Skagway, Alaska, reeling after 2 suspected overdose deaths in as many days | 24CA News

People within the small group of Skagway, Alaska, are on edge after two residents died inside hours of one another from suspected overdoses, and police seized a “large number” of drugs believed to be fentanyl.

“I think that everybody’s in a mindset of, you know, trying to figure out exactly what’s going on and make sure that the crisis doesn’t get any worse,” stated Mayor Andrew Cremata on Tuesday.

“In the span of 18 hours, to have two very well-known and well-liked members of the community presumably die because of overdose — you know, we’re kind of reeling from that. We’re not exactly sure how to cope with these things.”

A news launch from Skagway police chief Jerry Reddick on Monday stated that one particular person died on Friday and one other on Saturday, and he attributed the deaths to “suspicions of illicit drug use.”

Reddick stated the deaths prompted “numerous tips” to his division, and on Sunday police seized “a large number of pills that is believed to be fentanyl.”

“The investigation is ongoing and criminal charges are forthcoming,” the discharge states.

Police additionally shared an image of the seized multi-coloured drugs, advising residents who see medicines or drugs that look much like not contact them, and name 911 instantly. They’re additionally urging residents to right away get rid of any illegally-obtained medicine.

“Municipal officials are urging a preponderance of caution,” the discharge states.

‘We did not escape, it simply took longer to get right here’

Melinda Munson, co-publisher of the Skagway News, calls this previous weekend the worst she’s ever skilled in the neighborhood, “and the biggest learning curve.”

The state of Alaska has been grappling with a rising variety of overdose deaths in recent times. It noticed the U.S.’s greatest enhance in drug overdose deaths by state from 2020 to 2021, with the most important enhance in deaths involving fentanyl, or methamphetamines. 

But Skagway gave the impression to be comparatively unaffected, till now. Munson stated there aren’t many methods for unlawful medicine to get into the distant coastal group — it must be both by mail, by boat, or throughout the border from Canada.

“I think everybody thought that we had escaped, you know, this massive nationwide and international-wide issue. But we didn’t escape, it just took longer to get here. Now it’s here,” Munson stated.

“There’s a lot of fear in town right now. A lot of worry, a lot of concern, a lot of sadness.”

The group is often quiet and tight-knit throughout the winter months, and busier throughout the summer season cruise-ship season. The mayor figures there are about 600 to 700 individuals residing on the town proper now, and says that quantity will double over the following few months with some seasonal residents trickling in already. 

Cremata says that regardless of the weekend seizure of drugs, native officers have motive to imagine there’s “still quite a bit out there.”   

“I always assumed that, you know, it was more of a low-level casual use type situation here — because we hadn’t seen overdoses and, you know, the crime or other problems that you might see in a larger community,” Cremata stated.

“But that’s changed. So now it makes me believe that we probably had a larger problem than we were aware of.”