ANDERSON, Ind. (WISH) — On Sunday, Anderson Police Department officers pulled a body out of the White River.

Authorities found a driver’s license, and then the mother of the person the license belong was contacted 

Authorities found Natalie Markham was with a friend at the Moose Lodge in Anderson. She told I-Team 8, “So, they come and show me his driver’s license and then they show me a picture of him in a body bag on the bank of the White River.”

She wasn’t taken to identify the body in person. Instead, Markham said, a police officer took her into the manager’s office and showed her a picture. From the picture, she thought it was her son Kevin.

She was instantly overcome with grief. She lost her oldest son to pneumonia 10 months ago.  

Markham explained how the saga continued. “So, now we are on the phone with family in California, tell them. Everybody is being told that this boy of 32 is dead.“

On Tuesday, an autopsy was performed, and the body taken to a funeral home in Anderson.

On Wednesday, Anderson Police Department asked Markham to provide her DNA.

Kevin lives on the streets, Markham says. He was diagnosed with mental illness in his late 20s. On Wednesday, she’d asked the detective to find Kevin’s girlfriend so she could attended the funeral. Later that day, police found her … and Kevin.

Markham said, “So, the police officer recognized her and went over and told her Kevin passed away, and that’s when my Kevin is standing right next to her and said, ‘I’m not dead,’ and, because of his schizophrenia, he really started to freak out. This is like 1:30 in the afternoon, and the police officer calls me, and I’m at a friend’s house grieving, and he says I think we have a problem, and I could hear him in the background. Kevin Markham is alive and I know that voice.”

The police officer sent her a picture of Kevin, to confirm he was alive.

DNA taken from Kevin and his mother confirmed that Kevin was alive and not the person found in the White River.

Kevin has unique tattoos on his arm and back. Markham says, had she seen the body, the issue could have been avoided. She said, “People need to have a place where they can come in and identify their loved ones a safe light, and also not in front of a bunch people.”

I-Team 8 called Madison County Coroner Adam Matson, and he declined to talk on camera but sent a statement.

“On Sunday October 8, 2023, the Madison County Coroner’s Office was requested by the Anderson Police Department to conduct a death investigation of a deceased male found in the White River within the City of Anderson. Deputies from the Madison County Coroner’s Office arrived and worked through the investigation process in conjunction with the Anderson Police Department.

“The deceased, located in the White River, was initially identified as Kevin Gregory Markham of Anderson. This initial identification was confirmed by his next of kin in accordance with Indiana law. An autopsy was performed on Tuesday October 10, 2023 and the deceased was released to the funeral home of the next of kin’s choice.

“On Wednesday October 11, 2023, the Madison County Coroner’s Office was notified by the Anderson Police Department of the possibility of a misidentification of the deceased after more information was brought forth. After receiving the information an individual named Kevin Gregory Markham and his mother were interviewed by detectives from Anderson Police Department and DNA samples were obtained to confirm a familial DNA match between Kevin Gregory Markham and his mother.

“During this time the deceased was returned to the custody of the Madison County Coroner’s Office, fingerprints were obtained from the deceased and analyzed. Fingerprint analysis confirmed that the deceased was not Kevin Gregory Markham but instead Andrew Mason of Anderson Indiana. Notification to Mr. Mason’s next of kin was made and they have positively identified the deceased as Andrew Mason.”

Madison County Coroner Adam Matson