Indy Ceremony Honors and Lays to Rest 21 Unclaimed Individuals
INDIANAPOLIS — For most people, a name is spoken daily by friends, family, and colleagues. But for those who pass away with no one to claim them, their names risk being forgotten entirely.
On Friday, May 15, 2026, the community gathered at the Flanner and Buchanan Floral Park Cemetery to ensure that did not happen.
The Marion County Coroner’s Office (MCCO), in a deeply emotional partnership with He Knows Your Name Ministry (HKYN), hosted its fifth annual Laying to Rest of Unclaimed Decedents Ceremony. The public event honored 21 individuals—20 adults who had been in the care of the coroner’s office since 2024, and one individual whose remains were brought forward by Volunteers of America Ohio & Indiana.
Under a quiet sky, community members, elected officials, and ministry volunteers gathered to break the silence that so often surrounds unclaimed deaths. The reflection featured prayers led by Reverend Anthony McDaniel, a symbolic white dove release, and a somber, intentional reading of all 21 names.
Bringing Light into the Darkness
Marion County Coroner Alfie McGinty addressed the crowd, emphasizing that the city’s responsibility to its residents does not end at death.
“For me, it means just honoring those that have gone unclaimed,” Coroner McGinty reflected. “Although they may have family, they may not. But to have them in a final disposition place—a final resting place, which is more accurate—gives a level of peace that for me makes a big difference in death.”
The ceremony marked a milestone for the ongoing partnership between MCCO and HKYN, a ministry founded by Linda Znachko in 2009 to provide honorable burials for hundreds of unclaimed Hoosiers. Since combining forces in 2022, the two organizations have successfully laid to rest 355 unclaimed adults in Marion County.
Znachko spoke passionately about the visual transformation of the burial site, describing the collective headstones as a permanent sanctuary.
“We can come to this place where the flowers are laid and read all the names, which is beautiful, but it’s forming like a neighborhood here—a circle of life that we get to just kind of constantly remember today and acknowledge beauty,” Znachko said. “There’s so much identity in names, and it’s marking the earth, remembering.”
The Inaugural Footprint Award
This year’s ceremony included a surprise presentation. Znachko presented Coroner McGinty with He Knows Your Name’s inaugural “Footprint Award,” honoring McGinty’s unwavering leadership and compassion. Znachko affectionately referred to the coroner as a “walking justice system.”
“When I say justice, I mean… saying their names and giving them a final resting place instead of having them be hidden in the dark unknown,” Znachko explained. “What if no one really knew their name or no one even knew they died? We know. And that elevates all of this from kind of the tragedy of being unclaimed and saying, ‘No, you’re known and you’re seen by us.’ That redeems all of it.”
Both leaders expressed hope that this tradition will form a lasting legacy in Indianapolis, ensuring that no matter the circumstances of a person’s life or death, they are ultimately marked with dignity, respect, and remembrance.
