PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Arizona has one of the highest numbers of unidentified remains in the country. Out of the 15,460 open cases for unidentified persons nationwide, 2,132 are in Arizona, according to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System .

“Everybody deserves to keep their name even in death,” said Stuart Somershoe, a retired detective from the Phoenix Police Department.

He said the state’s location, which borders Mexico, and the environment play a role in adding to the numbers.

“Some are homicide victims, some are suicide victims, some are unknown deaths,” said Somershoe, who has spent years helping to give names back to the unidentified. “The desert conditions tend to cause remains to skeletal very quickly here in Arizona.”

The Maricopa County Office of the Medica

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