When someone in Pierce County passes away and no one claims their body the Medical Examiner’s office arranges for them to be cremated. It is hoped a friend or family member will be found to pass the cremains on to, but it’s not always easy to track people down and in some cases family members decline to take possession.

The cremains of 50 people who passed between 2015-2017 are currently being stored in the Medical Examiner’s office, but won’t be for much longer. On the afternoon of August 29, staff will board the Sheriff’s marine vessel and go out on the water to provide a respectful distribution of the cremains in a non-denominational ceremony at sea.

But before that happens the community has one last chance to claim the deceased’s remains. Below is the death information provided by the Medical Examiner’s office.

Unclaimed Cremated Remains as of August 9th:

16-2362 Melvin R. Augg, died at age 50 on 12/30/16 of natural causes while homeless in Tacoma. He remains unclaimed by his family.

17-0971 William Anthony Baker, died at age 54 on 05/05/17 of natural causes while hospitalized in Tacoma. He remains unclaimed by his family.

16-1621 James K. Barrow, died at age 58 on 09/08/16 of natural causes at home in Eatonville. No family was found for him.

17-0067 Carol Mae Canter, died at age 62 on 01/09/17 of natural causes at home in Puyallup. No family was found for her.

17-0225 Boddy Gene Cauvel, died at age 58 on 01/20/17 of natural causes at home in Tacoma. No family was found for him.

17-0068 Dong Ho Chung, died at age 84 on 01/07/17 of natural causes while hospitalized in Lakewood. No family was found for him.

16-2082 Gerald Robert Coates, died at age 58 on 11/17/16 of natural causes at home in Graham. No family was found for him.

17-0698 Loyal Emerson Day, died at age 61 on 03/26/17 of suicide by hanging at home in Lakewood. He remains unclaimed by his family.

17-0673 Pun Chong Dreadin, died at age 85 on 03/17/17 of homicidal violence in her home in Lakewood. No family was found for her.

17-0668 Samuel C. Dreadin, died at age 52 on 03/22/17 of suicide by jumping from bridge in Tacoma. No family was found for him.





16-1624 Donald G. Duncan, died at age 71 on 09/09/16 of natural causes at home in Lakewood. He remains unclaimed by his family.

17-1328 Dale V. Edmunds, died at age 69 on 06/29/17 of natural causes while residing in a hotel in Tacoma. No family was found for him.

17-1335 Vicki Lynn Emery, died at age 59 on 07/01/17 of natural causes while homeless in Tacoma. No family was found for her.

17-1471 Charles Gary Felts, died at age 75 on 07/22/17 of natural causes while hospitalized in Tacoma. No family was found for him.

17-0723 Adriana Carmen Forbes, died at age 77 on 03/30/17 of natural causes while hospitalized in Lakewood. No family was found for her.

17-0301 Barbara Ann Gibson, died at age 62 on 02/03/17 of natural causes while on hospice in University Place. Her children were not found.

17-0130 Joseph John Hadel (Deshotel), died at age 74 on 01/15/17 of natural causes at home in Tacoma. He remains unclaimed by his family.

17-0625 John Charles Hager, died at age 58 on 03/10/17 of natural causes while hospitalized in Tacoma. He remains unclaimed by his family.

17-1704 Gayle Hardman, died at age 65 on 07/11/17 of natural causes while hospitalized in Puyallup. She remains unclaimed by her family.

16-2083 Norman Walter Hartnell, died at age 63 on 11/17/16 of natural causes while in a mental health facility in Tacoma. No family was found for him.

17-1098 Larry A. Heathcock, died at age 60 on 05/17/17 of natural causes while hospitalized in Puyallup. He remains unclaimed by his family.

17-1601 Edward Charles Henderson, died at age 67 on 07/11/17 of natural causes while hospitalized in Puyallup. No family was found for him.

17-1552 Matthew J. Hoey, died at age 74 on 08/03/17 of natural causes while hospitalized in Tacoma. No family was found for him.

