Springfield cemetery seeking family of man who may have frozen to death

Pinkerton was found in the shed late on Sunday, Jan. 20. A Springfield police report says he was homeless and sleeping in a shed when he died.

He was 57.

The Clark County Coroner’s office said Pinkerton’s cause of death could still be weeks away.

Jones said the cemetery and funeral home is seeking the family to notify them that he is in their care. He said two step-brothers of Pinkerton have been found, but if there is a closer relative the cemetery and funeral home would like to get authorization from them.

“What we are not concerned about is any financial reimbursement,” Jones said. “There is some city of Springfield money available which we will be applying for but even if we can’t get that we are doing that as a charitable gesture to show our concern.”

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He also said the cemetery and funeral home must legally try their best to find the man’s family.

“This is our effort to locate next of kin to sign the paperwork authorizing the cremation,” he said. “If we can’t find them, then we can proceed with cremation using the signatures of the two step-brothers that we have located.

“For the closer family, we wanted to make them aware and see if they are willing to authorize the cremation.”

Many people took to social media after Pinkerton’s death was reported to offer their sympathies and to call for more homeless shelters in the area.