A woman who was presumed dead was found by a funeral home employee to be still breathing.
Constance Glantz, 74, was receiving hospice care at a nursing home, where staff at the facility were expecting the elderly woman's passing.
Ms. Glantz was then pronounced dead around 9:44am yesterday (June 3), and was transported to Butherus-Maser & Love Funeral Home in Lincoln, Nebraska, shortly after, Lancaster County Sheriff's Office said.
But a member of staff at the funeral home got an unexpected surprise when they discovered that Ms. Glantz was, in fact, still alive and breathing.
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The employee called 911 around 11:44am and funeral home staff then performed CPR on the 74-year-old and she was transported off to hospital where she's still being treated.
Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Lancaster County Chief Deputy Ben Houchin explained: "An employee was placing Constance Glantz onto a table when an employee noticed she was breathing.
"They instantly called 911 and LFR and LBD responded and she was taken to a local hospital and is still alive."
He went on: "LSO has been to the nursing home and we have started out investigation into what had happened.
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"At this point, we have not be able to find any criminal intent by the nursing home, but the investigation is ongoing."
Because her death was anticipated and nothing suspicious had occured, the hospice did not have to contact authorities or a coroner, he added. Her family have also been notified.
Houchin continued to hail the case as 'very unusual', noting that he's been in the profession for over three decades and hadn't seen anything like this happen.
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In a comment to UNILAD, Butherus, Maser and Love Funeral Home said: "Butherus, Maser and Love Funeral Home and our staff are devoted to our community and the families we serve. We are proud that our directors and staff handled the recent incident in the news appropriately and with upmost care. Our prayers go out to the family.
"We thank Lincoln Fire & Rescue and the Lincoln Police Department for their quick response. Thank you to all who have placed their loved ones in our care. We will continue to serve our community with our core values: faith, trust, and compassion."
UNILAD has also contacted Lancaster Police for comment.
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While this is extremely unusual, a similar ordeal happened to a man in Montreal, Canada, after he came home from vacation to find he'd received a piece of mail declaring him dead.
Nick Fatouros was sent a letter by the Ministry of Justice and the 14-page document was a result of an unpaid speeding fine dating back to 2022, with the government asking for the ticket to paid from Nick's estate.
He contested the fine at the time, with Nick then going on an extended trip to Costa Rica.
The government body later admitted that the ordeal was the result of human error.
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"As with any organization, the Department is not immune to human error," Quebec Government told UNILAD in a statement at the time of the ordeal.
"The Collector of Fines inadvertently used a template letter used to correspond with an estate rather than the one normally used to communicate with a defendant. We are sorry about the situation.
"The Department did not declare the defendant dead or notify any other agency of his death."
Niamh Shackleton