17-0167 Jayceon Jones, was stillborn on 12/27/16 at a hospital in Tacoma. He remains unclaimed by his family.

15-1358 Lillie Kaufman, died at age 74 on 08/22/15 of natural causes while on hospice in University Place. She remains unclaimed by her family.

18-1594 Tammy Kent, unknown age, unknown date of death, found cremated remains at a Pierce Transit bus stop in Tacoma on 12/30/17.

17-1145 Christine L. Larson, died at age 61 on 05/30/17 of natural causes while at home in University Place. She remains unclaimed by her family.

17-1687 Patrick A. Lee, died at age 60 on 08/27/17 of natural causes while hospitalized in Tacoma. No family was found for him.

16-1860 Michael R. Magee, died at age 68 on 12/15/16 of natural causes while hospitalized in Lakewood. No family was found for him.

17-1610 Jean McDonald, died at age 55 on 08/09/17 of natural causes while hospitalized in Gig Harbor. She remains unclaimed by her family.

17-1637 Donald Eugene Miller, died at age 63 on 08/18/17 of natural causes at home in Tacoma. No family was found for him.

18-1592 Elwyn O. Mitchell, Unknown age, unknown date of death, cremated remains found with two photographs and a bible under a tree in an unassociated cemetery in Tacoma on 06/27/17.

16-2157 Steven Leo Owens, died at age 62 on 11/28/16 of natural causes while in a skilled nursing facility in Tacoma. His family was not found.

17-1067 Baby Price, was stillborn on 04/08/17 at a hospital in Tacoma. She remains unclaimed by her family.

17-0170 Linda Larayne Ragsdale, died at age 57 on 01/03/17 of natural causes while hospitalized in Tacoma. No family was found for her.

16-1847 Leah Jean Rardin, died at age 47 on 10/13/16 of natural causes while hospitalized in Tacoma. She remains unclaimed by her family.

16-2138 Charles Wesley Reynolds, died at age 60 on 11/24/16 of natural causes in his car in a hotel parking lot in Tacoma. No family was found for him.

17-0308 Chan Sap, died at age 68 on 02/03/17 of natural causes while hospitalized in Tacoma. No family was found for him.

17-1420 Dennice Secrist, died at age 65 on 07/07/17 of natural causes while hospitalized in Tacoma. No family was found for her.

16-2350 Michael D. Sorenson, died at age 52 on 12/28/16 of natural causes at home in Lakewood. He remains unclaimed by his family.

17-0526 Randy Jay Steele, died at age 40 on 03/03/17 at a hospital in Lakewood after an accidental overdose in Spanaway. He remains unclaimed by his family.

17-0916 John Phillip Stone, died at age 65 on 04/26/17 of natural causes at home in Puyallup. No family was found for him.

17-0186 Dean A. Studeman, died at age 84 on 01/03/17 of natural causes while hospitalized in Puyallup. No family was found for him.

17-1402 William Henry Tyler, died at age 66 on 07/10/17 of accidental overdose near railroad tracks in Tacoma. No family was found for him.

18-1597 Cremated Remains Unidentified, unknown age, unknown date of death, found in wooden box left on a concrete light post at a grocery store in Tacoma on 07/01/2018.

17-0570 Male Unidentified, died at an unknown age on approximately 02/01/17. He was found in the Puyallup River in Tacoma. His remains unidentified and therefore no family has been found for him. He is listed in www.NamUs.gov where dental charting is present along with DNA analysis which is in process.

17-1486 Eugene Lyle Wright, died at age 65 on 07/25/17 of natural causes in a skilled nursing facility in Puyallup. No family was found for him.

17-0870 Lee C. Yeck, died at age 70 on 04/22/17 of natural causes in a skilled nursing facility in Tacoma. No family was found for him.

Interested parties can contact Amber Larkins at amber.larkins@piercecountywa.gov or 253-798-2894 by Aug. 24, 2018.