("David" by Mary Larson. Photo by John Ryan.)
Economists like to keep tabs on various sectors of the economy: Retail sales. Housing starts. Interest rates. But one of the truly invisible indicators of just how bad the economy has been lies at the county morgue. The number of unclaimed bodies left at the morgue has risen in the last year.
In part that's because families can't afford to come pick them up, and put them to rest.
It's a trend that's happening all over the country. In some places, the body count has risen as much as 50 percent over the last few years. But in King County, there's an effort underway to make sure even the unclaimed get a proper memorial. Carol Smith Reports.