LA county buries remains of 1,430 unclaimed bodies

BOYLE HEIGHTS (KABC) -- The remains of 1,430 people were buried in a Los Angeles County cemetery on Wednesday after going unclaimed for more than three years.

The county holds the annual mass burial to show respect to those who have died, even when the bodies remain unidentified.

Members of the public can attend the ceremony at Evergreen Cemetery and the crowds have grown in recent years.

"These were people who were here, they had a family and then something happened," said Gena Brenan of Torrance.

County Supervisor Don Knabe - who has participated for 20 years and retires next week - said regardless of their circumstances, every decedent matters.

"Here at the end they deserve the dignity of life and that's what we celebrate and bury them today in the dignity they deserve as human beings," Knabe said.