Los Angeles County has thousands of ‘unclaimed dead.’ These investigators retrace their lives

By STEFANIE DAZIO
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A 74-year-old woman died alone in the hospital last year. It’s the job of investigators in a little-known and understaffed Los Angeles County department to find her family. If they can’t, she will be buried along with tens of thousands of others in a communal grave for the county’s “unclaimed dead.” The tradition dates back to 1896. The 2023 internment for the first time included those who died from the coronavirus. The investigators are part of a small army of public servants who spend three years searching for family before relinquishing them to be buried in the communal gravesite.