BALDWIN COUNTY, Ala. (WKRG) — A storage closet is the final resting place for 54 people, all identified, but they have no family to claim them.

Baldwin County Coroner Dr. Brian Pierce has been working at the coroner’s office for five years and says it’s starting to become common to have unclaimed bodies.

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“When an individual dies, if the family doesn’t claim the body, it can go for a county cremation,” Dr. Pierce said.

Before the coroner’s office would cremate the unclaimed, bodies would be taken to the County cemetery in Foley, but in 2014, it was full. There are now 90 people buried there, leaving the coroner no choice but to cremate the bodies.

“Because of the increase in volume that we have here in the office, we established a 14-day period where we do our due diligence, where we reach out to next of kin,” Dr. Pierce said. “We do searches; we work with law enforcement. If we cannot identify anyone, we will then go to a circuit judge who will then have him sign a court order for cremation.”

Dr. Pierce told News 5 that the county has grown over the years and so has the number of unclaimed dead, bringing the total to 144.

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“Our hope is we can get a mausoleum or a special place, a crypt to store these individuals so if we need to go in and out to release them back to lost loved ones they can come back and claim them,” Dr. Pierce said.

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