A Nebraska woman initially believed to have died at a nursing home was later found alive at a funeral home, authorities confirmed.
An emergency call was made on Monday by funeral home staff in Waverly, near Lincoln, who noticed the 74-year-old was still breathing and performed CPR on her.
Constance Glantz was pronounced dead about two hours earlier by staff at a nearby nursing home.
She was taken to a local hospital. Police are investigating the incident but said they found no evidence of criminal intent by the nursing home.
“This is a very unusual case,” Deputy Sheriff Ben Houchin of the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office said during a live broadcast press conference.
“Been doing this for 31 years and nothing like this has ever happened before.”
Mr. Houchin told reporters that the coroner was not sent to the nursing home because Ms. Glantz had been placed in hospice care and the circumstances were not within the coroner’s jurisdiction. He explained that Mrs. Glantz’s death had been predicted.
Additionally, “a doctor had seen her in the last seven days, and the doctor was willing to sign the death certificate, and… there was nothing suspicious at the time of death”.
The woman’s current condition is unknown. Mr Houchin confirmed her family had been informed of the situation.
Mr Houchin did not name the homes at the center of the accident, but the BBC has sought comment from a nursing home named by local media.
The BBC also contacted the funeral homes named in local media – Butherus, Maser and Love Funeral Home – which said in a statement: “We are proud that our directors and staff I handled the recent incident in the news appropriately and with great care.”
Ms. Glantz is not the only person who was declared dead but revealed she was still alive.
In June last year, 76-year-old Bella Montoya of Ecuador was declared dead after suffering a stroke, placed in a coffin and taken to the funeral parlor for prayers before her burial. Five hours later, she was found alive after opening her coffin to change her clothes. However, she died a few days later.
In 2018, a South African woman was initially declared dead after a road accident. was discovered alive in a morgue refrigerator.
Dr Stephen Hughes, senior lecturer in medicine at Anglia Ruskin University Medical School in Chelmsford, said such cases were rare but “death is a process”.
Dr Hughes told the BBC after the incident in Ecuador: “Sometimes someone looks like they’re dead but they’re not really dead. “Careful examination is required.”
Dr. Hughes added that doctors typically look for heart sounds or breathing for at least a minute before declaring someone dead, and some medications can also slow down the body’s processing processes, Dr. Hughes added. making someone appear to have passed away.
