By LAUREN ACTON-TAYLOR, US NEWS REPORTER
Published: 18:32 EST, 4 March 2026 | Updated: 18:34 EST, 4 March 2026
A toddler miraculously came back to life in Arizona hours after drowning in a backyard pool on Super Bowl Sunday, police say.
Emergency crews rushed to a home in Gilbert at around 5.30pm on February 8, as millions tuned into the Super Bowl, after a child was found in a pool.
Despite performing life-saving measures, the child, who has not been identified, was pronounced dead at around 6.20pm, AZFamily reported.
But in a miraculous turn of events, police were told that the child began to show signs of life five hours later.
The child was then airlifted to another hospital in the area and was expected to survive the ordeal, police told the outlet.
Dr Frank LoVecchio, who did not medically treat the child, told the outlet that he had never heard of a scenario as bizarre as this one.
When asked if the child may have been in the morgue for the five hours until showing signs of life, LoVecchio said: 'I guess anything's possible, but it doesn't sound probable.'
'[It's] somewhat hard to believe as a physician,' he said. 'It's hard to believe that they were pronounced dead and then sent to the morgue and hours later they awoke.'
Emergency crews rushed to a home in Gilbert at around 5.30pm on February 8, as millions tuned into the Super Bowl, after a child was found in a pool
The child, who has not been identified, was pronounced dead at around 6.20pm until five hours later when police were told they were showing signs of life and are now expected to recover
Dr Frank LoVecchio, who did not medically treat the child, described the situation as a 'miracle' but was skeptical about how the child could have been pronounced dead for so long
'Maybe. Never say never in medicine. Never say never and never say always, right.'
The physician said that the situation was 'absolutely a miracle,' and theorized that the child's cold temperature from the water could have caused their pulse to be too faint to detect.
However, he said that extra care should have been taken before pronouncing the child deceased.
'If you're overly sensitive, it's when you're pronouncing a child dead,' LoVecchio told the outlet. 'You want to be absolutely sure.'
'Make sure the temperature was adequate, that there is no heartbeat, no movement, no blood pressure.'
LoVecchio added that he believes 'something's missing from the story.'
Arizona Congressman Andy Biggs wrote on Facebook: 'What a miracle for this child. Our first responders and medical personnel are heroes. Also, a reminder to watch all young children around water!'
In 2024, a father in Phoenix pulled his twin daughters, 3, from their backyard pool.
Valentina and Penelope Ruiz accidentally drowned in May of that year and later died in hospital.
In 2024, a father in Phoenix pulled his twin daughters, 3-year-oldValentina and Penelope Ruiz, from their backyard pool
Phoenix Fire Captain Rob McDade said it was 'a tragic scene' as family members tried to perform CPR on the children as first responders arrived at the home
Phoenix Fire Captain Rob McDade said the twin's father was the one who called 911.
'You can imagine what that would look like, how taxing that would be. A tremendous tragic scene,' he said.
McDade added the toddlers were underwater for an 'undetermined amount of time' before help arrived.