Medics thought handsome teen found ‘frozen’ by the river was dead. Then they sent him to the morgue
ArchiveFirst published May 14, 2025. It may not reflect later developments.
Jake Anderson, 19, was found near the Mississippi River after a party in December 2013. Paramedics declared him “obviously dead” from 15 feet away without checking for vital signs. But experts later said Jake was still alive—his body slowed by extreme hypothermia—and died hours later at the morgue.
His parents, Kristi and Bill Anderson, have fought for justice ever since. “They didn’t even turn him over,” Kristi said. “He didn’t get a fighting chance.” Despite evidence of mishandled care, their wrongful death case never reached court.
In March, the Andersons were awarded $6.4 million—not against emergency responders, but against their former attorney, Robert Hopper. A judge ruled Hopper’s legal malpractice caused their original lawsuit to be dismissed after he failed to appoint them as legal trustees in time.
Now, over a decade later, the Andersons finally have some closure. Still, many questions remain—how Jake died, and why surveillance cameras were off when he vanished. “We were wronged by so many entities,” Kristi said. “But we’ll never stop fighting for Jake.”
