Pulaski County deputies help return discarded cremated remains to family

FOX23 News at 9 p.m.

PULASKI COUNTY, Mo., (KBSI) — The Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office says a deputy, the county coroner and a local funeral home helped ensure two sets of cremated remains were returned to family members after they were found discarded in a dumpster Wednesday morning.

According to Sheriff Stacy L. Ball, a resident near Spice Drive reported finding two urns in the trash. Deputy Anzalone responded and contacted Pulaski County Coroner Roger Graves. After examining the urns, the pair confirmed they contained human remains.

The remains were taken to Waynesville Memorial Chapel, where staff traced serial numbers on the urns back to the funeral home that performed the cremations. That funeral home was able to identify and notify relatives in Illinois. The family is now traveling to Missouri to retrieve the remains of their loved ones — a young man and his mother.

Sheriff Ball noted that no criminal statute required law enforcement action in this case, but personnel acted out of respect and moral obligation.

“Deputy Anzalone and Coroner Graves chose morality over minimum standards,” Ball said. “Because of these professionals, a family will be able to properly honor and memorialize their loved ones.”

Ball said the incident highlights the service and integrity displayed by local law enforcement and partners, even in cases that don’t involve emergency response or criminal charges.