Lehigh coroner seeks next-of-kin for 14 unclaimed remains

ALLENTOWN – The Lehigh County Coroner’s Office is seeking family or next of kin for fourteen people whose remains have been unclaimed.
“I believe there is no valid reason why these remains cannot be returned to families who wish to receive them,” Coroner Daniel Buglio said in a media release. “My goal has always been to collaborate with families to the best of my ability, facilitating a reasonable final disposition that serves both the county and, most importantly, the families of their loved ones.”
The current policy of the coroner’s office for unclaimed remains is to cremate them and retain them.
The remains will be returned to the families at no cost and any that are unclaimed will be buried as a group at in Lehigh County. Each will be vetted for possible veterans burial at Indiantown Gap National Cemetery.
The following remains are still unclaimed:
- Herbert Jackson, d. May 14., 1988;
- Alfredo Rojas, d. July 4, 1992;
- Jerome Lobach, d. Jan. 28, 2009;
- Roland Young, d. July 10, 2012;
- Wayne Persing, d. Nov. 23, 2012;
- Vivian Strickland, d. August 31, 2014;
- James Skies, d. Oct. 19, 2016;
- Elaine Dries, d. Nov. 5, 2017;
- Albert Cuomo, d. June 1, 2018;
- Wojciech Wiatrowski, d. Aug. 31, 2018;
- Joseph Grohman, d. Nov. 8, 2018;
- John Breidinger, d. Feb. 14, 2004;
- Anne Nemchik, d. Dec. 26, 2022;
- Dick Cooper, d. Oct. 20, 2022.
Contact the coroner’s office at 610-782-3426 or email [email protected].