Man in Paraguay thought to be dead walks into his own wake, shocks family

A man in South America who was thought to be dead gave his family the surprise of a lifetime when he walked into his own wake, BBC reports.

Juan Ramón Alfonso Penayo, 20, had last been seen on Thursday leaving his family home in Santa Teresa, a small, poverty-stricken neighborhood in the city of Pedro Juan Caballero, Paraguay.

When Penayo did not return home, his family members began to fear that he had been killed in a gang-related shooting.

Shortly after the man's disappearance, police discovered an unidentified burnt body that Penayo's family mistakenly identified as that of their relative, according to reports.

The family then organized a funeral for their "slain" family member and were in the process of holding a wake in their village when Penayo suddenly returned home.

BBC reports that the unidentified body was returned to the morgue after Penayo was discovered safe.