Pennsylvania coroner's offices seeing increased number of unclaimed remains
Coroner's offices across Pennsylvania are seeing a growing number of unclaimed remains.
From Beaver County to Westmoreland and Fayette, county coroners told KDKA-TV that dozens of remains go unclaimed every year, and the numbers appear to be increasing.
"It was definitely surprising," Westmoreland County Coroner Tim Carson said.
Carson took office in 2022. He said that's when he discovered several boxes stacked in a storage room at his office.
"I said, 'What are those?' And those were our unclaimed, cremated remains," Carson said.
He said there were 57 total unclaimed remains in the boxes. Some had been sitting on the shelf since 1989.
"We ran all 57 names through and 15 of them turned out to be United States veterans," Carson said.
Carson said, on average, his office sees six to nine unclaimed remains each year. He said the main reason comes down to estrangement.
"Sometimes we do find a next of kin and they say, 'Hey, I didn't like when they were alive, I'm not taking responsibility for them,'" Carson said.
Washington County Coroner Tim Warco said finances can also be an issue, with some families reporting they cannot afford arrangements.
When remains go unclaimed, each county coroner said it comes out of the county's general fund to cremate and transport, which is supported by taxpayers' wallets.
KDKA Investigates found the number of unclaimed remains varies in each county.
Over the last 40 years in Fayette County, the county coroner reports a total of eight unclaimed remains.
In Indiana County, there have been 30 over the last 10 years.
Warco said in Washington County, since 2016, his office has investigated 218 unclaimed remains, with 135 remaining unclaimed.
In Allegheny County, on average, there have been 133 unclaimed remains between 2019 and 2023.
Beaver County reported six to eight cases a year, and in Butler, it's approximately three to eight cases per year.
County coroners say another challenge can be tracking down family. Carson said his office uses social media and a program called TLO.
"The deputies can get into and they can look at people's driver's license records, places they may have lived at, worked at, and then we just kind of backtrack from there," Carson said.
After exhausting all resources, Carson said if they can't locate family or if families choose not to claim, the body will be cremated.
If they're a veteran, Carson said they'll receive a proper burial at the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies.
Other unclaimed remains in Westmoreland County are laid to rest in a columbarium next to Pauper Cemetery in Greensburg.
Some neighboring counties also hold a ceremony, while others said they hope to get space in mausoleums to ensure each person is remembered with dignity and so family members can still pay their respects, if they choose.
