CHOWAN COUNTY, NC — The Chowan County Sheriff's Office said there used to be a time when there were fentanyl overdose deaths, but one deputy said a recent spike in those deaths is a cause for concern.
News
Chowan Co. Sheriff warns of suspected fentanyl circulating in community
The Chowan County Sheriff's Office and Edenton Police Department are warning the public of a "potentially dangerous" batch of suspected fentanyl that may be circulating through the community.
According to the release, the sheriff's office says law enforcement has responded to multiple calls for service involving apparent overdoses, including four deaths in the past 10 days.
"Usually it seems that whenever these overdoses do occur, family members or friends are on scene with life-saving measures to include Narcan, CPR, different things like that," said Chief Deputy John McArthur. "Unfortunately, with these deaths that occurred here and so on. That was not possible."
According to the Office of the North Carolina Medical Examiner, the state saw 324 overdose deaths in Nov. 2023.
The most recent cases in Chowan County, according to Deputy McArthur, involved multiple parts of the county.
"It's not just young people that were some middle-aged people and even some older than middle-aged people," McArthur said.
Elizabeth Ripley, of Portsmouth, knows the pain all too well. She lost her son to fentanyl poisoning in 2021, just six days before his 22nd birthday.
"The fact that he's gone and that he's not coming back. That won't ever change," Ripley told News 3's Jay Greene. "You wake up every morning, and you have to relive it. Because when you wake up, oh, it was just a bad dream. No, it wasn't."
Ripley said Warren took a pill that he thought was Xanax but ended up being fentanyl.
Now, she's working to educate the public about Narcan, the life-saving medication that could save the life of someone who has overdosed.
"Trying to make sure that we can get as many people as we can train to administer Narcan and carry Narcan because unfortunately, that's the only way we're going to be able to help people nowadays," Ripley said.
While the cases in Chowan County remain under investigation, Deputy McArthur hopes he can educate his community, as well.
"Understand the benefits of calling 911 Even when something scary like this is happening and you're in fear for your own safety or repercussions if you are also struggling with addiction," he said.
