Medical Examiner's Office Out of Space to Store Bodies

By Rusty Surette, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Medical Examiner's Office is running out of room and those in charge are seeking a quick solution.

On Tuesday, a spokeswoman for the agency confirmed bodies in the morgue are being stacked on top of one another, and occasionally on the floor due to overcrowding.

"This past Monday, we had people in there sometimes doubled to a cart and some we had to place on the floor for a brief time," said Cherokee Ballard. "It's a common occurrence."

To make matters worse, the refrigerated area where unidentified bodies are stored went out this past weekend, and those bodies were moved to the morgue area as well.

"It's a big area, but it's not big enough," Ballard said.

The M.E.'s office is now looking at the possibility of buying a large storage box to put it the agency's garage. Ballard said the agency will have to figure out how to refrigerate the box that could cost around $8,000, and hold up to seven or eight bodies.

Bad facilities was one of the reasons the M.E.'s office lost it's accreditation earlier this year.