INDIANAPOLIS — The Marion County Coroner's Office and He Knows Your Name ministry will bury the remains of 171 adults who died between 2006-2019.
During a joint press conference on Friday, the organizations said the remains will be buried at 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 26 at Antioch Indy Community Church and Oaklawn Memorial Gardens. The public is invited to attend.
You can view a list of unidentified and unclaimed decedents in the county online.
Marion County Chief Deputy Coroner Alfie McGinty said unclaimed remains in the county are a problem and "truly an epidemic."
“But this is not just happening here in the largest county in Indiana," McGinty said in a press release. "Individuals are dying and being left at coroners’ and medical examiners' offices across the nation. We have to fix this.”
McGinty and Linda Znachko with He Knows Your Name ministry said they believe the root causes of this are the costs and next of kin grieving.
“They never show up,” McGinty said in a press release. “They don’t have the money and just don’t know the process. If a family member says they cannot afford to take care of a loved one, we present them with resources from the township trustee. If they have to do a lot of work and are going through the grieving process, then sometimes they’ll just give up.”
Znachko said the burial event later this month is intended to "give dignity and honor" to the 171 unclaimed remains.
-
Faith community encourages members to get involved in Streets to Home Indy
Streets to Home Indy is in its first phase, which is focused on the highest-risk population. The goal is to house between 300 to 350 individuals currently facing homelessness by this summer.
Martin University Board of Trustees moves to liquidate assets
A representative from Martin University has told WRTV that the board has chosen to liquidate some of its assets, facing uncertainty about the school's future.
Indianapolis City-County Councilors look to draft new data center guidelines
After months of pushback, city-county councilors say they are preparing to more closely examine how these facilities are approved around Indianapolis.
Mild Indiana weather is keeping some New Year's resolutions on track
How are your New Year's resolutions going? If you made it a goal to get outdoors more or to be more active, the mild weather certainly doesn't seem to hurt.
