U.K.: Five years after cremation, 'dead father' is reunited with family

. LONDON, England (The Guardian), September 4, 2008: By Mark Tran Five years after John Renehan thought he had cremated his father, father and son are back together in a case of memory loss, mistaken identity and serendipity. Renehan's father, John Delaney, went missing in 2000. Three years later, a badly decomposed body found in the bushes at Manchester Royal Infirmary - wearing similar clothes and with similar old wounds – was identified by police as Delaney. A coroner confirmed the identification and Renehan had a cremation for the person he thought was his father. In April, Renehan, who was doing night shifts for the first time in his life, happened to be watching a daytime television programme about missing persons. To his astonishment, Renahan recognised his father. The 42-year-old father-of-two told the Manchester Evening News: "I had just finished my night-shift and was getting ready to go to sleep when I turned on the TV. As I was turning away I got a glimpse of who I thought was my father. For the rest of the day I could not get to sleep. I was in shock. We thought we had cremated my dad. But I knew it was him." It turns out that, Delaney, 71, has been in a care home for the past eight years after being found wandering dazed and confused in Oldham. He apparently suffered memory loss and was unable to hold a proper conversation after receiving a blow to the head 10 days earlier. Unable to identify him, the authorities gave Delaney the name David Harrison and placed in a home. His family filed a missing person report at the time of his disappearance and police issued a public appeal with his photograph but no information was received. Oldham Social Services, which was caring for Delaney, was unable to put out an appeal for information until a law change this year meant they did not require his consent, paving the way for the TV appeal. Delaney and Renehan were reunited two weeks ago after DNA tests confirmed they were indeed father and son. Renehan - who took his mother's maiden name after his parents split up - is now spending part of every day with his father - and claims the elderly man's memory is beginning to improve. Renehan is angry that no DNA checks were run by police on the body found in 2003 and he says he still has sleepless nights thinking of the family of the man he had cremated. He is demanding an apology for his trauma over the past five years. Nigel Meadows, a coroner, is set to apply to the high court to quash the inquest which confirmed the dead man as Delaney and recorded an open verdict. It is understood Meadows, who was not in the post in 2003, accepts that DNA evidence was not commonly used to identify decomposed bodies at the time. The decomposed body found in 2003 years ago was mistakenly identified as Delaney - who was homeless before he went missing – as both men were wearing similar jeans and tops, and both had historic head and rib wounds. Manchester police, who put out a missing person alert when Delaney disappeared, has admitted that "mistakes were made". Peter Fahy, the chief constable of Greater Manchester police, expressed his "great sympathy" for Renehan and his family. He said: "This is an awful situation for the man to find his father is still alive and he's had no contact with him. I have the greatest sympathy with the family. I think the public will appreciate this is a difficult situation where you have a very badly decomposed body. We will need to review what happened here with the coroner." © Guardian News and Media Limited 2008