Coroner Jason Parish reports 100 cases in Q1, outlines multi-year plan to inter hundreds of unclaimed cremains

Butte-Silver Bow Coroner Jason Parish presented his office’s quarterly report to the Council of Commissioners on April 1, saying the coroner’s office handled 100 cases from Jan. 1 through March 31 and opened 34 formal investigations.

"We had from January 1 through March 31, we had 100 cases that came across my my caseload," Parish said, adding that four cases required complete autopsies. He provided a preliminary manner-of-death breakdown: "12 natural, three accidental, two suicides, four under investigation" pending toxicology or other lab results.

Parish gave a brief cause and age summary: four cardiac-related deaths, one renal disease, two pulmonary disease cases, and two cancer/other neoplasms. He said most decedents were 65 and older; 11 were aged 45–64, two were 26–44, and one was under 1 year old.

Parish described a multi-year project to inter "several hundred" unclaimed cremains currently held by local funeral homes. "Working with Sunset Memorial Gardens and the local funeral homes, we are also going to be working on putting to rest the unclaimed ... several hundred unclaimed decedents," he said, adding the effort will aim to be "archival, retrievable, and appropriate" so families can be located if they later request remains.

He stressed the office’s statutory duties under the Montana Code Annotated to investigate sudden, violent, unexpected and suspicious deaths and to certify deaths after investigation. Parish said coroner staff are available 24/7 and that information collected during investigations supports law enforcement and families.

Parish also outlined training and accreditation plans. He said the office is pursuing accreditation through the International Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners and is a member of the Montana Coroners Association and related certifying organizations. "I think I'm on page 14, and I think we're going to be there by fall," he said of the accreditation checklist, and added he will pursue board-level certification and hopes deputies attain associate-level certifications.

In a question-and-answer period, Commissioner Healey asked why the office maintains several deputy coroners. Parish said deputies cover callouts, vacations and are essential for mass-fatality responses. Commissioner Morgan clarified deputies are paid an hourly on-call rate and modest flat fees: "they're paid an hourly rate when they are on call. That is a whopping $3 an hour... If they get called out, it's a $50 flat fee. And if they are doing a transport ... they obtain a $125 flat fee." Parish said most unclaimed cremains are stored by funeral homes, with one set of remains held in the coroner’s office while outreach to relatives continues.

Why it matters: the coroner’s statistics and the unclaimed-remains project touch public-health surveillance, family closure, and potential budget or administrative actions that may follow as the project is planned and funded. Parish said he will provide quarterly updates and more details as the interment project proceeds.