Kokomo police and fire departments help a man and a woman found unconscious by the Wildcat Creek under the railroad bridge southeast of Future Park on Oct. 10. They were both unconscious but breathing due to a drug overdose and were given Narcan. Staff photo by Tim Bath
Kokomo police and fire departments help a man and a woman found unconscious by the Wildcat Creek under the railroad bridge southeast of Future Park on Oct. 10. They were both unconscious but breathing due to a drug overdose and were given Narcan. Staff photo by Tim Bath
KOKOMO – Howard County Coroner Steven Seele on Monday released third-quarter death statistics, which officially make 2017 the deadliest year for drug overdoses in county history.

Notably, 14 deaths were ruled by the coroner’s office to be drug overdoses, putting the 2017 total at 37 overdose deaths, surpassing the previous high of 34 in 2015.

There were 24 overdose deaths in 2016.

Nine of the overdose deaths involved opiates or opioids, including two heroin- and four fentanyl-related deaths. Five of the overdose deaths involved methamphetamine and four involved synthetic cannabinoids or another psychoactive substance, according to Seele. Alcohol was present in three of the cases.

“In the majority of overdoses cases, there is more than one substance involved which results in a mixed drug intoxication.  While opiates and opioids are still on the forefront in our nation, heroin deaths have decreased while fentanyl deaths increased in Howard County this past quarter,” noted Seele, describing the period from July 1 to Sept. 30.

The cost of autopsies and toxicology tests totaled $61,655 during the year’s third quarter, he said.

“I have a major concern over the increasing use of the synthetic cannabinoids (spice), synthetic cathinones (bath salts), and ‘chemi’ which is short for chemical,” said Seele. “‘Chemi’ is either shipped in from foreign sources or manufactured in clandestine labs.

“These substances have gained popularity amongst users that are involved with the legal system as a way of preventing a positive urine test. The user is entering the land of the unknown when abusing these substances which can result in instant cardiac death.”

Later, Seele highlighted the difficulty and high costs that go into trying to specifically identify illicit chemical substances.

“In some cases, we know based on our investigation that the death is the result from one of these substances, but it is often difficult to isolate illicit substances made in clandestine labs or from foreign sources,” he noted. “The cost involved in isolating these chemicals through toxicology testing is extremely high. It is like trying to locate a needle in a haystack.”
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