County resting place to house nearly 300 people’s remains
The county coroner’s office is the largest in Pennsylvania, and investigates thousands of deaths each year that are reported due to unexpected or suspicious circumstances. The office investigates what caused the person’s death and classifies the manner of death.
After that, Darby said, officials do their best to ensure the person’s remains are entrusted to their loved ones. They also assist in supporting families with finding low-cost burial options, if financial concerns are a barrier.
“We try to do our due diligence in finding family members or friends that would want to make burial arrangements,” she said. “Despite our best efforts, we are left with these abandoned or unclaimed cremains.”
Darby said the coroner’s office currently has almost 300 abandoned or unclaimed cremated remains. The names of the decedents are shared in a public list on the office’s website so that family members can still come forward if they learn that their loved ones’ remains are there.
“This dignified resting place ensures that even those who might be overlooked are given the respect that they deserve, and I think that’s something that our community can be proud of,” she said.
The new resting place, located in a “peaceful,” grassy area next to the coroner’s office headquarters, will have space for more than 1,000 cremated remains — although Darby said they “hope not to fill it.”
Other coroner’s offices and medical examiner offices in the region will also be able to use the place as a resting dignified place for cremated remains they have in their possession.
An internal fan will ward off moisture and humidity, and remains will be placed in shelves with labeling, Darby said.
The county plans to hold a formal ceremony in the spring, she said, to place the remains in the resting place. Once completed, it will be accessible to members of the public who wish to pay their respects.