Noble, Ga. ? The operation to recover discarded human remains from pits, sheds, metal vaults and even a shallow lake near a crematory could last at least eight months, and the cost could top earlier estimates of $10 million, officials said Thursday.

The 3-acre lake, which has already yielded two bodies, will be drained as part of the search, officials said.

“There’s just no way to even guess at a cost until we stop finding bodies. And we’re finding them everywhere,” said Gary McConnell, director of the Georgia Emergency Management Agency.

Since last Friday, 242 bodies have been discovered at Tri-State Crematory in Noble, about 20 miles south of Chattanooga, Tenn. That count was expected to rise as authorities begin examining six newly opened vaults; state medical examiner Dr. Kris Sperry said the vaults could hold as many as 20 corpses each.

Crematory operator Ray Brent Marsh, 28, remained jailed Thursday for allegedly accepting payment for cremations he did not intend to do.

Forensics experts are testing the contents of urns returned to families and funeral homes by Tri-State and have determined that roughly one in eight is filled with a mixture of dirt or cement dust.

Investigators have subpoenaed natural gas records and planned to inspect the incinerator to determine the last time it had been used.

They also turned their attention to possible employees of the crematory, although they had not found any personnel or tax records, Coroner Dewayne Wilson said.

McConnell estimated the state already spent $5 million searching for bodies, and the state now wants to lease land and set up temporary facilities because the operation likely will last eight months or more.

Among the expenses was $500,000 a week for a temporary morgue in a 14,000-square-foot tent, with 50 pathologists working to identify remains.

Marsh faces 16 counts of theft by deception. More charges, including possible federal charges, were pending. A bond hearing was postponed until he has a lawyer, district attorney Buzz Franklin said.