Carbon County coroner reports increased investigations, highlights unclaimed remains and staffing needs

Mark Smith, Carbon County coroner, updated the Board of Commissioners on the coroner's office caseload, equipment acquisitions and operational needs during a presentation at the commissioners' meeting.

Smith said the office handled what he recalled as "about 628" calls last year and has already recorded 100 calls so far this year. "Our goal is to have a representative from our office on scene within an hour; that's the national standard. We've been more or less aiming for 45 minutes, and we've been meeting that," Smith said.

The coroner described several changes he said have sped investigations and reduced costs. Using opioid grant funding, the office purchased a Randox multi-stat tester and began using it in mid-January. Smith said the tester has been used twice so far and "was able to save the county the cost of two autopsies." He added the office verified the device's findings against a reference laboratory and found the results to be "right on." The office also gained physical office space, which Smith said provides room for file storage, family consultations and training.

Smith reviewed 2024 caseload categories and cited counts the office provided: a total of 13 suicides for 2024, one homicide and a majority of deaths classified as natural causes. He described accidental deaths to include road‑way incidents and most drug overdoses, which are recorded as accidental unless evidence supports suicide or homicide.

The coroner summarized revenue and fees tied to his office's work: the county collects a cremation-authorization fee that Smith said amounts to $75 per authorization and generated about $30,000 in income last year. He also said the office issues subpoenas for records when needed and works with the district attorney and pathologists on tissue and organ donation requests.

Smith raised a countywide administrative issue he said staff are preparing to address: unclaimed human remains. "Under state statute, the county is responsible for disposition of unclaimed remains," Smith said, and he said his office has had three such cases this year. He told commissioners he is working with the county solicitor to draft recommended policy language and a fee schedule addressing storage, transport and disposition.

Commissioners asked about operational priorities. Smith said the two top issues are transportation (including safe transport of remains and deputies to scenes) and a lack of clerical help. "I'm everything," he said, adding his chief deputy, Jason Smith, handles invoicing and data extraction. Jason Smith was identified in the meeting as the coroner's chief deputy and as assisting with the report's data analysis.

Smith also described outreach and prevention activities: his office participates in bi-monthly suicide fatality reviews with local mental health partners, and he said the county has "probably one of the higher rates of veteran suicides" though he did not provide a countywide comparative statistic. He said those reviews are intended to identify opportunities to reduce future deaths.

The presentation closed with Smith thanking county staff, emergency medical services, local police departments, the district attorney's office and the state police forensic unit for assistance over the year.

The commissioners did not take formal action on the coroner's report during the meeting; the presentation was received and commissioners asked staff to return with draft policy language and any budget implications for handling unclaimed remains.

Ending: The coroner said he will submit a draft policy and fee recommendations to the county solicitor for commissioners' review; commissioners asked to be kept apprised as that work advances.