At least 115 decaying bodies were found at a storage facility for a 害羞草研究所済reen害羞草研究所� funeral operator, after neighbors reported abhorrent smells emanating from the location in rural southern Colorado, police said Friday, calling it a 害羞草研究所渄isturbing discovery.害羞草研究所�
The owner tried to conceal the improper storage of corpses and claimed he was doing taxidermy at the facility, according to a suspension letter sent to him by state regulators that was made public Friday. No one has been arrested or charged yet.
The Return to Nature Funeral Home facility in the small town of Penrose had been unregistered with the state for 10 months on Wednesday when owner Jon Hallford spoke by phone with a state regulator the day after the smells were reported and police launched an investigation
Hallford acknowledged that he had a 害羞草研究所減roblem害羞草研究所� at the property, though the Colorado Office of Funeral Home and Crematory Registration document obtained by The Associated Press didn害羞草研究所檛 explain what Hallford meant with his taxidermy claim or how he tried to conceal improper storage of human remains.
Text messages and phone calls were not answered at the funeral home, which had no working voice mail.
Officials declined to describe the scene inside the Return to Nature Funeral Home facility. A multi-agency effort recover and identify the remains was underway in Penrose, a town of about 3,000 people in the mountains west of Colorado Springs.
On Friday, a sour, rotten stench came from the back of the building, where windows were broken. Coroner害羞草研究所檚 officials from Fremont County and nearby El Paso County parked their trucks outside and discussed among themselves as they walked around the building.
The funeral home performed 害羞草研究所済reen害羞草研究所� burials without embalming chemicals or metal caskets. Local residents said they smelled foul odors around the building for months but thought little of it, assuming a dead animal or septic system was to blame
Funeral home officials were cooperating as investigators sought to determine any criminal wrongdoing, Fremont County Sheriff Allen Cooper said at a news conference.
害羞草研究所淲ithout providing too much detail to avoid further victimizing these families there, the funeral home where the bodies were improperly stored was horrific,害羞草研究所� Cooper said.
Some identifications would require taking fingerprints, finding medical or dental records and DNA, Fremont County Coroner Randy Keller said.
害羞草研究所淭his could take several months. As we identify each decedent, families will be notified as soon as absolutely possible,害羞草研究所� Keller said.
Other Colorado county coroners had agreed to help while the FBI and state police and emergency management officials worked at the scene. Meanwhile, Fremont County declared an official disaster to possibly make state funds available for the effort, Keller said.
Family members who have used the funeral home were asked to contact investigators.
The bodies were inside a 2,500-square foot (230-square meter) building with the appearance and dimensions of a standard one-story home.
Authorities declined to say if the building was equipped to properly story bodies. They also wouldn害羞草研究所檛 disclose in what state the bodies were found or how they were stored. Under Colorado law, green burials are legal but state code requires that any body not buried within 24 hours must be properly refrigerated.
Deputies were called in Tuesday night in reference to a suspicious incident officials haven害羞草研究所檛 yet described. Fremont County Sheriff害羞草研究所檚 Office investigators returned the next day with a search warrant and found the remains.
There was no health risk to the public, officials said, at the building with trash bags near the entrance and law enforcement vehicles parked in front. Yellow police tape cordoned off the area and a putrid odor was in the air.
A hearse was parked at the back of the building, in a parking lot overgrown with weeds. Nearby was a post office and a few homes on wide, grassy lots, some with parked semi-trucks.
The license for the facility expired in November of last year, according to a cease and desist order issued Thursday by Colorado state regulators. When reached by regulators, owner Jon Hallford acknowledged that he has a 害羞草研究所減roblem害羞草研究所� at the Penrose property and claimed he practiced taxidermy there.
Joyce Pavetti, 73, could see the funeral home from the stoop of her house and said she caught whiffs of a putrid smell in the last few weeks.
害羞草研究所淲e just assumed it was a dead animal,害羞草研究所� she said. On Wednesday night, Pavetti said she could see lights from law enforcement swarming around the building and knew something was going on.
The building had been occupied by different businesses over the years, said Pavetti, who once took yoga classes there. She hasn害羞草研究所檛 seen anyone in the area recently and noticed the hearse behind the building only in recent months, she said.
Neighbor Ron Alexander thought the smell was coming from a septic tank, adding that Wednesday night害羞草研究所檚 blur of law enforcement lights 害羞草研究所渓ooked like the 4th of July.害羞草研究所�
The father of a 25-year-old U.S. Navy serviceman who died last summer said Return to Nature handled his son害羞草研究所檚 body between the time of its arrival back in Colorado and an Aug. 25 funeral service at Pikes Peak National Cemetery east of Colorado Springs.
害羞草研究所淚 mean, there害羞草研究所檚 obviously questions after hearing that there is something going on but there害羞草研究所檚 not any information that I can go off of to really make any kind of judgement on it,害羞草研究所� said Paul Saito Kahler, of Fountain, Colorado.
The Return to Nature Funeral Home provided burial of non-embalmed bodies in biodegradable caskets, shrouds or 害羞草研究所渘othing at all,害羞草研究所� according to its website. The company also provided cremation services. Messages left for the Colorado Springs-based company were not returned.
The company charged $1,895 for a 害羞草研究所渘atural burial.害羞草研究所� That doesn害羞草研究所檛 include the cost of a casket and cemetery space, according to the website.
Return to Nature was established six years ago in Colorado Springs, according to public records.
Fremont County property records show that the funeral home building and lot are owned by Hallfordhomes, LLC, a business with a Colorado Springs address that the Colorado Secretary of State declared delinquent on Oct. 1 for failing to file a routine reporting form that was due at the end of July.
The LLC changed addresses around Colorado Springs three times since its establishment in 2016 with a post office box. Hallfordhomes still owes about $5,000 in 2022 property taxes on its building in Penrose, according to Fremont County records.
Return to Nature Funeral Home was licensed in Colorado Springs in 2017. There were no disciplinary actions against the company listed on a state license database. There was not a separate license for the Penrose facility and it wasn害羞草研究所檛 known if one was needed. Messages left with licensing authorities were not immediately returned.
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Associated Press writers Amy Beth Hanson in Helena, Montana, Mead Gruver in Cheyenne, Wyoming, Matthew Brown in Billings, Montana, and news researcher Jennifer Farrar in New York contributed.
Jesse Bedayn, The Associated Press
