26B-8-225.  Burial of an unclaimed body — Request by the school of medicine at the University of Utah — Medical examiner may retain tissue for dog training.

(1)  Except as described in Subsection (2) or (3), a county shall provide, at the county’s expense, decent burial for an unclaimed body found in the county.

Terms Used In Utah Code 26B-8-225

  • Medical examiner: means the state medical examiner appointed pursuant to Section 26B-8-202 or a deputy appointed by the medical examiner. See Utah Code 26B-8-201
(2)  A county is not responsible for decent burial of an unclaimed body found in the county if the body is requested by the dean of the school of medicine at the University of Utah under Section 53B-17-301.

(3)  For an unclaimed body that is temporarily in the medical examiner’s custody before burial under Subsection (1), the medical examiner may retain tissue from the unclaimed body in order to donate the tissue to an individual who is affiliated with an established search and rescue dog organization, for the purpose of training a dog to search for human remains.

Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 306, 2023 General Session