Unclaimed - Someone who dies with no family or money.

On March 18, 2023, authorities discovered Arthur G. Helmer, aged 82, alone and deceased in his home. Mr. Helmer had recently been treated for pneumonia and when he was found, "the ambient temperature in his home was noted to be approximately 21 degrees." * He was alone and literally froze to death.

Mr. Helmer is a man I never knew.

Upon learning of Mr. Helmer’s situation, I felt such a burden in my soul to come forward for him, as is legal in the State of Missouri. I called the coroner to let him know that if no one comes forward for Mr. Helmer, I would. I am a stranger to this man but will take responsibility to ensure that he is laid to rest. The Coroner conducted his extensive search and after about 10 days, we got the call. He was still in the morgue, and still unclaimed.

After the search was completed by the Bates County Coroner and Sheriff's Department, there is no evidence of a living relative, and no one has come forward to claim this poor man.

Mr. Helmer was a man who lived 82 long years. This man was once a little boy with hopes and dreams for his future. As a young man, I'm sure he dreamed of finding love, living a good life, and eventually settling down to start a family and spend his golden years surrounded by the people he loved most.

At 82 years old, Arthur Helmer was an elderly man, and in his greatest time of need, at the end of his very long life, had no one there to hold his hand and tell him everything was okay. To tell him he’s loved. To just say, “Goodbye Friend” … or “Dad” … or “Dear.” Nobody was there to lay him to rest.

I’ve done hours of research, and I still can’t tell you his story, but Mr. Helmer will be laid to rest and it will be known that he existed, and it will at least be known that he matters to me.

My appeal goes out to each and every one of you, whether you know me or not. I implore you to step forward and do something extraordinary for a man who had no one to turn to in his final hours. Even the smallest of donations will go a long way toward achieving this goal.

Arthur Helmer will be buried as a claimed man.

Who will claim him with me?

*Bates County Coroners Office, Facebook post, March 20, 2023

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Continued:

I don’t know much of anything about Mr. Helmer’s life but I’m trying to find out. There’s no record of him, (or at least not much of one) good, or bad- anywhere. By all appearances, it just seems that this was a man who lived a very quiet existence and, in the end, had no one.

Mr. Helmer’s story is one that I hope will bring awareness to the importance of checking on the elderly in our communities. We ARE our brother’s keeper in this life, whether we like it or not. Somewhere along the way though, we’ve lost sight of that. Our elderly should be cherished for the gems that they are and taken care of; not forgotten about or discarded. It is our responsibility to care for those who are most vulnerable; the ones who cannot care for themselves. When we don’t, we rob ourselves of the joy this opportunity brings, and we arrogantly diminish the value of those who have made us who we are today. We exist only because we’ve stood on their shoulders. When we don’t care for our elderly, we shred the fabric of our society a little more, each time someone like Mr. Helmer dies alone.

There’s enough bad that we must endure in our lifetime, that just comes from living. Must we also feed the fear that our elderly already has, that they too, could one day die alone? That they too could die in horrific circumstances as Mr. Helmer did? No. We must all do what we can, in our own way and in our own lives to make a difference in theirs. We must take a stand.

If you know anything about Mr. Arthur G. Helmer, please let me know. I’d be very grateful.