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Authorities in Colorado have launched an investigation after more than 115 decomposing bodies were found in a building owned by a funeral home.
The Fremont County Sheriff's Office said that deputies were dispatched to the building in Penrose on Tuesday (October 3) after receiving a 311 complaint. The building is owned by Return to Nature Funeral Home, which is based in Colorado Springs.
When officers returned the next day with a search warrant, they discovered over 115 bodies in various states of decomposition.
Officials said they are working to identify the bodies using DNA and forensic records. They have asked anybody who has sent the bodies of their loved ones to the funeral home to contact them.
"This is going to be a very, very lengthy process," Fremont County Coroner Randy Keller said. "The loved ones at this facility will be treated with the utmost care and respect."
Return to Nature Funeral Home offers "green" burial services, which do not include the use of embalming fluids or other chemicals. They offer biodegradable caskets or allow you to be buried in the ground without a coffin.
Green burials are legal in Colorado, but the law states that bodies not buried within 24 hours must be refrigerated.
Neighbors have been noticing strange odors coming from the building for a few months.
"I'd randomly smell it, but I didn't think anything of it. I thought it was just roadkill or something like that," James Glidewell, who works on the property behind the funeral home, told the Denver Gazette. "Every time you'd drive by here, you'd smell it."