Authorities say the number of corpses found discarded on the grounds of a crematorium in the U.S. state of Georgia could top 200.

The operator of the crematorium, Ray Brent Marsh, faces charges of theft by deception for every body found.

As of Monday 16 charges have been filed, corresponding to the number of bodies that have been identified.

Mr. Marsh faces the fraud charges in the absence of any state law barring inappropriate treatment of corpses.

Meanwhile, investigators are continuing to search for bodies at the Tri-State Crematory's five-hectare site, located in Noble, Georgia, northwest of Atlanta.

At an afternoon news conference, county officials said 130 corpses that were meant to have been cremated have been counted so far.

Walker County District Attorney Herbert Franklin Junior declined to comment on what additional charges Mr. Marsh could face. Authorities say Mr. Marsh's explanation for not cremating the bodies was that the crematory was broken and had not worked for some time.

The crematorium has been in business for about 30 years and routinely received bodies for cremation from funeral homes in Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee.

Police started investigating the crematorium after a local resident walking her dog reported on Friday finding a human skull in the woods.

Georgia Governor Roy Barnes has declared a state of emergency in Walker County to expedite the recovery of bodies. Reuters news agency reports police will scour a lake nearby to check for more bodies this week.

Some information for this report provided by DPA.

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