Parents discover their son is still alive seven years after being told he was dead

A mother and father who were told their baby boy had died shortly after birth have reportedly been reunited with him seven years later.

The parents, from Volgograd in south-west Russia, were told in 2011 by doctors that their baby would not survive more than a week.

They signed a waiver, left the newborn in the hospital's care and went home.

When they had a change of heart and returned for the child five days later, they were told the boy had already died.

Seven years on, Russia's Federal Bailiff Service seized money from the mother's banking account.

Bewildered, the mother went to the bailiffs - and was told she owed a care home more £3,000 (230,000 rubles) for the care of their son.

Thanks to a bizarre administrative mix-up, the child had been living there all along.

The couple restored their parental rights in court in November 2017 and thanked "a gift from fate" for the reunification of their family.

A spokesperson for the bailiff service said:

It became clear that the married couple had been assured for all this time that the child was dead.

The parents, so unexpectedly aware of the ‘resurrection’ of their baby, immediately appealed to the court for the restoration of parental rights.

HTAdministration of the Federal Bailiff Service in the Volgograd Region

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