A 23-year-old man in Oregon man who was pronounced dead by the Multnomah County medical examiner on September 11 is alive and well.
According to KPTV, the revelation came to light when Tyler Chase’s family, shocked by the error, reached out to FOX 12 Oregon after learning in December 2023 that Tyler was still alive.
Tyler, who had been grappling with substance abuse and hadn’t contacted his family for several years, was living in a recovery program when the incident occurred. He learned about his so-called death when his government assistance benefits became inactive in October.
Tyler contacted the Department of Human Services and provided his social security number, leading to the discovery.
“They were like, ‘Can we see your ID?’ So, I gave it to them,” Tyler told FOX 12. “Then they just looked as confused as I was, and they’re like, ‘Right here it says you are dead.’”
“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. And then they notified the family like protocol.”
The Multnomah County Medical Examiner’s Office reportedly admitted its mistake and vowed to implement policy changes. The county became aware of the error on December 18 and contacted Tyler and his family the following day.
“We deeply regret that the misidentification happened,” a county spokesperson announced. “The misidentification occurred because the deceased person was carrying Mr. Tyler Chase’s wallet and his official temporary Oregon driver’s license.”
“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.”
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[Feature Photo: Tyler Chase/YouTube SS via KTPV]
