Politics & Government
Pierce Medical Examiner Seeks Family Of 170 Unclaimed Dead
If the families of friends of the unclaimed deceased cannot be found, they will be interred and given a public memorial later this month.
TACOMA, WA — The Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office is working to find the friends or family of 170 unclaimed bodies.
Some of the deceased have remained in the county's custody, unclaimed, for upwards of four years. In some cases, that's because the relatives of the deceased could not be contacted. In others, the family members chose not to take back their loved one's bodies.
The Medical Examiner's Office has raised the issue to give those families one last chance to claim a deceased loved one, or lose them forever. At 11 a.m. on Aug. 31, the county will hold a public memorial and gathering for the remaining unclaimed dead at the Haven of Rest Funeral Home in Gig Harbor. After that, the cremated remains of the unclaimed will be interred.
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More information on the ceremony, and a list of the 170 unclaimed can be found on Pierce County's website.
Anyone who recognizes a name on that list can claim a deceased loved one by calling 253-798-6655 or emailing the medical examiner directly at PCMDXInvestigations@piercecountywa.gov. The deadline to claim a body is Aug. 25.
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