Cass County coroner reports steady caseload, plans July exhumation funded by Southeast Missouri State University to identify 1970 remains

Christie, Cass County coroner, told the commission the coroner's office is fully staffed and is preparing an annual report covering 2024 as autopsy reports are finalized. The coroner described ongoing tracking of deaths dating back to 1958, current staffing and a number of operational changes aimed at improving identification and public outreach.

The coroner said the office is fully staffed with long‑tenured personnel: Darren has worked with the office about nine years, Deputy Coroner Natalie Basta — identified in the meeting as the office anthropologist — has been on staff three years, and Jasmine Olsen joined full time about a year ago. The coroner said she has been with the office for 24 years and that her appointment is for five years.

On casework and trends, the coroner said the total number of deaths to date in 2024 is about the same as the prior year but that case types vary. Homicides are lower than historical highs, suicides have fluctuated (the coroner said the office recorded an unusually busy two‑week period with eight suicides), and drug‑related deaths have trended downward in recent years. The coroner attributed at least part of the decline in opioid deaths to increased Narcan distribution and administration.

The coroner outlined a plan to work with Southeast Missouri State University to exhume the skeletal remains of an unidentified male homicide victim found near Page in 1970. The coroner said she had posted the case in the NamUs database and that an anthropologist from Southeast Missouri State University offered to lead an exhumation and identification effort; the university will fund the project, the coroner said. The coroner also said the Cass County state's attorney's office has helped secure authority to exhume and that the office will pursue a memorandum of understanding or contract with the university before the July effort.

Operational changes described in the report include closer coordination with Grand Forks for autopsies, an upcoming rollout of digital fingerprinting for decedents to assist identification, and production of short YouTube videos to guide hospitals and nursing homes on when to report deaths and jurisdictional questions. The coroner also described expanding online resources for families about autopsy reports, death certificates and how to talk with children after a death.

The coroner said office space is constrained and that she has discussed obtaining adjacent, presently underused space in the public health building; the county administration is checking availability. No formal commission action on space or contracting for the exhumation was taken at the meeting; staff said they will return with the MOU or contract and keep the commission informed.