Coroner to hold Sept. 2 graveside service for unclaimed remains
Photo: The unclaimed remains will be laid to rest in the community crypt at Evergreen Memorial Park & Mausoleum in East Wenatchee. The cemetery is partnering with the coroner’s office on the event.
The Chelan County Coroner’s Office invites the community to attend a graveside service that will lay to rest the unclaimed cremated remains of people currently in the care of the office.
“It would be wonderful to see the community gather to show its respects for people in our unclaimed cremated remains program as they are laid in their final resting place,” Chelan County Coroner Earl Crowe said. “These people may not have had anybody with them at the time of their death. We can be there for them now.”
The ceremony is at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 2, at Evergreen Memorial Park and Mausoleum, 1301 10th St. NE in East Wenatchee. Community members, local officials, faith leaders, service organizations and anyone wishing to pay their respects are encouraged to attend the short service.
This will be the first community graveside service that the Coroner’s Office is coordinating in partnership with Evergreen Memorial Park & Mausoleum, which has donated a community crypt for the remains of the 57 decedents. Moving forward, the Coroner’s Office hopes to hold the service annually.
David Hardwick, an elder at Saddlerock Church, will officiate the graveside service. After the service, Evergreen Cemetery will reopen the crypt on a date scheduled annually for any family members who may come forward to claim the cremated remains.
“Evergreen Memorial Park is proud to partner with the Coroner’s Office in giving these people left behind by unfortunate circumstances a dignified place of rest,” said Kevin Precht, funeral director and owner of the memorial park.
All of the deceased to be laid to rest in the community service have been identified by the Coroner’s Office. However, for a variety of reasons, a next-of-kin may not have been found, or the family may not have wanted to take ownership of the remains. The decedent may have been estranged from their family. They may have had no next of kin. They may have been indigent or unhoused. Many came from outside the area but passed in Chelan County.
“Our office treats everyone with respect and dignity, regardless of their family or housing status,” Chief Deputy Coroner Faye Fetters said.
When a body is under the care of the Coroner’s Office:
If next-of-kin has been identified, the office will contact them, asking if a family member is interested in claiming the deceased person’s remains. If they decline, the office will ask if any other family members may be interested.
If no family member wants to claim the deceased’s remains, the office will hold the deceased for 45 days in hopes of finding another family member. After 45 days, Crowe can sign a cremation authorization.
If next-of-kin cannot be identified, the office will try numerous ways to locate a family member. They may use social media or online search engines to reach out to friends, an employer or someone who knew the deceased, hoping they point them to a family member. The office may even look through medical records to see if hospital personnel recorded the name of someone who was at the person’s bedside.
The office will turn unclaimed remains over to a friend of the deceased if a family member formally signs the required paperwork.
For the unclaimed, the office lists any known information and photos on a free, online searchable database called the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, or NamUs.
It’s a lot of work to find a home for unclaimed cremated remains. Crowe has worked on the project for the past 13 years, and Fetters, this past year, went through the remains again, double-checking the information and taking another try at finding next-of-kin for the 57 unclaimed cremated remains.
For Fetters, they enjoyed both the research and planning of the first-time event. In some cases, they got to know more about the deceased in the office’s care.
“I think it's important that somebody cares,” Fetters said. “In some cases, where the family wasn’t able to claim the remains – for whatever reason – people said to me, ‘I’ve been wondering what’s happened to so-and-so for 20, 30 years.’ Providing that closure is nice.”
Anyone with questions about the graveside ceremony, or who may suspect they are a relative of the deceased and wish to claim the remains, can contact the Chelan County Coroner’s Office at 509-667-6491 or coroner@co.chelan.wa.us.
Last Updated: 08/20/2026 11:28 AM
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