14 probable overdose deaths reported in Milwaukee County
Updated: 4:32 p.m. on July 29, 2019
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office is investigating 14 possible overdose deaths since Friday.
Twelve people died over the weekend, two died Monday morning.
“This is really alarming,” Sara Schreiber, Forensic Technical Director with the ME’s Office said.
She said it is soon to know what drugs are to blame, but this is the biggest spike they've seen in possible overdose deaths in a very long time.
“It’s too early to say they were all opioid-related,” Schreiber said. “Many had that in their history, but we can’t work off of that exclusively.”
The victims are six men and eight women.
The youngest is 21 years old, the oldest 63.
Schreiber said the spike could be caused by a variety of reasons.
“Sometimes it’s because of an increase in potency, sometimes it’s a change in the drug in an area that people aren’t used to using...something that catches them off guard,” she said.
The probable overdoses happened across the county including Milwaukee, West Allis, Cudahy, and South Milwaukee.
All of the deaths are still under investigation.
On Sunday, three of the deaths happened within just one hour.
Bell Ambulance responded to many of the calls.
All of their ambulances are equipped with Narcan, but if too much time has passed it can be too late.
“If the patient is already in cardiac arrest, Narcan isn’t going to work,” Brett Meyer, Bell Ambulance Operations Coordinator, said. “They need some respiratory drive for it to work.”
Meyer says some signs of an overdose are an altered mental state as well as small pupils.
If you suspect someone is having an overdose, call 911.
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Updated: 10:58 a.m. on July 29, 2019
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- In a tweet around 10:00 a.m. Monday morning, the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office said it was responding to the 14th probable overdose death since Friday, July 26.
MCMEO currently responding to the 14th probable OD death since Friday morning. #doseofrealityWI
— Medical Examiner (@mkemedexamine) July 29, 2019
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Updated: 7:34 a.m. on July 29, 2019
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office says it responded to 13 probable overdose deaths from Friday through Monday morning.
The 13th overdose was reported Monday morning around 1:30 a.m.
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Posted: 8:04 p.m. on July 28, 2019
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The Milwaukee Medical Examiner's Office is reporting three additional probable overdose deaths on Sunday. They say these three deaths were all reported in less than an hour.
With the three deaths reported on Sunday, the Milwaukee Medical Examiner's Office says there have been a total of 12 probable overdoses in Milwaukee County since Friday.
Autopsies on the probable overdose victims will be performed on Monday.