Police described the scene as horrific.

The awful smell seeped from a neglected building in a small Colorado town for days, followed by a report that made police take a closer look at the “green” funeral operator’s storage facility. Inside, they made a gruesome discovery: At least 115 decaying bodies.

Investigators were tight-lipped Friday about exactly what they found inside the Return to Nature Funeral Home in Penrose, Colorado, but their plans to bring in teams that usually deal with airline crashes, coroners from nearby jurisdictions and the FBI pointed to a grim mess.

A state document, meanwhile, alleged funeral home owner Jon Hallford tried to conceal the improper storage of corpses. He claimed he was doing taxidermy at the facility, according to the state suspension letter dated Thursday.

The facility in question is the Return To Nature Funeral Home in Penrose, Colorado. According to its website, the mortuary is pitched as a green alternative where funeral services are performed without chemicals, metal or unnatural materials. The cost of a burial is almost $1900 not including the cost of a casket and a cemetery plot.

So far, the Associated Press says no one has been arrested for what has happened as a crime has not yet been identified. Fortunately, the owner is cooperating with police. But the effect of the unclean conditions that went on for weeks could have an impact on local resident’s health.

While eco-friendly burials are legal in Colorado, unburied bodies have to be refrigerated within 24 hours and the AP states it seems that improper tagging and even a lack of DNA testing occurred at the facility too. The AP updated their report earlier today to reveal the owner even tried to cover up the smell’s source claiming he was conducting taxidermy.

This whole incident is a somber and gruesome reminder that pursing eco-friendly options to traditional customs (like funerals) can resort to gross outcomes.

PHOTO CREDIT: Pixabay