On the evening of October 3, 2023, Deputies of the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to 31 Werner Road, Penrose Colorado, in reference to a suspicious incident.  Upon their arrival deputies learned that the building was owned by the Return to Nature Funeral Home based in Colorado Springs Colorado. 

On October 4, 2023, FCSO investigators, the Fremont County Coroner’s Office, and the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies executed a search warrant on the property and determined that human remains were improperly stored inside the building. 

As of October 5, 2023, The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office is working with the Fremont County Coroners’ Office, The Colorado Bureau of Investigation, the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies, the Colorado Department of Public Health, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office is asking that family members of decedents who utilized the Return to Nature Funeral Home please send an email to 23-1941@fremontso.com.  Please leave the best contact number and time to call in this email.  We will respond to each email. If you do not use email, then you can contact the Fremont Emergency Management call line at (719)-276-7421.  We will have victims’ assistance personnel responding to messages beginning October 6, 2023, between the hours of 8 am and 6 pm.  We will also have victim assistance personnel available at 1901 East Main, Canon City CO, between 10 am and 6 pm.  This phone and email assistance center are for families only.  Media inquiries will not be responded to.

Individuals with potential information in reference to the criminal investigation are encouraged to email  at tips@fremontso.com.  Media inquiries will not be responded to. 

This is an active investigation with resources being brought in from several different agencies.  No further information can be released at this time. 

A press conference will be held at the Fremont County Sheriff's Office, located at 100 Justice Center Road, Canon City CO 81212, on October 6, 2023 at 10 am. 

All further media inquiries will be handled by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.