Four years after a stunning mishap where the SF Medical Examiner notified a family that their father had been declared dead, and then he turned up alive, the same man has, in fact, now died.

It was exactly one year ago today when the Chronicle broke the story that a man who the SF Medical Examiner’s Office had declared dead, and even sent his family the ashes, was actually still very much alive on the streets of San Francisco.

The family of James Robinson was told he had overdosed in his room at the Tenderloin SRO Dahlia Hotel, and both fentanyl and meth were found next to the body. His daughter Kylie Robinson even walked down the aisle with someone else at her wedding, but then a family friend spotted and recognized James Robinson in San Francisco, and the family finally acquired the autopsy report that proved them it was the wrong body.

Robinson was living on the streets when he was spotted, and he resisted his family's efforts to get him into rehab. And today the Chronicle reports that James Robinson is in fact now dead. His body was actually found back in February on a sidewalk near 16th and Mission streets, and he died of an accidental fentanyl overdose. He was 53.

“I will say we were able to go identify him this time so we do know for sure it’s him,” daughter Kylie Robinson told the Chronicle. She said she and her sister Khloe were able to view his body “and say our goodbyes.”

For their part, the SF Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has tightened up their policies to prevent this kind of stunning mistake from happening again. As the Chronicle explains, the office now requires that “visual identifications [of the deceased] can only be made by an immediate relative, medical facility or mortuary service.”

“The Chief Medical Examiner’s Office treats each case with the highest level of dignity and respect, utilizing our staff’s extensive professional expertise,” that office said in a statement to the Chronicle. “When we fell short of our standards, we evaluated our policies and practices and implemented improvements.”

Their statement added that “Delivering news to a decedent’s loved one is always an extremely difficult thing to do.” Though obviously, it must be even more difficult when your office has to do this a second time, and to a second familiy, because they got it wrong the first time.

Related: SF Man Identified as Dead Three Years Ago Turns Up Alive, Family Is Flabbergasted [SFist]

Image: SF Public Works