Mendocino County sheriff looking into home burial of Supervisor Hamburg's wife

The Mendocino County Sheriff's Office is investigating the question of whether the body of Mendocino County 5th District Supervisor Dan Hamburg's wife was buried legally, Sheriff Tom Allman said Tuesday.

His office opened the investigation in late March after an anonymous source reported that Carrie Hamburg's body may have been illegally buried on the family's property without permits, according to Allman.

"The Sheriff's Office is certainly prepared to follow this until there's a legal resolution," Allman said.

Ukiah attorney Barry Vogel, who represents Hamburg in the matter of his wife's burial, confirmed Tuesday that the investigation and ensuing legal discussions are a matter of personal privacy.

"We're still open to a resolution of this matter short of litigation," Vogel said. "Home burial on large, rural properties, away from watercourses and property lines, are allowed in 45 of the 50 states. We believe this is a matter of individual privacy guaranteed in Article 1, Section 1 of the California Constitution."