Alive at his own funeral: man shows up to wake after being reported dead in Argentina

A man who had been reported dead by his mother after vanishing during a days-long drinking session appeared at his own funeral in Alderetes, north of Córdoba, Argentina, shouting 'I'm alive.' The 22-year-old's stunned family and mourners watched as the ceremony unfolded, leaving authorities and attendees to wonder who was in the coffin.

Police had reported the death to authorities after another young man was run over by a sugarcane truck near Córdoba. Although suicide was initially suspected, prosecutors classified the case as negligent homicide and ordered an autopsy on the body. The man’s mother said she recognized the body by clothing and physical features, and authorities released the remains to the family, who held a wake. The scene underscored the volatility of a case tangled in misidentification and evolving information, as officials sought to confirm whether the person in the coffin truly was the son the family believed had died.

However, the son then appeared at the ceremony alive, explaining he had been on a days-long drinking binge in Alderetes and was unaware of any death. His arrival left mourners and police questioning who exactly was in the coffin. He was taken to the police station to be interviewed while the body was returned to the morgue to establish its true identity. The unfolding episode highlighted how quickly a tragedy can become a public mystery when records and identifications do not align with real-world events.

The body in question was later identified as Maximiliano Enrique Acosta, 28, from the nearby town of Delfín Gallo. Authorities had earlier released the remains to the family, but reports indicated that the process did not proceed smoothly. At one point, the family was told they were receiving one body, only to be handed a different one at first, according to Hernán Acosta, Maximiliano’s brother. Everything was wrong from the beginning, he said, recounting the sequence of events that followed the initial identification.

'First, they handed over the body without proper identification,' Hernán Acosta said. 'Then they made me go to the morgue twice. We shouldn't have to go through this after everything we suffered.' The brooding confusion extended to the morgue and the paperwork surrounding the release of the remains, according to family members and local officials.

Mr. Acosta’s body was eventually returned to his family, and a funeral was held in Delfín Gallo on Tuesday. The case prompted renewed questions about how authorities verify identities in death notices and how families cope with the emotional toll when the wrong person is released from a morgue.

The Argentine Public Prosecutor's Office has launched an internal investigation to determine how the errors occurred, including how the body initially identified as Maximiliano Acosta was misclassified and what led to the miscommunication that delayed the proper transfer of remains. Investigators are examining the steps from the initial discovery of the alleged death, through police notification, autopsy orders, and the release of a body to the family, to the moment a living person walked into the wake.

Officials cautioned that the case remains under review and stressed that misidentification in such cases, though uncommon, can happen when records are incomplete or when identifiers such as clothing, tattoos, or other characteristics are relied upon without corroborating data. Local authorities reiterated their commitment to transparency as the inquiry proceeds and to ensuring families receive accurate information during sensitive moments.

For residents of Alderetes and Delfín Gallo, the episode has added a somber note to a week already marked by tragedy. It also serves as a stark reminder of how fragile the line is between life and death in the public record, where paperwork and human memory intersect in ways that can alter the course of a family’s grief.

As investigations continue, officials plan to review morgue procedures, verify identification protocols, and implement any necessary updates to ensure that the next time a body is released for burial, it is the correct one. In the meantime, the community mourns for the families affected by the confusion while hoping for a clearer understanding of how the sequence of events led from a reported fatality to a living person standing inside a funeral home.