Hospice patient declared dead found alive by shocked funeral home staff

A hospice patient who was declared dead has stunned funeral home staff after being found alive.

Constance Glantz, 74, had been pronounced dead on Monday morning at a nursing home in Lincoln, Nebraska before being transferred to a funeral home where the unsettling mistake was uncovered.

It’s not the first time someone believed to have been dead was in fact not, after a woman was found alive in the coffin at her own funeral and a man believed to have been cremated was discovered alive and well.

For a funeral home worker at Butherus-Maser & Love Funeral Home in Nebraska, the discovery that Glantz was still alive was made as they tended to her body and noticed she showed signs of breathing, reports ABC News.

The worker performed CPR and called the emergency services to the scene. Glantz was transported to a hospital nearby and continues to be treated.

“It’s a very unusual case,” Lancaster County Chief Deputy Ben Houchin said, adding: “Been doing this [for] 31 years and nothing like this has ever gotten to this point before.”

While an investigation is being held, the nursing home that mistakenly believed Glantz to be dead is not expected to face charges due to the nature of the care they provide and the fact that staff had been anticipating her imminent passing.

Additionally, there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding her “death”.

Houchin explained: “We have not been able to find any criminal intent by the nursing home but the investigation is ongoing.”

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