In Japan, a man who everyone thought was dead for more than a year suddenly turned up alive. It turns out that the wife of the man and the rest of their relatives told the police that the body of a man found in a river was him, and the officers reported the corpse as the missing man. But more than a year later, the man identified to be dead walked into town, alive and well.
The mix-up only became apparent when the woman’s husband, who is in his 40’s, returned to the village of Matsudo, in the Chiba Prefecture. It turns out the body that was found over a year ago was that of a missing man from Tokyo in his 30’s. The authorities were able to positively identify the remains using its fingerprints. The identity of the corpse has now been identified, and his family members are now being notified. The officers have also apologized for the mistake.
“The incident is extremely regrettable. We’re determined to prevent a recurrence.” said Tomoaki Uehara of the metropolitan police department in Tokyo. The body was initially found in the Edo River in Katsushika Ward in June of last year. A man had apparently drowned in the waters of the river. The same day, a missing person’s report was filed in Tokyo. The police of the area had suspected that the body might belong to a man in his 40’s form Matsudo, and after showing it to the relatives, he was mistakenly identified as the corpse.