To some, living in Los Angeles is hard enough, but dying may be even harder. With the Los Angeles County Coroner listing more than 4,000 people who have yet to be claimed by next of kin - a list that dates back to the 60s - up to 300 more individuals get added to it every year.
There’s Henry Leon Adams, who had brown eyes and black hair and was born in Texas. He died in September 2003 at age 63 and has since probably been cremated and put in a mass grave. Bruce Douglas Anderson, with green eyes and gray hair, died just under a year ago and still has a year left before going down under. Others like Nazar Cakirciyan have been deceased since 2000. Originally from Turkey, the distance and political boundaries could be putting a hold on locating his family.
When bodies are brought to the coroner, they have an expiration date of 30 days to be claimed, according to Lt. David Smith. After, they are cremated and kept in the county cemetery for two years. If no one comes forward, the remains are nestled in one common grave.
Perhaps those who ended up in a neat, alphabetized list on the L.A. County Coroner’s Web site never wanted to be found, and saw L.A. as an escape for a new life with a new name - or did they? Are international borders, funeral costs and understaffing deeply hindering and straining the process of reuniting families with their loved ones?
The current economic state, dubbed officially as the "Great Recession," likely is playing a factor in the decision of those who have located their family members, but cannot afford a proper burial.
As Los Angeles grows and in that process, becoming an adopted home for those from various parts of the world, does it also become a place where people are increasingly forgotten?
Furthermore, are there any specific patterns and trends in the way those who remain unclaimed died - old age, drug abuse, link to gangs - that could give insight into the living?
Is the era of social media helping to shape the search for next of kin? What about DNA testing?
While bodies get added to the list every year, at least one group is working independently to solve cases. Unclaimed Persons, with volunteer professional genealogists who have had success in reuniting families with their deceased kin, has assisted the Los Angeles County Coroner and others with cases. To date, investigators have solved 140 cases through this partnership.
As the Unclaimed Persons tagline says, "Every life is worth remembering."
This reporting will shed light on an important topic that often goes ignored. Although the subject matter deals with those who are no longer living, they and their families shouldn’t remain separated due to financial costs or borders – with the advancement of social networking and media, as well as DNA testing and volunteer groups stepping up to devote time, the unclaimed persons list shouldn’t be as populated as it is. This story will help those who have largely been forgotten find their way back to life again. It will also examine the difficulties families face in being reunited with their loved ones in one of the most populated cities in the country. With the possibility of going through the process of a family who is trying to relocate kin, this report will shed light on the dimensions involved in life after death in Los Angeles.
