Area deaths linked to recreational drug use

Local law enforcement agencies are investigating three deaths they say are the result of the use of recreational narcotics.

Area law enforcement agencies issued the following public service announcement Monday:

“Over the past 48 hours, there have been three suspicious deaths that appear to be related to the recreational usage of narcotics,” the announcement stated. “These deaths have been in the Southeast Missouri region. The public is reminded and encouraged to stay away from any illegal opioid or narcotics usage. Don’t risk it. Just one try and you could die.”

The Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control is assisting the Jackson Police Department with two suspicious deaths in Cape Girardeau County. A Perryville, Missouri, man and Jackson woman, both in their 20s, died from overdoses within the Jackson city limits, as reported by the Jackson Police Department.

A Sikeston, Missouri, woman’s death Sunday has been linked to recreational drug use while another is recovering from an overdose after the two were found in a locked vehicle in Mississippi County.

According to Sgt. Clark Parrott, public information officer with the highway patrol, at 6:53 p.m. Sunday, a state trooper was dispatched to a reported non-injury crash on Interstate 57, near mile marker 4, near the Bertrand, Missouri, exit.

“Upon arrival, there were two occupants that were unresponsive and the doors to the vehicle were locked,” Parrott said. “The trooper made a forced entry into the vehicle and found both subjects with no pulse. The trooper called for backup, administered Narcan to both subjects and started CPR.”

When backup arrived to assist the trooper, two more doses of Narcan were given.

The 46-year-old driver was pronounced dead at the scene at 7:36 p.m. The 40-year-old passenger was transported to Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston and remains in stable condition due to an apparent overdose, Parrott said. The individuals’ names have not been released.

Anyone with information about the deaths is asked to contact a local law enforcement agency or the patrol’s Troop E at (573) 840-9500. Anyone who has a substance abuse problem may call (800)-575-7480 for help.

Southeast Missourian reporter Nicolette Baker contributed to this story.