Marion County Coroner's Office, ministry to host burial for 171 unclaimed remains

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.