Officials Neglect Valuable Database to Prevent Pauper's Cemetery Burials, NBC News Reveals

Families across the United States are left in the dark for months or even years after the death of a loved one, as coroners and medical examiners fail to adopt protocols for identifying and notifying next of kin. Many coroners do not post the names of unclaimed dead to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), a government database that can help alert families when a loved one's body has gone unclaimed. The lack of communication and failure to utilize available resources leaves families searching in vain for loved ones who have already been buried or cremated. Experts argue that these mistakes are preventable and call for the adoption of detailed protocols and the posting of unclaimed names to NamUs.