COLUMBIA, S.C. — Richland County is on track to have more unclaimed bodies this year.
Richland County Coroner Naida Rutherford says state law requires South Carolina coroners to hold an unclaimed body for 30 days or until a next of kin is found. If no one comes forward, then the county is responsible for burial or cremation.
"To give a comparison, we had a total of 96 unclaimed bodies last year in Richland county," Rutherford said.
That's a number she says she expects to increase in 2022.
"We currently have about 25 unclaimed individuals." That is 25 unclaimed bodies in January alone.
"Think about the number of transient individuals here in Columbia, the number of homeless people," Rutherford said.
After 30 days, the coroner's office cremates the bodies often at the expense of the taxpayers.
"If we are stewards of them in death, then we have to eat that cost as the county," Rutherford said.
"If we have an individual that has an estate, then we petition the probate court to petition the cost of the cremation services we provide. If they are found with any funds on them, we do utilize that."
Meanwhile, in Newberry County, Laura Kneece says in her five years as coroner, there’s never been an unclaimed body.
Kneece says in smaller counties, it's more likely someone will know the dead. "When you have bigger counties, you'll have more transient and homeless citizens."
Kneece says there's a maximum of $3,000 in the budget to fund the burials of unclaimed bodies.
Both coroners say they use an array of identification tools, including anthropology experts, dental records, fingerprints, missing persons records and checking the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.
In Richland County, Rutherford says a memorial service for the unclaimed will be held in March or April. She says a memorial service brings a sense of closure for the unclaimed.
"This is a service we can provide and allows them to be remembered, it allows someone to say their name."
The Richland County Coroner's office is looking for musicians, poets, clergymen or faith-based leaders to assist with the memorial services.