DENVER — The Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) has suspended the business license for a Colorado Springs funeral home after more than 115 improperly stored bodies were found at another funeral home that belongs to the same owner.
According to an order of summary suspension dated Thursday, there was a report of "an abhorrent smell" coming from the Return to Nature Funeral Home at 31 Werner Road in Penrose on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, the program director of the Office of Funeral Home and Crematory Registration spoke on the phone with the owner, according to the document. It says he acknowledged that he had a "problem" at the Penrose property and claimed that he practiced taxidermy there, and he agreed to meet there later in the day to facilitate an inspection.
That same day, the document says, law enforcement executed a search warrant at the Penrose property and determined that human remains were improperly stored inside. It also says the owner had tried to conceal the improper storage.
The order says the registration to practice as a funeral home at the Colorado Springs location at 815 E. Platte Ave. is summarily suspended, pending proceedings to determine whether the owner's registration to practice should be further disciplined.
DORA issued a cease and desist order for the Penrose property on Thursday, due to evidence that it had acted without the required registration to practice and operate as a funeral home. Its license expired in November 2022.
The Fremont County Sheriff's Office said Friday that Return to Nature in Penrose was under investigation for the improper storage of more than 115 human bodies.
Officials would not go into details on how the bodies were improperly stored, saying that was part of the investigation.
No arrests have been made, and any potential charges will be determined after the investigation is completed, according to the sheriff's office.
Return to Nature has not responded to requests for comment.
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