Coroner’s office prepares to remove remains from funeral home; annual Penrose Apple Day Festival carries on
Fremont County Coroner Randy Keller, right, is accompanied by other officials on Saturday, at the Return to Nature Funeral Home where more than 115 bodies have been improperly stored in Penrose.
Parker Seibold, The Gazette
PENROSE • Crews with Fremont County and El Paso County coroner’s offices continued to work the scene of the Return to Nature Funeral Home in Penrose Saturday, where more than 115 bodies were discovered improperly stored.
The discovery was disclosed Wednesday after a search warrant was issued to authorities for the property following complaints of a foul odor deriving from the building.
A team from the Fremont coroner’s office arrived on the property just after 1 p.m. Saturday and began setting up one of the tents to be used to remove the remains inside the roughly 2,500-square-foot building.
‘Disturbing discovery:’ More than 115 bodies found improperly stored at Colorado funeral home
According to Fremont County Coroner Randy Keller, crews will continue to set up tents and fencing through the weekend to ensure the safety of those working inside and around the building, and to promote respect in handling the remains.
Additionally, hazardous-materials crews were on the scene Friday evening, working to set up equipment to eventually assist in the removals.
No additional updates regarding the case or extraction process ahead are available as of Saturday afternoon, Lisa Kohlbrenner, a spokesperson for the Colorado Bureau of Investigations said.
Across Colorado 115 in downtown Penrose, the town’s annual Apple Day Festival carried on Saturday.
Penrose Chamber of Commerce member and Apple Day organizer Jeri Rimpley said she received several messages on the town’s Facebook page over the past few days requesting the celebration to be canceled in wake of the Return to Nature Funeral Home findings.
“We made the conscious decision to instead of punish the Penrose community, that we would use this as a way to celebrate life,” Rimpley said.
Down the way, Penrose citizens Virgil and Mia Hampton could be seen enjoying the Apple Day Parade. Although shocked at the funeral home discovery, they said they aren’t surprised by the celebration’s perseverance.
“It’s crazy, I can’t believe this happened in our little small town,” Virgil Hampton said.
“Apple Day will always happen, though,” Mia Hampton added. “This is the biggest day of the year in Penrose.”
The investigation and removal process at the funeral home is expected to take months.
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Fremont County Sheriff Allen Cooper said at Friday’s conference that law enforcement would be focusing their investigative efforts and not discuss arrests or potential charges at this time.
The whereabouts of Return to Nature owner Jon and Carie Hallford are unknown at this time, but Cooper confirmed Friday they have cooperated with the investigation.