'Cuckoo's Nest' mental hospital finds unknown remains

[Gerald]

A mental hospital in the US state of Oregon is trying to identify the cremated remains of 3500 patients that were hidden in a storage room for decades.

They were discovered in 2004 in what was called "the room for lost souls".

The hospital has published the names and birthdates of patients who died between 1917 and the 1970s online in an attempt to locate family members.

All but 4 canisters of the remains have been identified.

The hospital - a run-down, 128-year-old facility - was used in the filming of the Academy Award-winning movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in 1975.

Almost three decades later, a group of politicians touring the hospital accidentally happened across the remains. The vowed to improve the state's mental health services.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12330505



Note: 1 February 2011 Last updated at 03:17 GMT