Updated at 10:46 a.m.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
The (Longview) Daily News reports seven people have died from extremely pure heroin in just five days in Cowlitz County.
Two of the deaths occurred Friday in Kelso and Longview, according to news reporter Leslie Slape.
Cowlitz County Coroner Tim Davidson urged people to immediately call 911 for aid if a family member, loved one or friend uses heroin or any drug and becomes unresponsive, according to the Daily News.
Davidson said the overdose deaths have been instantaneous – respiratory failure – with needles found in the arms or in the hands of the victims.
Lewis County Coroner Warren McLeod indicated this morning there have been no known heroin overdoses in Lewis County at all this year. The Thurston County coroner said he’s had none there.
According to Davidson, the problem is that for whatever reason the uncut, or undiluted, drug has gotten onto the streets and those using it unknowingly inject a lethal dose.
A 49-year-old man was found in the restroom at Fred Meyer in Longview on Friday night, but his partner, a woman who used the same drug, was taken to the hospital and survived, according to Davidson.
All the deaths have occurred in and around Kelso and Longview, but Davidson is hearing from his pathologist of others in regions to the south of Cowlitz County.
The dead include four men and three women from their early 20s to their late 50s from “all different walks of life,” Davidson said.
“It’s not isolated to one little group,” he said.
And other individuals locally have overdosed and been saved in the past few days, he said.
Yesterday as he was monitoring the radio he was still hearing of more overdose aid calls, he said, although the most recent death was Monday night.
On Tuesday night, the body of a 39-year-old Kelso man was found dumped on the west side of Longview by his buddies who got scared, Davidson said.
Cowlitz County might normally see about two heroin overdose deaths per month, he said.
Law enforcement is investigating to see if they can figure out where it’s coming from, but his biggest concern is public safety, Davidson said.
Anyone with information can call CrimeStoppers anonymously, he said.
Read more, here
@Randi Beck-First,now not only Lewis county is corruption,but Cowlitz county too?? ( said,sarcastically) that is only said from a person with criminal past,because only ex coins,or ones with criminal pasts say that shit,,and as for ur friend,passing,my condolences,,BUT cowlitz law enforcement didn’t kill her,heroin did,,,,AND if law enforcement had to use any force,that’s because she was combative, and wouldn’t obey their orders,,the heroin in her made her 10 times stronger then if she had been sober,,so the cops did what they had to do,,,,Its still sad,as she never realized,the high she craved and loved so much would end up killing her,yet ,GOD knew her heart and so we can hope she’s in Heaven ,free of all addictions,,,,,I’m not judging,as I lost my husband and sister both to drug overdoses,, and in,myself ,am a recovering method addict,, been clean since 94…
look everyone on here has so much bad stuff to say but i bet not one of you upper class judge mental people could last one week out here on the streets and we are not all bad most of the time we are doing what we have to to survive jenny borilas was my best friends and because the sad excuse for law enforcement in cowlitz county didnt want to get a little dirty they used excessive force in apprehending jenny which led to her very painful tragic death that has affected so many of the homeless people in this town just in the last week one more of my close friends died and another is in icu pretty much brain dead and all everyone can say is if you dont want to die dont use herion if you are not a addict or a recovering addict you have no idea how hard it is to not only get clean but to stay clean i myself have been to treatment at least 8 times i graduated from abhs and the day i graduated i was out getting loaded i have zero support and no stibility there is nowhere near enough resourses in this county to help us so the answer is just through us all in jail ok well what about outreach programs after care or a pre relese program there are so many abandon buildings that we break into to stay warm when you could use some of the thousands of dollars you just blew on re doing west main street in kelso and make a resorse center and homeless shelter so many homeless people are out here freezing when there is no reason for it no one can go to the homeless shelter if they have a warrent cause you will get arrested by cowlitz countys finest i know cause i was arrested there after some very kind people picked me up from the side of the road in december i had no coat and no shoes they bought me subway and took me to the shelter i lied and gave a fake name but was arrested anyway for a tresspassing warrent i got eariler in the year for sleeping under the kelso bridge cause i had nowhere else to go i am just saying everyone needs to stop judging and do something to help i can tell you from personal expirence and all the hardships i have had to walk through no one in this town gives a flying fart in the wind about the homely chalenged drug addicts or the mentaly ill people of cowlitz county we need resorces not jail cells help the problem dont just put a bandaid on something that clearly needs stiches thank you for listening to what i had to say
“cdc”, you can make up all the rosy excuses you want, but that is all it is: excuses. The ones who are killing themselves with heroin are doing it to themselves. The ones who work to get themselves clean of the drugs are taking personal responsibility for their actions… the ones who make up pitiful excuses, well, they want to put the blame on anything and everyone except for themselves.
Not to make light of this because it is sad for the families involved, but a heroin overdose is probably about the most peaceful and pleasant way one can “pass on.” So even though it is a tragedy at least they didn’t suffer. Death is actually a welcoming thought in the eyes of a serious junkie.
Quite simple…want to live – don’t use.
Don’t want to die from using heroin? Pick better ancestors… it is a genetic condition, a disease that you inherit.
A person with ONE alcoholic parent has 4 times the chance of becoming addict/alcoholic. If you have both parents with a history (even if quit), you have little chance of being a ‘social smoker’ or social drinker.
95% of all kids try drugs and/or alcohol by age 25… 20% become addicted. Those 20% do nothing different from their peers… except they pick the wrong parents.
Heroin addicts often start of with pills…. clean, FDA approved, available from granma’s stash (no scunky dealer involved). They get addicted and the next step is heroin – $20 compared to $80 for pills.
Who wants to bet that some of those victims in this story are kids…. nice kids, from nice families… except they inherited the disease of addiction.
Self-correcting…. my ass.
Sounds like a self correcting problem.
Right on, George!
Don’t want to die from using heroin? Then don’t use heroin. It’s as simple as that!