Cañon City funeral home expresses shock and anger, over discovery of bodies at Penrose facility
CAÑON CITY, Colo. (KRDO) - A funeral home director in Cañon City is expressing shock and anger tonight, over the investigation into 100+ dead bodies at a former funeral home in Penrose.
Michael Hendry, the General Manager at Holt Mortuary in Cañon City, says that in his 24 years in the funeral industry -- he's never seen a situation close to this magnitude.
The Penrose property for "Return to Nature" funeral homes turned into the scene of a high-scale investigation between Sunday, October 8 and Monday October 9, after local law enforcement discovered at least 115 decomposing bodies within the facility on October 4.
"Horrified -- the lack of care that would come from an incident like this is just unconscionable. I cannot fathom anybody doing that to someone's loved one." explained Hendry.
"I don't even know why anybody would attempt to try to hide something like this -- you can't."
After the news broke, Hendry wanted to extend a helping hand to the investigation.
"If they needed any cold storage, we could offer that if they needed vehicles to transport individuals up to El Paso County, or whichever Coroner's office they were utilizing."
It's his way of playing a part, while so many unsuspecting families wait anxiously for answers.
"I am horrified for these families, mostly because they just don't know. And what did they receive instead of their cremated remains? I don't know."
Hendry doesn't think that a mandated license for funeral homes in Colorado would have stopped this from happening, but he says he gladly supports the idea of routine inspections.
He explains that the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) doesn't typically carry out any reviews of a facility, or ask for an inspection, unless there is a complaint made by a family about a funeral home.
In the case of the Penrose facility, reports of foul odors by neighbors prompted DORA to contact Jon Hallford, the owner of the Return to Nature funeral homes.
"I would welcome it because the funeral homes that I have had the privilege to work for have nothing to hide. Most funeral homes that we have here in Colorado are going to be above board and do the right thing." said Hendry.
If you've utilized the Return to Nature funeral homes for a loved one in recent years, you u can click here to find a questionnaire toward the bottom of the article, and submit all relevant information to investigators as they try to identify the bodies, and inform the families of the deceased.
