CHICAGO (WLS) — A family says their loved one was left in a Cook County morgue for six weeks because his name was misspelled.

“My son didn’t deserve to be in that morgue,” Ruthie McKinnie said. “I mean, it’s so disrespectful.”

McKinnie and her family are furious with the Cook County medical examiner’s office and Chicago police because her son, Kelvin Davis, was at the morgue for six weeks and they had no idea.

The family said they started calling the coroner’s office a few weeks after Davis disappeared.

“I described him as very tall, 6’4″ with freckles, a very distinct appearance,” said sister Deborah Smith. “She said, ‘We don’t have anyone by that name here.’

So they filed a missing person’s report with the police.

“Thank God he had a tattoo of ‘beloved mother’ in bold black letters on his arm, and if not, I would never have found my little boy,” McKinnie said.

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The police alerted the coroner and they realized Davis’ body had been there all along. The problem was that Kelvin Davis had been entered into the forensic system as Kevin Davis.

According to a police report, when Davis was found June 3 at a friend’s apartment, that friend, who police said was a reliable source, gave them the name “Kevin,” not “Kelvin.”

“It’s like, you have to think about the fact that this person can have a family and someone who loves them and cares about them,” Smith said.

The ME’s office responded to the family’s concerns about the miscommunication, saying: “We extend our deepest condolences to the family.”

They continued, “Our staff would not have seen Kelvin F. Davis in our system and would not have been able to cross-check with his date of birth.” Davis had no identification on him at the time of his death.

The coroner also said they “rely on investigative agencies to notify next of kin of a loved one’s death, but if the next of kin is not located within 10 days, the MEO works to find family.” They added that the office worked with police to match the fingerprints.

CPD said fingerprints were taken at the time of death but returned to other names. Police said that since they were given the name “Kevin” at the scene, that is the name they gave to the ME office.

In 2021, The I-Team reported on another family that called ME for nearly two months search for your missing loved one. He was there the whole time and even had an ID on him.

As a result of this report, MOE took disciplinary action and the Cook County Office of the Inspector General investigated, finding failures and violations. The MOE adopted the IG’s numerous recommendations for approval of communications.

In the Austin neighborhood, Ayanna McFadden said she waited a month to get a call from the medical examiner, revealing her son Malcolm’s body was there the whole time after he died falling onto the CTA Green Line tracks. He had an ID on him at the time.

“I love my son and I miss my son,” she said. “But I know he won’t come back.”

The ME said, “Deepest condolences to the McFadden family,” and told the I-Team that Chicago police were unable to locate Malcolm’s family, so they did a database search and “found a tentative next of kin.” ME left a voicemail the day after Malcolm’s brother died, not with his mother.

Like many people today, his brother said he didn’t recognize the number, so he decided not to take the call and saw the message weeks later.

“I want to see people held accountable for the actions they’ve taken because it’s not right,” McFadden said.

The two mothers said the trial made their grief even more painful.

“Everybody has somebody who loves them, and I love my son,” McFadden said.

“You have to change the system to help us; this is serious,” McKinnie said.

The medical examiner’s report said Davis died of cardiovascular disease. The Davis family said they are still fighting for change to help improve communication at the coroner’s office. The family also filed complaints with the county board president, lawmakers and the Illinois attorney general’s office.