The Unclaimed Dead are On-line in San Bernardino

San Bernardino county is believed to be the first to implement an on-line database for the unclaimed dead. 

Here’s an overview of how the San Bernardino system for the unclaimed operates:

• The unclaimed are cremated and held for about a year before burial.
• If remains are unclaimed for three months, the deceased person is added to the on-line database maintained by the coroner’s division.
• The database includes whatever information the coroner’s office can obtain, including tattoos and other personal characteristics.
• Organized volunteer genealogists provide research and tips for potential family.
• If the remains are unclaimed after a year, they are buried and a detailed map of the location is kept in case family is located in the future.  

See Stacia Glenn, Searching for relatives of unclaimed dead, Daily Bulletin, Feb. 20, 2009.  Click here for San Bernardino’s on-line database.