El Paso County breaks ground for Office of the Medical Examiner

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- El Paso County will soon get a new Office of the Medical Examiner. Tuesday, the county held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new facility located in Far East El Paso.

Voters in the county approved $26.7 million for the project through Proposition B, the county said.

According to the county, the new facility will be nearly double the size of the existing medical examiner's office in South-Central El Paso. The new building will have administrative offices and specialized areas designed to support the Medical Examiner's primary functions and activities.

Office of the Medical Examiner conducts medicolegal death investigations and determines the cause and manner of death in sudden deaths. Through its services, it conducts forensic scene investigations, forensic pathology, morgue services, forensic imaging, forensic odontology, forensic anthropology and forensic toxicology.

"I think that those of us who have ever had to interact with the office of the medical examiner have lost a loved one, know the importance of having a comforting safe," said County Commissioner Jackie Butler.

The new facility will be built at 3901 State Jail Rd. The upgrade is expected to meet growing demand as the county population increases.