State fines Port Angeles crematory

Associated Press

PORT ANGELES — Washington state has issued a $12,500 fine to the owner of a Port Angeles mortuary after finding that cremated remains were removed and reprocessed without family permission.

The Peninsula Daily News reports the state Department of Licensing determined Mount Angeles Memorial Park and Crematory engaged in unprofessional conduct because it was unauthorized to reprocess the cremains.

According to the order reached following negotiations between the department and owner Danny Wakefield, the crematory removed the remains from the mausoleum, “reprocessed to a finer consistency, and metals removed” without a court order or consent from next of kin.

Wakefield says their intent was to organize the remains and “prepare them to give to the family in a fashion that would be presentable.”