Family of Oregon Man Who Was Mistakenly Declared Dead Declined to See Body Before It Was Cremated: Officials

An Oregon man's family who was told he was dead and given his ashes months before he showed up alive and well never saw the body before it was cremated, officials tell The Messenger.

While many questions remain about how the mix-up occurred, the medical examiner in the case has revealed more about what happened.

When the Multnomah County Medical Examiner's Office received the body of a man found dead in Portland last fall, they pulled an identification card from his wallet belonging to 23-year-old Oregon resident Tyler Chase, KPTV reported.

The office declared Chase dead of an overdose, cremated his body and gave his ashes to his family members.

Weeks later, the real Chase, who hadn't been in communication with his relatives for years during his battle with substance abuse, reemerged and found out that the state — and his family — believed he was deceased.

The ashes given to the family were of a stranger who has not yet been identified.

In a statement to The Messenger on Thursday, a representative of the Multnomah County Medical Examiner's Office said the office generally confirms identities through a variety of standards, including official identification, visual confirmation by family and friends and fingerprint comparison.

However, in this case, Chase's immediate family declined to view the body before cremation.

"Misidentification is extremely rare but has been reported in a small number of cases nationwide," the representative told The Messenger.

"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."

"Families are able to view their loved one and confirm their identity at the funeral home making the arrangements," they added. "In this case, Mr. Chase’s immediate family declined to view the body prior to cremation."

After learning that Chase was still alive, the Chief Medicolegal Investigator and Lead Medicolegal Investigator contacted and visited the family, the office said.

The office has since begun a "comprehensive review" of its practices and is implementing changes to prevent similar incidents, according to their statement.

From now on, people with temporary state-issued identification will undergo fingerprint verification for positive identification, the office said.

"We extend our sincere condolences to the decedent’s family and are relaying their request that the family wishes to remain private and do not wish to be contacted," the office added. "We are glad that Mr. Chase was able to reunite with his family."

When they found out Chase hadn't died, his family "just lost it," Latasha Rosales, Chase's cousin, told KGW-TV.

"It is so hard to believe how something like this could even happen," Rosales said. "It just makes no sense to me."