Dead Man Wakes On Way To Morgue: Man Awakes After Being Declared Dead And Feeling ‘Cold To The Touch’

A dead man woke up on his way to a morgue after being pronounced dead following his collapse at home. 13 News One reports that the 46-year-old Milwaukee man’s girlfriend called police Tuesday when she hadn’t heard from him in a while. When police entered Thomas Sancomb’s apartment, he was found unconscious at the foot of his bed.

Authorities found him reportedly “cold to the touch and in rigor.” No one attempted to resuscitate him because they believed he was dead.

Just when Sancomb’s body was about to be removed from the scene, he began moving his arms and legs. He was immediately taken to the hospital. His brother, John, says that he’s “doing better each day.”

News further reports that the dead man who woke on his way to the morgue hadn’t contacted his girlfriend in two days. Paramedics from the Milwaukee Fire Department presumed the man to be dead, but after he was rushed to the hospital, the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner redacted death off his report. Sancomb was pronounced dead at 2.10 p.m. at the apartment, forensic investigator, Genevieve M. Penn, documented in the report.

When Sancomb’s brother was contacted by Penn, he requested that an autopsy be done to learn the cause of death. When a transport team showed up to remove the body, however, Sancomb started having “spontaneous respirations.” He started wiggling his left arm and right leg, but a pulse wasn’t present. She called paramedics back to Sancomb’s apartment and alerted his family. At that point, the man’s pulse had returned.

An assistant fire chief is having the incident looked into.

“We’re doing an internal investigation to make sure that everything we did followed protocol. It’s an active investigation, so I can’t comment in detail.”

Newser reports that the dead man who woke on his way to the morgue was transported to Columbia St. Mary’s Hospital. Not much else is given on the circumstances surrounding why Sancomb was found in a manner that made people think he was dead due to federal privacy laws, hospital spokesman, Evan Solochek, said.

John Sancomb said that his brother would drink or smoke a cigar every now and then, but didn’t use drugs. He did note that two weeks ago, he noticed he wasn’t walking well. It’s unclear if this had anything to do with him collapsing while at home. No one else is commenting on the incident.

[Photo Credit: Photo by John Moore/Getty Images]