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'Dead' N.Y. Man Wants To Be Declared Legally Alive

A man who disappeared nearly two decades ago and was declared legally dead is apparently back and looking to be recognized as alive.
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Winston Bright, a California telephone company worker, was declared legally dead by a court after he disappeared. But now, he's apparently back among the living.

"A San Diego man missing for more than 20 years says he had amnesia." (Via KERO)

That's right — amnesia. According to KGTV, a 65-year-old man who goes by the name of Kwame Seku claims he is the former Winston Bright and wants to be declared alive again.

"I was lost, confused, and it was kind of frightening." (Via WMUR)

Bright, a married father of three, disappeared after leaving work back in October 1990 and was declared legally dead by a court in 2000. But Seku says he has a DNA test that proves he's really Winston Bright.

The New York Post reports Seku is trying to get a Manhattan Surrogate's Court to recognize him as Bright so he can collect a pension from the telephone company where he worked.

But not everyone is too happy he's come back from the dead, so to speak.

Leslie Bright, Winston's wife and the person who's been collecting that pension, told the New York Daily News she doesn't believe Seku's story and says he's not her husband.

"[Winston] kissed me on the cheek, called me at lunchtime like he always did and again when he was on his way home. He never made it."

But if Seku does turn out to be Bright, Leslie says she'll fight for the monetary support her husband would owe her.

"I will go at him for back child support, cat support, everything! If he wants a fight, I’ll give him a fight!" (Via New York Daily News)

Seku told the New York Post in an interview Wednesday that he found himself wandering the streets of San Diego sometime between 1990 and 1991 without any identification, money or recollection of how he got there.

He says after awhile, his memory began to return, and he was able to track down his old identity with the help of the Internet. He says he still can't remember what caused his amnesia in the first place.