Officials Said Her Dad Was Dead — Then A Family Friend Saw Him Alive

Community Corner

Officials Said Her Dad Was Dead — Then A Family Friend Saw Him Alive A family is in emotional and financial straits after they were wrongly told their father had died, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

SAN FRANCISCO — Kylie Robinson was told by the San Francisco medical examiner's office that her father died in May 2021 after an accidental overdose in the city's Tenderloin neighborhood, according to the San Francisco Chronicle .

But this summer — long after she scattered ashes, got a commemorative tattoo and named her son in his memory — a family friend saw James Robinson while walking in the city, the Chronicle reported.

The family was briefly reunited in July but learned James Robinson had become addicted to fentanyl, and, despite agreeing to go to rehab, he has since disappeared, according to the Chronicle.

James Robinson suffered from homelessness and addiction after he was shot in the chest by an acquaintance staying at his residence in 2017, according to the Chronicle, but his condition worsened in the years since he was declared dead.

The medical examiner's office's mistake cost James Robinson his $900 monthly disability payments and Kylie Robinson's younger sister, a minor, received three years of disability survivor's benefits that the Social Security Administration now wants paid back, the newspaper reported.

As for the man who actually died, he is now listed only as John Doe by the medical examiner's office, which acknowledged the misidentification to the Chronicle, the newspaper reported.

"This does not reflect the high standards of our office, nor the level of service the people of San Francisco expect and deserve," spokesperson Angela Yip said, according to the Chronicle. "We are committed to continuing to implement measures that ensure the integrity of our work."

Kylie Robinson is considering a lawsuit, the Chronicle reported, and she has started a GoFundMe to help the family get her father off the streets.

Read more from the Chronicle.