'Cremated' Dad Reunited With Family 5 Years Later

Sept. 5, 2008 — -- As he came home from working a late shift in April, John Renehan caught a glimpse of his father's face on TV -- a shocking sight, considering that his father had been cremated five years ago.

Or so he thought.

"I knew it was him straight away. I saw the last few seconds of the BBC 'Missing Live' program and I saw a glimpse of my father," Renehan told ABCNews.com.

And he was right. Renehan was soon reunited with his father, John Delaney, eight years after reporting him missing and five years after the family held a funeral for a man they believed to be Delaney.

Delaney went missing in April 2000, and in January 2003 a badly decomposed body was found on the grounds of a hospital near the family's home in Manchester, northern England.

According to police statements, the body matched the description of Delaney and had very similar marks from injuries he was known to have suffered in the past. The body was also dressed in clothes matching the description given when Delaney was reported missing. Police passed the evidence on to the coroner, who formally identified the body as Delaney.

The body was cremated, and the family held a funeral.

But Delaney, now 71, was not dead at all.

It turns out Delaney had actually been put into a care home after being found wandering the streets with memory loss.

According to police statements, in April 2000, just days after he had disappeared, Delaney was taken to the hospital in a "confused state." He had no recollection of his own identity, and authorities were able to identify him. He was diagnosed with amnesia as the result of a brain injury and was taken to a care home, where he remained for eight years.

The BBC TV show was making an appeal for help in locating the family of the unknown man.

"If I hadn't had that glimpse, this wouldn't have all happened," Renehan said.

John Renehan recognized his father but did not call the BBC until he saw his father on another episode of the show the following night.

"I think they thought I was some nutcase. I told them I thought I buried my father in 2003," he told ABCNews.com.

Renehan and his father were reunited after DNA tests confirmed Delaney's identity four weeks later.