Who are L.A. County’s unclaimed dead?

Click here to see the unclaimed list for 2016

In less than a month workers will dig a single grave at the Los Angeles County Cemetery for the remains of more than 1,300 people left unclaimed. Most were cremated in 2012, the remains put in boxes and shelved. Soon they'll be in the ground forever.

They died in nursing homes in Long Beach, on the streets of Pomona and in hospitals across the county. Their bodies were sent to the county crematory in Boyle Heights, reduced to ash and deposited in a plastic box. Babies’ remains were placed in small paper bags the size of a folded wallet.

The methods have changed, but L.A. County has been burying its indigent and unclaimed dead for more than 100 years. Since the 1800s, workers have logged each name in large handwritten books. This year, for the first time, they digitized the list.

Some died alone without living relatives. Others had lost contact with loved ones. Many families lacked the few hundred dollars needed to reimburse the county for handling and cremating the body.

The dead include 131 babies and two teenagers. But most were older than 60.

Age at death

More than 450 bodies were inspected by the coroner. Those cases are deemed suspicious. An attempt to find next of kin is made. An investigation into their life is performed.

Eleven are unnamed. Of those, eight were given the last name "Doe." Three more were ashes abandoned without identification. Their names are simply "Unknown."

John Doe No. 123 was found on the side of the road in Pomona. John Doe No. 50 and John Doe No. 63 were found near homeless encampments. John Doe No. 193 reportedly threw himself in front of a Metrolink train. Jane Doe No. 52, the only known woman of the group, was found among trash at a recycling center in Chinatown.

Hundreds of bodies were brought from homes and apartments, hospitals and nursing homes.

Most common locations

There isn't much time left to claim the remains of someone you know. The ashes are scheduled to be buried together in a single grave before Dec. 9, when a public ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. at the Los Angeles County Cemetery, 3301 E. 1st St. For the record: An earlier version of this page had an incorrect address for the county cemetery.

To claim someone below, call the Office of Decedent Affairs at (323) 409-7161 or email Estela Inouye at einouye@dhs.lacounty.gov.

After The Times published a database of last year's list, 15 people were claimed before burial.

Search L.A. County's unclaimed dead