FREMONT COUNTY, Colo. — A funeral home in Penrose is under investigation for the improper storage of more than 115 human bodies, the Fremont County Sheriff's Office said on Friday.
Sheriff Allen Cooper said during a news conference that on Tuesday, investigators made the "very disturbing" discovery of more than 115 bodies were improperly stored at the Return to Nature Funeral Home.
"There in the funeral home where the bodies were stored was horrific," Cooper said.
Officials would not go into details on how the bodies were improperly stored, saying that was part of the investigation into the situation that could last months. They did say the area searched was more than 2,500 square feet.
Due to the magnitude of the scene, Cooper said he requested assistance with processing the scene from the FBI and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
He said that hazmat crews must first make sure the scene is safe before investigators can begin processing. The bodies will then be removed and transported for identification so family members can be notified.
No arrests have been made at this time, and any potential charges will be determined after the investigation is completed. Cooper said investigators have been in contact with the owners, and that they have been cooperative so far.
The Return to Nature Funeral Home is based in Colorado Springs and specializes in green burials. The license for the Penrose location expired in November 2022, according to DORA. The Colorado Springs location has an active license.
Another address in Colorado Springs was searched in connection to the investigation, but Cooper said he had to defer to Colorado Springs Police on the details surrounding that search.
>Watch Friday's full news conference below:
Return to Nature's website has a notice saying it would no longer process new cremations as of July. A Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) spokesperson said the business doesn't appear to have a separate crematorium license, which is required to do cremations.
Neither of Return to Nature's locations have any disciplinary action or complaints filed against them with DORA, the agency said.
Return to Nature has not responded to queries for comment.
According to the funeral home's website, green burial is "a return to the traditional way of burial" that doesn't include chemicals, metal or unnatural materials. Green burials don't use embalming material. Oftentimes, bodies are wrapped in a shroud of linen or similar biodegradable material and placed in wicker caskets.
Several agencies are involved in the investigation, the sheriff's office said. The FBI said agents from its Denver field office responded to assist with the investigation.
Family members of decedents who used the funeral home can send an email to 23-1941@fremontso.com and leave a contact phone number and time to call. Those who don't use email can call the Fremont County Emergency Management call line at 719-276-7421.
"There’s a lot of other people out there right now just like me who spent the morning crying," Mary Simons told KRDO. She sent her husband's remains to be cremated at Return to Nature. "We’re getting no answers whatsoever."
The sheriff's office said it will have victims' assistance personnel responding to messages starting Friday between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. and will have victim assistance personnel available at 1901 E. Main in Cañon City between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. The phone and email assistance center are for families only, the sheriff's office said.
Colorado has infamously few laws regulating funeral services. It is the only state that doesn't require licenses for funeral home professionals.
Earlier this year, two women from Montrose went to federal prison for stealing and selling hundreds of bodies. The families of victims in that case continue to struggle to recover their loved ones' remains, which were sometimes sent as far away as Saudi Arabia.
And a former coroner in Lake County faced charges he mishandled remains of a stillborn baby at his funeral home, for which he was sentenced to 180 days in jail.
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