‘IMPROPERLY STORED’

Nearly 200 Decomposing Bodies Pulled Out of Colorado Funeral Home

Authorities discovered the bodies after neighbors complained of a foul smell earlier this month.

The number of human bodies recovered from a Colorado funeral home after neighbors complained of a foul smell earlier this month has swelled to close to 200, according to state authorities. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation said Tuesday that the remains of 189 individuals had been removed from the Return to Nature Funeral Home in Penrose. The remains will be transported to the El Paso County Coroner’s Office. It was originally reported that 115 “improperly stored” bodies had been recovered; the bureau said Tuesday that the current figure could shift as the investigation continues. All decedents had been removed from the funeral home as of last Friday, according to authorities. The next phase in the process, identification and notification of impacted families, could take months, and there is no timeline for completion, according to the Fremont County Coroner’s Office. After an investigation was launched on Oct. 4, Fremont County Sheriff Allen Cooper said, “Without providing too much detail to avoid further victimizing these families, the air of the funeral home where the bodies were stored was horrific.”