ROCKINGHAM — The Richmond County Department of Health and Human Services is currently in possession of the remains of 53 individuals.
On Tuesday, the Richmond County Board of Commissioners adopted a resolution regarding the management, claiming and disposition of unclaimed remains.
Social Services Director Teressa Smith said that, by law, the county is responsible for remains that have gone unclaimed for 10 days. Once the county takes possession, the remains are cremated and stored “for a period of time.”
According to Smith, the current cost of cremation is around $700. The longest-held remains belong to the late Lenelda Gail Markus, who passed away in 2019.
See the full list below:
The resolution, according to Smith, was developed with the office of Register of Deeds Kim Roberts.“They have, a lot of times, people that have not claimed the body, but that will come and ask for a death certificate so that they can apply for financial benefits that may be available,” Smith said. “This resolution would make it mandatory that they pay any fees that are owed to the county before they can receive that death certificate,” Smith continued.
The remains wouldn’t have to necessarily be claimed, Smith added, but the county would have to be reimbursed.
According to the resolution, immediate family members have the exclusive right to claim remains for one year. The resolution defines immediate family as: a surviving spouse or registered domestic partner; natural or adoptive children; and parents or legal guardians.
“Siblings may be included if none of the preceding individuals listed are available or willing to act,” the resolution reads.
Any immediate family members wishing to claim a body must provide a valid government-issued ID and documentation of relationship.
The secondary claiming period lasts from day 366 to day 730, and is extended to “any responsible party willing to assume financial and logistical responsibility for final disposition.”
That includes extended family — aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews —as well as friends, associates, representatives of veterans' organizations or community groups.
Those claimants will be required to show ID and “may be required to submit an affidavit or other compelling evidence demonstrating their connection to the decedent and their commitment to arranging proper disposition.” The Department of Social Services will assess claims on a case-to-case basis “to ensure good faith.”
If remains are not claimed within 730 days, “DSS is authorized to arrange for a dignified, direct disposition,” according to the resolution.
“This will be typically burial facilitated by contracted services, with the cremated remains (cremains) being held for a period at the discretion of DSS, before being subject to lawful scattering or interment in a county or potter's field,” the resolution continues.
Smith said the county currently does not have an available potter’s field and that DSS has been discussing options with funeral homes and cemeteries — which could result in additional expenses.
“There’s a lot of restrictions that go into (the disposition of remains),” Smith said. “So we’re always reaching out to the community” for other options, she added, including seeking donations of unused plots.
