An Arizona toddler who was pulled from a backyard swimming pool was declared dead by a doctor at a Gilbert hospital, moved into a morgue area, and then found breathing more than five hours later when a medical examiner’s transporter arrived, according to police records reviewed by two Arizona television stations.
ABC15 investigator Nicole Grigg and 12 News reporter Gabriella Bachara both reported that the child, identified in police documents as an 18-month-old boy, was taken to Mercy Gilbert Medical Center after being found face down in a family pool on Super Bowl Sunday in February.
What happened after that rescue attempt is now the subject of serious scrutiny.
Police reports and heavily redacted body-camera footage show that officers, nurses, and the child’s parents raised concerns that he still appeared to be breathing or gasping after a doctor pronounced him dead. Despite those reported signs, the toddler was moved to the hospital’s “cold room,” an area used as the morgue, before he was later found alive.
The boy was flown to Phoenix Children’s Hospital after the discovery. Police records cited by Bachara said he is expected to survive, though Grigg reported that an MRI showed brain damage and that the child is expected to need lifelong care.
Mercy Gilbert Medical Center called the case “heartbreaking” and said it conducted an immediate review of the care provided. The hospital said it could not discuss specific details because of patient privacy, but said it was working with the family and their representative.
Child Was Pulled From Pool On Super Bowl Sunday
According to Bachara’s 12 News report, Gilbert police began responding around 5:30 p.m. on February 8 after the toddler was found face down in a backyard pool near Higley and Chandler Heights roads.
The child had reportedly been underwater for an unknown amount of time.
Police officers accompanied the ambulance to Mercy Gilbert Medical Center, where emergency doctors and nurses took over lifesaving efforts. The footage reviewed by both stations shows the urgency of the first moments at the hospital, though much of the video was blurred and much of the audio was removed before public release.
Grigg said officers were present inside the hospital as medical personnel worked on the toddler, and the body-camera footage later became central because it documented what police say they observed after the doctor stopped resuscitation efforts.
At approximately 6:20 p.m., the doctor declared the child dead.
“If there’s no objections, I’d like to call time of death,” the doctor can be heard saying in footage cited by Bachara. “Time of death 18:20. Moment of silence.”
That declaration should have marked the end of the emergency response. Instead, according to the police reports, it became the beginning of a chain of events that has raised questions about how signs of life were interpreted and why the child was transferred to the morgue.
Officers Reported Seeing Signs Of Life
Nicole Grigg reported that one officer documented a tense exchange after a nurse in another room believed she had detected a pulse.
According to the officer’s written account, the officer attempted to alert the doctor and was told that the doctor had the medical degree and needed to be allowed to do his job. A portion of that exchange appears in the released body-camera footage.
“I went to medical school for a reason,” the doctor can be heard saying in the video reviewed by ABC15.
The officer’s police report described the doctor as dismissive, but the full context of the medical decision-making is not visible in the publicly released video. Much of the audio remains redacted, and the hospital has not publicly provided a detailed medical explanation for why the child was declared dead.
Still, the reports say that concerns did not end after the declaration.
Bachara reported that several people, including officers and the child’s parents, questioned whether the toddler was still breathing. One officer wrote that the child seemed to be gasping for air, while a nurse reportedly characterized the sounds as agonal breathing, or movements not considered true breathing.
That distinction may be medically important, but it is also one of the most troubling elements of the case because officers continued documenting signs they believed could indicate life.
Grigg reported that an officer wrote the release of air was “audible and visible,” and later said the toddler appeared to be gasping. Those observations continued as the child was being prepared for transfer out of the emergency treatment area.
The Toddler Was Moved To The Morgue
The police records reviewed by both stations describe a period of roughly an hour after the death declaration in which officers continued to note possible signs of life.
Grigg said the reports describe audible gasps after the toddler had been declared dead and before he was moved into the morgue area.
One officer wrote that, as medical staff were preparing to take the child to the cold room, she heard what appeared to be another audible gasp. The same officer later documented another possible gasp or release of air after the child was inside the morgue.
That account is particularly alarming because, according to the report, the officer believed the sign of life occurred nearly an hour after the doctor had declared the toddler dead.
