News

Actions

Man who couldn’t remember name when found 11 years ago finally discovers identity

Posted at 6:41 AM, Sep 18, 2015
and last updated 2015-09-18 06:42:38-04

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — For the past 11 years, a man has been living without knowing who he really is.

According to WJXT, the man was found beaten and left for dead outside of a Burger King in 2004 in Jacksonville, Florida.  He had no memory of who he was.

Doctors said he had retrograde amnesia. He called himself Benjamin Kyle, BK, for short.

He appeared on both local and national television shows to see if anyone might recognize him. But, it wasn’t until he received help from a genetic genealogist that he finally got answers.

WJXT reports that a team of people worked on Kyle’s case for more than two years and compared his DNA to databases around the nation.

"Evidently, I left Indiana in '76  and they have not seen me since then," BK told WJXT. "Of course we haven't been in communication. They thought I was dead."

BK said he will release his true identity once he's reunited with his family. He said he's trying to protect their privacy.

"Looking at all these names, all these people, kind of gives me a sense of belonging. I have a history. I'm not just some stranger that materialized out of thin air," he told WJXT.