CHICAGO (CBS) — A man was missing for months and his family never gave up – until they found out he had been lying in the morgue, misidentified.

The man was listed as John Doe. No. 04226 at the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office. He was described as a 45-year-old black man.

But that John Doe was actually David Waue, 31, who is white. And his family had been searching for him for months.

CBS2 Investigator Megan Hickey spoke with the family, who said police and the Medical Examiner didn’t do enough to identify him.

“It haunts you,” said Cynthia Matthews, Waue’s mother. “I’m haunted.”

Unanswered phone calls to her snowballed into a missing persons report and calls to the FBI. Waue’s wife and two kids also waited anxiously as days of searching turned into months.

“I just kept saying, I’m like, well if he’s dead, they would contact me,” said Waue’s wife, Carolyn Waue.

Waue had struggled with his mental health and as a result spent time in prison in both Illinois and Ohio. He had several very distinguishable tattoos.

But it wasn’t until the family hired a private investigator that they were able to locate Waue with the help of those tattoos. It turned out he had been found a long time ago, but misidentified.

“Do you know how hard it is not to know what happened to your child?” Matthews said.

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Waue’s body had been found five and a half months earlier inside a vacant home in Humboldt Park. His death was ruled an overdose.

The subject was initially reported as a 45-year-old black man. There was no mention of fingerprints, DNA or dental impressions being taken in the reports.

The family’s private investigator said because of Waue’s time in prison, pursuing any of those leads would have resulted in a positive match.

But:

“They failed to follow what I consider normal procedures in the location of an unknown body,” said licensed private investigator Robert Crotty.

Now the family is filing a complaint against Chicago Police, the Medical Examiner’s office, and the City of Chicago – claiming negligence.

“How do you just find a person and just not care?” Carolyn Waue said. “That is someone’s child. That is someone’s husband.

CBS 2 looked into it. The ME’s office currently has 59 unidentified cases, according to the most recent data.

Waue’s family said they’re hoping to change the way Jane and John Doe bodies are identified, so that other families can start healing.

“I have nightmares. I’m like – why didn’t I know? Why didn’t I know? Why didn’t I know where my boy was?” Matthews said. “The people of Chicago that are losing their sons and daughters deserve better.”

CBS 2 reached out to the Chicago Police Department about the complaint, and was told the department does not comment on pending litigation.

The city’s Law Department said it had not yet received the complaint. The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office said it is also their policy not to comment.