Emergency responders believed the infant had drowned. Then they found a pulse, deputies say

Tragedy may have been avoided Tuesday after hospital staff said 1-year-old boy had a pulse a short time after he was pronounced dead, according to the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office.

The sheriff’s office had received notice around 4 p.m. on Tuesday from the mother called saying her son appeared to have drowned in a container holding rainwater at a home in Caruthers on Walnut and Saginaw avenues.

The child was with siblings playing outside when one of the children alerted the mother that the boy needed help. She found the child in the container of water, deputies said in a news release.

Relatives tried to performed CPR but when emergency medical services arrived they found the child unresponsive. He was then airlifted to CRMC and pronounced dead, authorities said in the statement.

The hospital then contacted the sheriff’s office and said the boy had a pulse, Fresno County Sheriff’s spokesman Tony Botti said in a telephone interview.

It wasn’t immediately clear for how long the child had been in the water.