Months after hundreds of piles of cremated human remains were found in the desert outside Las Vegas, federal investigators are still trying to figure out who dumped them there.
The grim discovery was made on July 28 by a man who reportedly stumbled across the site in Searchlight, a remote community about an hour south of Las Vegas, 8 News Now reported.
An investigation was launched and, in August, officials from the Bureau of Land Management confirmed that the piles were human.
Now, the scope of the discovery of the “cremains” has grown even larger. Cremains is a term investigators used, referring to pulverized bones left behind after cremation.
On Wednesday, Palm Mortuaries and Cemeteries recovered about 315 piles from the desert. A second area containing more remains was found nearby, expanding the search zone.
Nevada law doesn’t prohibit a person from scattering ashes on public land, and people also aren’t prohibited from scattering cremated remains.
But the “commercial distribution of cremated remains,” however, is not allowed, according to the Bureau of Land Management.
Investigators believe the remains were likely dumped by a commercial funeral home business, but have not released a particular business who may be responsible.
By the time they were recovered, none of the piles contained any identifiable information.
Palm Mortuaries plans to inter all of the remains together in a cemetery crypt so that loved ones can visit and pay their respects, Celena DiLullo, president of Palm Mortuaries and Cemeteries, told 8 News Now.
“I think it’s important to us to make sure that these people are not forgotten and not left,” DiLullo said. “It’s important to our community and our profession that we demonstrate how much we do care about these people.”
Multiple sources told the 8 News Now Investigators that the remains may have come from a recently closed funeral home, but a representative for that company, which is based out of state, has repeatedly denied any involvement.
Officials confirmed the remains are not connected to McDermott’s Funeral Home, which was shut down by the Nevada Funeral and Cemetery Services Board in August.
The Independent has reached out to the Bureau of Land Management and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department for comment.