A nurse reportedly told the officer that the sounds could have been a response to earlier resuscitation efforts rather than evidence that the child was alive.
The public records do not establish whether the hospital staff’s interpretation was medically correct at the time or why the child’s condition was not reassessed before he was transferred. Those are questions that may be addressed through the hospital’s internal review, potential civil action, regulatory investigation, or future public disclosures.
What is known from the reports is that the toddler was placed in the hospital morgue at approximately 7:23 p.m.
For his parents, the period after that likely involved the unimaginable belief that their child had died. The body-camera video includes officers telling the family they could go in and say goodbye, according to Grigg’s report.
Medical Examiner’s Transporter Found Him Breathing
At 11:52 p.m., more than five hours after the doctor’s declaration, a transporter from the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office arrived to collect the child’s body.
Instead, the transporter found that the toddler was still breathing.
Grigg reported that the child was then flown to Phoenix Children’s Hospital for further treatment, where the family learned he was alive.
Bachara said police records indicate the child is expected to survive.
The relief of discovering that the toddler had not died is difficult to separate from the severity of what came before it. The child had suffered a near-drowning incident, undergone emergency treatment, been pronounced dead, and then spent hours inside a morgue area before being found alive.
Grigg reported that an MRI showed the boy had brain damage and that he is expected to require lifelong care.
The family’s attorney declined to comment to ABC15, and the reports did not provide additional details about the child’s current treatment, prognosis, or the extent of the brain injury.
Cases involving near-drownings are medically complex, and the public reporting does not provide enough information to determine which injuries resulted from the initial pool incident, which may have worsened over time, or what effect the delay may have had. Those questions will likely be at the center of any future investigation.
Hospital Says It Conducted An Immediate Review
Mercy Gilbert Medical Center issued a statement to both stations after the records became public.
“This is a heartbreaking situation,” the hospital said. “We immediately conducted a thorough review of all aspects of the care that was provided to learn what happened and to make meaningful changes to strengthen our care.”
The hospital added that it could not discuss details because of the child’s privacy, but said it was continuing to work with the family and the family’s representative. It also said patient safety and exceptional care remained its highest priority.
That statement acknowledges the seriousness of the event without explaining how a child pronounced dead could later be found breathing inside a morgue.
Grigg reported that the doctor named in the police report was identified as Dr. A. Toosi. Public licensing records, according to ABC15, showed that Dr. Aryan Toosi is licensed through the Arizona Osteopathic Board. An attorney representing the doctor declined to comment and said there were important medical facts not yet publicly reported.
That response is significant because it suggests the medical side of the case may be more complicated than what is visible in the footage and police reports. At the same time, the documented timeline remains extraordinary: repeated concerns about breathing, transfer to the morgue, and a later discovery that the child was alive.
Separate Review Still Examines The Pool Incident
The near-drowning itself remains under review by law enforcement.
Grigg reported that Gilbert police sent the case to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office to determine whether the child’s parents could face charges connected to the drowning. A spokesperson for the county attorney’s office said the matter remained under review.
That inquiry is separate from the questions surrounding the hospital’s care.
The two issues should not be blended together. The pool incident concerns how the child ended up in the water and whether any criminal negligence occurred before first responders arrived. The hospital questions concern what happened after the toddler was delivered to medical professionals for emergency treatment.
Both may involve difficult facts, and both could take time to investigate.
For now, the case stands as one of the most disturbing medical emergencies described in recent Arizona reporting: a toddler was declared dead, family members were told to say goodbye, police officers reported repeated signs of life, and the child was later found breathing in a hospital morgue.
The boy is alive, according to police, but the questions surrounding the hours between the death declaration and the medical examiner’s arrival are likely far from resolved.
Mark grew up in the heart of Texas, where tornadoes and extreme weather were a part of life. His early experiences sparked a fascination with emergency preparedness and homesteading. A father of three, Mark is dedicated to teaching families how to be self-sufficient, with a focus on food storage, DIY projects, and energy independence. His writing empowers everyday people to take small steps toward greater self-reliance without feeling overwhelmed.
