Noble, Ga. ? Stacks of decomposing corpses were recovered Tuesday from vaults and sheds near the Tri-State Crematory, including one body that had been dumped aboveground in a casket behind the operator’s home.

Forensics teams have so far counted 191 bodies left to rot outside the northwest Georgia crematory, said Buddy Nix, head of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Officials said 29 bodies have been positively identified.

Veronica Lively, left, and Misty Wood hold candles during services at the Oakwood Baptist Church in Chickamauga, Ga., for those who had loved ones who were supposed to have been cremated at the Tri-State Crematory outside of Noble, Ga. Their grandmother, Helen McKin, died two weeks ago and her body was taken to Tri-State.

Some corpses were found in body bags, while others were dressed in clothing or hospital gowns or wrapped in sheets, said Kris Sperry, the state’s chief medical examiner. Five bodies were pulled from under a mound of dirt.

Human remains were found in at least six caskets that had been buried, dug up and then left on the property. Sperry said he had no idea why the caskets had been exhumed.

Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson said his deputies were using a helicopter to survey other properties owned by the crematorium operator, Ray Marsh, and his family. Divers planned to search a nearby lake.

Family grief revived

As the grisly rescue operation entered its fourth day Tuesday, residents in three states faced the heartbreak of planning funerals for loved ones they had long believed were resting in peace.

“I feel like I’m in a horror movie,” said Leatha Shropshire, whose mother died Jan. 30 and was found dumped in the 16-acre area behind the crematory.

Tuesday night, about 120 people attended an hourlong candlelight memorial at Oakwood Baptist Church in nearby Chickamauga. Pastor Darrell Henry encouraged the families to remain hopeful.

“We wish it hadn’t happened, this horrible person who would show such disrespect for a dead body,” Henry said. “But remember, those are just bodies. The spirit is already gone. Hopefully, you can take some comfort in that.”

Relatives of Doris Mae Tierney of Cleveland, Tenn., whose body was to be cremated at Tri-State after her 2000 death, sued the crematory Tuesday and the funeral home that handled her body.

Operator not talking

Marsh, operator of the crematory in this rural town 20 miles south of Chattanooga, Tenn., has been charged with 16 counts of theft-by-deception. His bond hearing has been delayed while he tries to hire an attorney.

Marsh, 28, refused a request for a jailhouse interview.

Investigators have said Marsh told them the bodies were not cremated because the incinerator was broken. Authorities said they were unsure how long it was not working, but evidence shows some dumped bodies have been there for 15 years or more.

Gas records have been subpoenaed to determine when the crematory was last used, Nix said.

Sperry declined to speculate about how high the body count might go.

Officials also said Tuesday they had examined 79 sets of cremated remains returned by families; one container was filled with dirt, seven with concrete dust and others contained potting soil.

Some urns contained human remains, but it was not clear whose.

At least one family received remains that did not belong to their relative, authorities said. The relative’s remains were identified among those recovered from the grounds.

A federal disaster team has set up a mass morgue to sort the bodies.

Paperwork examined

Agents said they were examining the records of Marsh and his parents, Ray and Clara Marsh, who turned the business over to their son in 1996. The elder Marshes have not been charged.

Wilson, the sheriff, described the family as “good folks. I don’t know what went wrong.”

In almost all cases, Tri-State Crematory picked up the bodies from up to 30 funeral homes in the three states and delivered the ashes later, authorities said.

John Hargis, owner of Wann Funeral Home in Chattanooga, Tenn., said he has used Tri-State about 75 times since 1996, describing it as convenient and reputable.

Tri-State was never inspected because it worked only with funeral homes and not the public.

At the state Capitol in Atlanta, a House committee approved a bill Tuesday tightening rules for crematories and treatment of the dead.

“This is an absolute abomination,” said Rep. Mike Snow, who sponsored the bill, which could come to a floor vote early next week.