBC News. Overnight phone calls to a line that the funeral home states is available 24 hours a day also went unanswered and the voicemail inbox was full.
On its website, the funeral home says its “Mission has ALWAYS been Green Burial.”
“Green Burial is a natural way of caring for your loved one with minimal environmental impact,” the website states, adding: “Green Burial aids in the conservation of natural resources, reduction of carbon emissions and the preservation of habitat, WITHOUT the use of harsh embalming chemicals, metallic, plastic or unnatural items.”
Under Colorado law, green burials are legal, but remains that are not buried within 24 hours must be properly refrigerated. The funeral home appears to reflect this on its website, stating: “In the state of Colorado within 24 hours the body must be either embalmed or placed in a regulated temperature controlled environment, meaning under refrigeration, dry ice, etc…”
Nearby residents told The Associated Press that a putrid smell had emanated from the building.
“We just assumed it was a dead animal,” Joyce Pavetti, 73, told the news agency. She said she saw lights from law enforcement swarming the building Wednesday night and knew something was amiss.
The sheriff’s office said it was working with the Fremont County Coroners’ Office, The Colorado Bureau of Investigation, the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies, the Colorado Department of Public Health, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, to investigate the matter.
The sheriff’s office asked that family members of deceased loved ones left in the care of the funeral home contact them by email at [email protected] or by phone through the Fremont Emergency Management call line at (719)-276-7421.
“This is an active investigation with resources being brought in from several different agencies,” it said.
The sheriff’s office said media inquiries would not be responded to, but that a news conference will be held at the sheriff’s office on Friday at 10 a.m. local time (12 p.m. ET.)
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
