Some cremains found are 20-years old

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) - The mystery behind the discovery of the cremated remains of 56 people continues to grow deeper.

The remains were found at a home owned by a former funeral director who had her license revoked and her business shut down late last year.

The Montgomery County Coroner's Office is in the process of trying to contact the family members of those whose remains were found, but that could be difficult.

We've learned today that some of the remains go back as far as 20 years which raises even more questions about why those remains were never properly buried.

"This office has never experienced a situation like we have here."

The Montgomery County Coroner's Office is now the current resting place of the cremains of 56 people, but finding them final resting places won't be easy. Some of the remains date back as far as 1992. The last ones 2009.

"There's a lifetime of collection. That's going to make things a little more difficult," said Ken Betz, Director of the Montgomery County Coroner's Office.

The remains were discovered Tuesday in the closet of a foreclosed Philadelphia Drive home owned by the former director of the McLin Funeral Home, Scherrie McLin, and her sister Tanya Anderson.

We've since learned the remains are the same ones spotted earlier this year in the funeral home during an investigation by Ohio Board of Embalmer's and Funeral Directors.

The board didn't have the authority to take them at the time.

Now, investigators are looking for clues about why the cremains were kept for so long.

"This is a deliberate retention of someone's remains. I think that's a question that needs to be answered for the community," said Betz.

We're told all the cremains were in boxes complete with names and the date of death.

That's what the coroner's office has to go on to track down family members.

No matter what, officials vow to bring peace to those whose remains have been in limbo for so long.

"If families don't claim this office will take responsibility to ensure that closure on these cases is made."

We called the prosecutor's office, but haven't heard back. McLin has yet to be charged with anything.

Investigators are also looking into thousands of dollars in unaccounted for pre-burial money paid by families.