It was an urn-ormous mix-up.
An Oregon family believed their loved one was dead when they received an urn full of ashes and the 23-year-old’s death certificate – but they discovered months later that he was very much alive.
The bizarre story of resurrection began when Portland resident Tyler Chase was declared dead from a drug overdose by the Multnomah County medical examiner, KPTV reported.
Chase had been living in a recovery program after struggling with substance abuse and did not have contact with his family for several years, according to the outlet.
In December, he went to the Department of Human Services office to inquire why his food assistance benefits were inactive after he had been approved for them in October.
“They asked me to enter my Social Security and everything, and they were like, ‘All right, we’ll see if we can help you fix this,’” Chase told KPTV.
“And then all of the sudden they start interrogating me and were like, ‘Oh can we see your ID?’ So I gave it to them and then they just looked as confused as I was and they’re like, ‘Right here it says you are dead,’” he said.
Meanwhile, Chase’s family received a death certificate and an urn full of ashes belonging to another person – a man who was found dead while carrying his wallet, which was apparently stolen at the recovery center where he was living, according to the station.
The wallet contained his temporary driver’s license, officials said.
“So they find a paper ID of me that’s smudged and everything and they were like, ‘That’s Tyler John Chase,’ so they put him down as me,” Chase told KPTV.
“And then they notified the family like protocol,” he added.
Chase’s family declined to view the body before it was cremated, the Multnomah County Medical Examiner’s Office told KGW.
“Although television often shows people identifying their loved ones at a Medical Examiner’s Office, in reality, most Medical Examiner’s Offices do not have viewing facilities,” the office wrote the outlet.
“Families are able to view their loved one and confirm their identity at the funeral home making the arrangements,” it added.
It took more than three months for the office to spot the mistake and inform the family that Chase was not a pile of ashes and set up a video call to put them back in touch with him, KGW reported.
Officials also reached out to the correct family of the deceased man, whose name has not been released, to notify them of his demise.
“We deeply regret that the misidentification happened,” a county spokesperson told KPTV. “The misidentification occurred because the deceased person was carrying Mr. Tyler Chase’s wallet and his official temporary Oregon driver’s license.”
The statement added that the ME’s office has “launched a comprehensive review to identify any gaps in current practices and is working to implement an institutional change.
“Going forward, all individuals who are found with a temporary state-issued identification must also have fingerprints submitted for positive identification, to ensure that this will never happen again,” it added.
“Misidentification is extremely rare but has been reported in a small number of cases nationwide,” the office told KGW in a statement.
Latasha Rosales, Chase’s cousin, said she “just lost it” when she heard of the grave error.
“It is so hard to believe how something like this could even happen. It just makes no sense to me,” she told the outlet.
“I can’t even imagine how they feel,” Rosales added about the other family. “Their child, their brother, their loved one was cremated. He passed away without them even being notified.”