Mom searched for son for 5 months as body was ‘discarded’ at California morgue, she says

For five months, Renee Lim spent every day searching for her 19-year-old son Ryan, whose body lay “discarded” and unidentified at a San Diego County morgue as she tirelessly tried to find him, according to a new legal claim.

Lim, of Lafayette, California, reported her son missing after she last heard from him on Nov. 7, when he texted her that morning, her claim filed Oct. 3 says. From that point on, Lim, along with Ryan’s family members and friends, scoured San Diego in the hopes of finding him.

Hundreds of flyers about Ryan’s disappearance were shared around the city by Lim, who also contacted homeless organizations and shelters, according to the claim.

A month after Ryan last texted Lim, a detective advised her to contact the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office to see if his body was there, the claim says.

Lim, “consumed by fear,” called the office on Dec. 7 and described what her son looked like — detailing how he had “four clearly visible, bright and unique tattoos (he) designed himself,” according to the claim.

She was told Ryan wasn’t there, and if he was, “he would have been identified by the thumbprint he provided for his license,” the claim says.

However, that wasn’t true — Ryan’s body had been in the medical examiner’s custody for about a month when Lim called the office, according to the claim.

The medical examiner’s office, accused of making no effort to identify Ryan, “neglected” his body as his family and friends had false hope he could still be alive, the claim says.

On April 5, Ryan’s friend saw that the medical examiner’s office posted Ryan’s description on the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System that same day — ending the search for him.

Lim realized “not only had Ryan been in the Medical Examiner’s custody all that time…Ryan had been left alone and discarded like a piece of trash.”

In an interview with McClatchy News, Lim said “nobody had an explanation as to why my son sat there and unidentified for all that time… nobody cared enough is the reason, I think.”

Lim, Ryan’s father, William Lim, and Ryan’s brother, Brody, filed a $5 million claim against San Diego County on Oct. 3, their attorney, Marc R. Greenberg, of Tucker Ellis law firm, told McClatchy News.

“He was just a beautiful, beautiful kid and did not deserve to be discarded and treated the way he was by the medical examiner’s office,” Renee Lim said of her son at an Oct. 4 news conference.

The family will file a lawsuit against the county if their claim is denied, according to Greenberg, who said the county has 45 days to take action on the claim.

McClatchy News contacted county officials for comment on Oct. 4 and didn’t receive a response.

County communications officer Chuck Westerheide told The San Diego Union-Tribune it hadn’t received the legal claim as of the evening of Oct. 3.

He said that, in the fiscal year of 2022 to 2023, the medical examiner’s office has “identified 83% of John and Jane Doe decedents within 72 hours,” according to the newspaper.

Renee Lim told McClatchy News “that’s not an acceptable answer.”

Greenberg said 83% of the time, “they identified the person because they did something,” while speaking with McClatchy News.

With Ryan and for 17% of other cases, “they did nothing,” he said.

“My son was young, he looked younger than his age, he was healthy, he was beautiful,” Renee Lim said. “He sat in a body bag for five months, and nobody cared enough to figure out who he was.”

County prevented mom from saying goodbye, she says

Ryan was a “beautiful soul” who “lived life to the fullest” with a deep passion for surfing and skateboarding, Renee Lim said at the news conference.

He was also extremely creative. Renee Lim described Ryan as an amazing graffiti artist who also loved music and wrote his own songs.

Ryan’s love for surfing drew him to San Diego, where he was in recovery for addiction as of May 2022, Renee Lim said.

“He did struggle with the disease of addiction but he was committed to trying to win the fight,” Renee Lim said. She added that he was “also passionate about supporting other people when they were or were not in recovery.”

Ryan died on Nov. 7, when Renee Lim last heard from him, she said at the news conference.

His body was found later that day, “pulseless…and unresponsive” on the sidewalk in San Diego, according to a report from the medical examiner’s office, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

Ryan’s cause of death, attributed to fentanyl, methamphetamine and two prescription medications, was determined by the medical examiner’s office months after he died, according to the newspaper.

Since the office held Ryan’s unidentified body for months, it deteriorated, preventing Renee Lim from seeing him, according to the legal claim.

“His lifeless body had lain alone and disregarded by the Medical Examiner’s Office, decomposing to the point that (Renee Lim) was told not to look at her own son, robbing her not only of the chance to see Ryan one last time and say goodbye, but also of the peace of laying him to his final rest,” the claim says.

At the news conference, Renee Lim said she wonders if the circumstances of her son’s passing is related to why no effort was made to identify his body.

She said there’s a “misunderstanding of the disease of addiction” and wondered if the medical examiner’s office thought Ryan “wasn’t worth paying more attention to.”

“Somebody made a decision that my son didn’t warrant any further investigation to figure out who he was,” Renee Lim added.

According to the claim, the medical examiner’s office had a statutory duty to try to identify Ryan.

“The Medical Examiner’s Office had no excuse for failing to perform its legally mandated duties, which inflicted so much unnecessary anguish and torment on the Lim family for so long,” the claim says.

Greenberg said that once the family can file a lawsuit, it will be a catalyst for change.

“This can happen to anybody’s kid,” Renee Lim told McClatchy News. “Anybody’s not just mine. It could have happened to any young person who was in a circumstance or maybe the wrong area who made a bad choice or maybe didn’t even know that that was happening to them.”

When asked why she’s taking legal action against the county, Renee Lim said “I think my son deserved to be treated better.”

“Anyone’s child or family member should have that same level of care,” she said. ”If you don’t bring attention to it, nothing will change.”

Dad died after medics waited outside his home, lawsuit says. His son called 911 twice

Cops downplayed family’s fears about missing daughter, suit says. She was found dead

Family watched EMT drop 72-year-old from gurney before he died, Maine lawsuit says