Horror as funeral home realise ‘dead’ woman was actually very much alive

Staff working at a funeral home in America were left horrified after discovering that a 'dead' woman released to them was actually very much alive.

Finding a living person instead of a dead body inside a funeral home sounds like the stuff of nightmares or horror film plots - however, for staff at a Nebraska funeral home, this turned out to be a terrifyingly real incident.

Constance Glantz, 74, had been taken to the funeral home after staff at the hospice she was receiving treatment at believed she had passed away.

Following her arrival at Butherus-Maser & Love Funeral Home in Lincoln, Nebraska, an undertaker who'd been tasked with preparing her body discovered she was breathing and immediately called 911.

Emergency services attended to the scene and performed CPR on Ms. Glantz before taking her to hospital, where further updates on her condition were not made public.

Following the incident, Lancaster County Police Department hosted a press conference, in which Chief Deputy Ben Houchin answered questions from the public.

Staff at the funeral home got quite the shock after learning the supposedly deceased woman was, in fact, alive. (Getty Stock Images)

"It’s a very unusual case," he said, before going on to explain that staff at the funeral home realised Ms. Glantz was alive after placing her onto a table to begin preparing her body for burial.

"[An employee] noticed that she was breathing," Houchin explained of the situation, adding that she is still alive and that an investigation has been opened into the case.

He added that police have not 'been able to find any criminal intent by the nursing home' but added that the investigation is ongoing.

For anyone reading who might now be terrified that they could one day end up in a funeral home while still alive, the Chief Deputy was keen to stress that this case was extremely 'unusual' and had happened due to the a coroner not being called to the scene.

Chief Deputy Ben Houchin told press an investigation was ongoing. (Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office)

He explained that it is usually common practice for a coroner to be called out to examine a body before it is released to a funeral home.

However, in Ms. Glantz's case, it was not deemed necessary as she was in a hospice.

It is not known if a doctor had signed a death certificate before she was moved.

"It did not fall into those perimeters to have to call us to do a coroner investigation," he said, revealing that her death was anticipated and she had been seen by a physician in the previous seven days.

Houchin went on add that her family has since been notified about the case.

"[I've] been doing this 31 years and nothing like this has ever gotten to this point before."