What Happens to Unidentified Bodies in Indiana?

When a body in Indiana cannot be identified, the county coroner takes custody and works through a statutory process built to preserve evidence first and try every reasonable method of identification before anything irreversible happens. Unidentified bodies in Indiana cannot be cremated under any circumstances, must be photographed, x-rayed, fingerprinted, and sampled for DNA before autopsy, and must be entered into national missing-persons databases if they remain unidentified after 30 days.

How the Coroner Tries to Identify the Person

Indiana law gives the coroner a legal duty to make a positive identification of every deceased person, and it limits how that identification can be made. Under IC 36-2-14-6.5, only five methods count:¹

Fingerprint identification.
DNA analysis comparing the deceased’s genetic code against samples collected during the investigation.
Dental record analysis.
Tracking a unique identifying number on a surgically implanted medical device.
Visual identification by an immediate family member (spouse, child, parent, grandparent, or sibling), but only when the body’s condition still allows reasonable recognition.

The coroner may bypass these five methods only when “extraordinary circumstances” exist, meaning a thorough investigation has shown that none of them can produce an identification.¹ Once an identification is made, the coroner must promptly notify the next of kin and must retain the identification data until that notification happens.

What the Coroner Must Do Before Doing Anything Else

Before an unidentified body can be autopsied, buried, or handled in any way that changes its condition, IC 36-2-14-12.5 requires the coroner to complete a specific forensic workup:²

Photograph the remains before any autopsy.
X-ray the remains.
Photograph items found with the body.
Fingerprint the remains when physically possible.
Collect tissue, bone, or hair samples suitable for DNA typing.
Gather any other relevant identification information.

The statute is explicit that the coroner cannot dispose of the remains or take any action that would materially affect their condition until these steps are complete. The order matters. Autopsy, embalming, or burial done before the evidence is collected can destroy the only chance of ever naming the person.

The 30-Day Database Rule

If the remains are still unidentified 30 days after the coroner takes custody, the coroner (or whoever has custody) must request that the Indiana State Police enter the case into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database and any other appropriate database. Once DNA analysis is complete, the State Police must also upload relevant DNA profiles to the missing-persons sections of the State DNA Index System (SDIS) and the National DNA Index System (NDIS).²

If a match later connects the unidentified remains to an open missing-persons case, the coroner must notify the law enforcement agency handling that case and instruct it to make documented efforts to contact the family.

Why Unidentified Remains Cannot Be Cremated

Indiana draws a hard line here: no person may order the cremation of unidentified human remains.² The reason is practical. Cremation destroys the physical evidence needed for any future identification attempt, while burial keeps the possibility of exhumation open if a new lead develops years later. An unidentified body in Indiana will be buried, not cremated, regardless of how long it has sat unidentified or how little progress the investigation has made.

Unidentified Is Not the Same as Unclaimed

The two categories often get mixed up but mean different things under Indiana law. A body is unidentified when the coroner has not yet determined who the person is. A body is unclaimed when the person’s identity may be fully known but no one can be located to take custody, or someone exists who could take custody but will not accept financial responsibility for the disposition.³

For unclaimed bodies, the coroner may order burial or cremation and, if the deceased left no funds, can contract with a licensed funeral director to be paid by the county auditor.³ That specific unclaimed-bodies statute applies by its own terms only to counties with populations above 400,000, which in Indiana means Marion County. Smaller counties handle unclaimed remains through township trustee or county-level provisions that can differ in detail. The identification, forensic preservation, and personal-property rules discussed in this article apply statewide.

Who Can Claim the Body Once It Is Identified

When the coroner identifies the person and locates family, Indiana uses an eleven-tier priority list under IC 29-2-19-17 to decide who controls disposition of the remains:⁴

A person named in a funeral planning declaration signed by the deceased, or a person listed on the Department of Defense Record of Emergency Data (DD Form 93) if the deceased died in military service.
A person granted authority through a power of attorney, health care power of attorney, or health care representative designation.
The surviving spouse.
Surviving adult children, or a majority of them.
Surviving parents.
Surviving siblings, or a majority of them.
A court-appointed guardian.
The next degree of kinship eligible to inherit under Indiana’s intestacy law.
Stepchildren, if no one in the preceding tiers is available or willing.
The estate administrator.
Any other willing person, including a funeral home holding a valid prepaid funeral plan that attests it made a good-faith effort to reach everyone above.

When multiple people share the same tier, decisions are made by a majority of those available. The minority can still act if they made reasonable efforts to notify the others and are not aware of opposition from more than half, which prevents one unresponsive sibling from stalling a funeral indefinitely.⁴ Anyone coming forward to claim a body should expect to show identification such as a driver’s license, state ID, or passport, along with documentation of their relationship.

Money and Belongings Found With the Body

If a death falls under the coroner’s jurisdiction, the coroner also takes charge of any money or personal property found on the body or at the scene. Under IC 36-2-14-11, if no one claims the property, the coroner must take possession of it, publish a notice describing the deceased (with the name if known) under Indiana’s public-notice statute at IC 5-3-1, and make a reasonable search for anyone entitled to it.⁵

If no one surfaces, unclaimed money goes to the county treasurer and is deposited into the county general fund. Unclaimed personal property with intrinsic value goes to the county sheriff, who auctions it and deposits the proceeds into the same fund.⁵ Relatives who learn of a death after that transfer has already happened generally need to work through the county treasurer’s office to recover anything.

Penalties for Interfering With the Process

Indiana attaches specific criminal consequences to specific kinds of interference. Discovering the body of someone who died violently, suspiciously, or under the age of three and failing to notify the coroner or law enforcement immediately is a Class B infraction. If the failure to report was intentional and meant to hinder a criminal investigation, it becomes a Class A misdemeanor.⁶

Deliberately altering the scene of a violent or suspicious death without permission from the coroner or law enforcement, with intent to hinder a criminal investigation, is a Level 6 felony carrying a sentencing range of six months to two and a half years.⁶

Coroners and their designees have their own exposure around autopsy records. Failing to inform recipients of confidentiality restrictions, knowingly violating the rules on autopsy photographs or recordings, violating a court order on autopsy records, or using autopsy information for a purpose other than the one for which it was released each counts as a Class A misdemeanor, which in Indiana can mean up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $5,000.⁷

1
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 36-2-14-6.5 – Duty to Make Positive Identification; Manner of Positive Identification; Exception; Timely Notification of Next of Kin
2
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 36-2-14-12.5 – Coroner Requests to Hospitals for Records of Unidentified Persons
3
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 36-2-14-16 – Counties Over 400,000 Population; Disposition of Unclaimed Bodies
4
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 29-2-19-17 – Priority Among Individuals as to Right to Control Disposition of Decedents Body and Make Other Arrangements
5
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 36-2-14-11
6
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 36-2-14-17 – Failure to Notify Coroner or Altering Scene
7
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 36-2-14-10 – Coroners Verdict and Report; Confidentiality of Autopsy Records