Warren County Temporary Morgue has four unclaimed bodies that had to be cremated at the county’s expense.

During a tour of the facility by members of the county’s Safety Committee, Warren County EMS director Preston Denney gave new members of the County Commission their first look at where bodies are kept until they are identified or claimed by family members and sent to a funeral home.

Commissioners were allowed access to the waiting room, as well as the storage area.

“This is the lobby area,” said Denney. “When families come in, this is where they wait. We bring the deceased individual out here for viewing.”

Commissioner Christy Ross stated, “This is my first look at the morgue. I didn’t know we had one. This waiting area is really nice.”

Denney offered the darker side of offering the service – unclaimed bodies.

“We have four unclaimed that we are trying to figure out what we can do with,” he said. “They’ve all been cremated. The county has an agreement with Manchester Funeral Home for the cremation of any unclaimed deceased individuals.”

Under the agreement, the funeral home accepts, cremates and returns the remains to Warren County for a modest charge provided Warren County will deliver the body with the appropriate paperwork and indemnify the business against any claim that may be made.

Cremation at county expense is only used when the department either actively or passively comes into possession of remains of decedents for which there is no readily determined next of kin and/ or which are not claimed by any person.

“What’s the problem?” asked Ross. “You can’t you locate their families?”

Denney stated, “That’s just it. We do know who their families are. For one reason or another, they refuse to claim them. One has a daughter who lives overseas. She said she wanted his remains. She was supposed to be back with us with proof, but hasn’t. If she does, we’ll turn it over to legal and see what we have to do as far as paperwork.”

Ross added, “That just breaks my heart.”

At least two of the four deceased individuals are veterans.

“I had a couple people tell me that Gardens of Memory in Morrison has an area for veterans,” said Denney. “I haven’t talked to them about it. Legal will have to decide if we can do that.”

No bodies were present during the tour.