Clark County coroner’s office investigator says he has worked on more than 5,000 cases

Clark County coroner’s office investigator Richard Jones got into the field for an instinctive reason: He was intrigued by what happens to people after they die.

“I’m blessed to have a job where I can pop into people’s lives and help them during a difficult time,” said Jones, 63, who has served in the role full time for 19 years. “It’s an honor to take care of someone’s loved one in death. I’ve worked more than 5,000 cases.”

Jones, who has experience as a police officer and an EMT rescue squad member, began working with the corner’s office in 1985 and became full time in 1998. As part of his job, he photographs the death scene, examines bodies, secures people’s belongings, is briefed by law enforcement, arranges transport of the dead to the office and writes a report.

“No two days are the same,” Jones said. “It’s emotional going to a scene.”

If the family is not at the scene, investigators are responsible for notifying next of kin, he said. He described reaching families as a “hollow victory.”

“We take that hope of them thinking their family member is going to return home away from them,” Jones said.

The coroner’s office has three sections: investigations, forensics (doctors and assistants) and administrative employees. Doctors perform autopsies.

Bodies usually are released to families within 24 hours of when they’re brought in.

Paul Parker, the assistant coroner, said investigators “don’t always get enough recognition for the great things they do here.”

Deaths are classified in five types: natural, suicide, homicide, accident and undetermined.

“We are the eyes and the ears of the doctors,” Jones said. “They read our reports to get a better idea of what happened.”

Clark County Coroner John Fudenberg echoed that investigators have a difficult job.

“For 50 percent of their job, they are investigating death. Then for the other 50 percent, they are the social workers who notify families of deaths throughout the entire county,” he said.

As of Jan. 12, the coroner’s office had investigated nearly 500 deaths for 2017.

“We (the coroner’s office) average about 38 deaths a day and over 12,000 a year,” Jones said.

To de-stress, Jones said, he enjoys woodworking and leather tooling as well as spending time with his family.

“Also, I talk with my co-workers, and we chat about some cases as a support group to each other,” he said.

Contact Raven Jackson at rjackson@viewnews.com or 702-383-0283. Follow @ravenmjackson on Twitter.