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Page 8
Aruba’s ONLY English newspaper
A r u b a ’ s O N L Y E n g l i s h n e w s p a p e r
Police found 115 bodies at Colorado 'green' funeral home while

investigating putrid smells

By Jesse Bedayn
Associated Press
CAÑON CITY, Colo. (AP) —
At least 115 decaying bod-
ies were found at a stor-
age facility for a “green”
funeral operator, after
neighbors reported abhor-
rent smells emanating from
the location in rural south-
ern Colorado, police said
Friday, calling it a “disturb-
ing discovery.”The owner
tried to conceal the im-
proper 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 own-
er Jon Hallford spoke by Authorities walk outside a closed funeral home where 115 bodies have been stored, Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, in Penrose, Colo.
phone with a state regula- (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
tor the day after the smells
were reported and police had no working voice mail. El Paso County parked nal wrongdoing, Fremont identify each decedent,
launched an investigation Officials declined to de- their trucks outside and dis- County Sheriff Allen Cooper families will be notified as
Hallford acknowledged scribe the scene inside cussed among themselves said at a news conference. soon as absolutely pos-
that he had a “problem” the Return to Nature Fu- as they walked around the “Without providing too sible,” Keller said.Other
at the property, though the neral Home facility. A multi- building. The funeral home much detail to avoid fur- Colorado county coroners
Colorado Office of Funer- agency effort recover and performed “green” burials ther victimizing these fami- had agreed to help while
al Home and Crematory identify the remains was without embalming chemi- lies there, the funeral home the FBI and state police
Registration document ob- underway in Penrose, a cals or metal caskets. Local where the bodies were and emergency manage-
tained by The Associated town of about 3,000 peo- residents said they smelled improperly stored was hor- ment officials worked at
Press didn't explain what ple in the mountains west foul odors around the build- rific,” Cooper said. the scene. Meanwhile, Fre-
Hallford meant with his of Colorado Springs. ing for months but thought Some identifications would mont County declared an
taxidermy claim or how he On Friday, a sour, rotten little of it, assuming a dead require taking fingerprints, official disaster to possibly
tried to conceal improper stench came from the animal or septic system finding medical or dental make state funds available
storage of human remains. back of the building, where was to blameFuneral home records and DNA, Fremont for the effort, Keller said.
Text messages and phone windows were broken. officials were cooperat- County Coroner Randy
calls were not answered Coroner’s officials from Fre- ing as investigators sought Keller said.“This could take Continued on Page 2
at the funeral home, which mont County and nearby to determine any crimi- several months. As we