How unclaimed remains cases are handled in Ohio

It’s a question that puts pressure on hospitals, coroners and funeral homes, and one that can leave the deceased in limbo. But the City of Columbus and one central Ohio funeral home are making sure no one is left behind. 

Nexstar’s WCMH’s “NBC4 Investigates” is digging into the unclaimed remains process and who pays the cost. 

Hundreds of Ohioans die each year without the money or family to pay for a burial or cremation. We wanted to know what happens here in central Ohio when that’s the case and we found local government and your taxes pay the bill. 

“The funeral business runs fairly smoothly until you find someone who doesn’t have any money,” Day Funeral Home president Rick Day said.  

Day has been in the funeral industry for 60 years. His business has handled hundreds of cases involving families who can’t or won’t pay for a loved one’s final arrangements. “That’s been an ongoing problem since I first started in 1966,” Day said. 

Day Funeral Home handled around 800 unclaimed remains cases across Ohio last year. This happens when a person is unidentified, estranged from family or when no one can afford to claim the body. 

“You always just want to make sure that you’re remembered and you want to make sure that that person’s family has that closure,” Franklin County Coroner’s Office director of operations Amanda Wright said. 

The Franklin County Coroner’s Office had 54 unclaimed remains cases last year and 43 the year before. The coroner’s office holds the body while staffers try to find the person’s loved ones. 

“It might be within a few days, especially if families are refusing to select disposition. Other times, we will give families 14 days once they’ve been notified,” Wright said. “Or if there is no next of kin, we will hold an individual here for 21 days before releasing them as unclaimed.”

Ohio law requires cities to pay for burial or cremation if the deceased lived within city limits and has no one to claim them. “There are some municipalities and townships in some of the outer areas; they’re not aware that they’re obligated to pay for that, but by statute, they must pay,” Day said. 

Columbus has a contract with Day Funeral Home to handle these cases up to a maximum of $280,000 a year. Additional money can be approved if needed.  

“The City of Columbus, the State of Ohio, has done some excellent things. We complain about our politicians sometimes, but they did an excellent program a few years ago where they now pay for that,” Day said. 

Day Funeral Home cremates the bodies and scatters the ashes at a private farm in Sunbury. “Just because they don’t have next of kin doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t get something respectful and be treated with love,” Rae Ann Anderson Dotson with Day Funeral Home said. 

Dotson reaches out to counties and townships to teach them about the laws around unclaimed remains. She also speaks with families below the poverty line and shows them options on how to get access to state funds to cover the costs. 

“This is the most fulfilling job I’ve ever had, and I’ve been a juvenile probation officer and I’ve worked as an investigator for the state of Ohio. And this is the best,” Dotson said. 

State funding includes specific assistance for veterans who die without family or funds.