A funeral director whose rental property had a dead body stored in a hearse out back is on the run.

Denver Police officers discovered the hearse and the cremains of at least 30 people in a crawl space at Miles Harford’s former residence in southwest Denver.

Cleaners made the macabre discovery after emptying out the home in the 2500 block of South Quitman Street. Harford was evicted on Feb. 6, 2024.

After a few days of investigators talking with Harford and his attorney, communications deteriorated, authorities said. Denver Police are now offering a $2,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.

Harford, 33, is wanted for abuse of a corpse, forgery and theft.

The Denver Gazette spoke with Harford’s aunt, Donna Pilcher, who received a text from him a week ago which showed him in a hospital bed — but she did not know if that was a recent photo or whether he was telling the truth. 

Pilcher worked with Harford as an assistant with his company, Apollo Funeral and Cremation Services, until 2018, when she resigned over lost wages. She told The Denver Gazette that she cut off communication with him after he failed to pay her $14,000. 

Civil records indicated that Harford also owed money at different times to at least two crematoriums in the Denver area. 

Apollo lost its license to operate in May 2022, but it appeared that Harford was still doing business as late as August 2023, when two people said he sold a pre-paid cremation to a Denver couple, cashed their checks for nearly $3,000 and disappeared. 

Tom Simpleman and his partner Don Campbell wanted to make sure that their children would have fewer worries when they die.

“We just wanted for someone to take care of us when that time was there,” Simpleman said. 

Harford’s next-door neighbor, Jason Castleberry, said though the funeral director was normally gregarious, held lavish parties and even mowed their lawn, he appeared to have been spiraling lately.

“He was hammered all of the time and drinking himself into a hole,” Castleberry said. 

He said none of the neighbors knew that there was a body in the inoperable hearse, but that it had been in the side driveway for a year-and-a-half.

“It was 10-15 feet from where I stood every day. It’s disgusting,” Castleberry said.

When news reports came out about Harford, he told Castleberry that he had run out of money and wasn’t able to process the body, Castleberry said.  

The Denver Office of the Medical Examiner identified the woman in the hearse as Christina Rosales. She died of natural causes on Aug. 31, 2022. She was 62 at the time.

Investigators said they believe the body had been stored in the hearse since shortly after her death. The woman’s family told authorities that Harford had provided them with cremains after she died.

“Unbeknownst to families, Harford may have occasionally provided families with other people’s remains so services could be held,” Denver Police Sgt. Matt Clark said. 

Police are asking for anyone with information about Harford’s whereabouts to call Metro Denver Crimestoppers at 303-913-7867.