FENTANYL BLAMED IN PORTAGE DEATH

Police Seek Source Of Drug

Authorities say an autopsy shows a man found dead at his Portage home
last month was killed by an overdose of fentanyl, which has been
linked to a rash of deaths in Detroit and Chicago.

Portage police investigators had said they suspected that Patrick
Dirkin, 34, died from a mixture of fentanyl and heroin, which has
been blamed for about 200 deaths in the Detroit and Chicago areas.
However, Deputy Chief Dan Mills said an autopsy found fentanyl,
morphine and caffeine, but not heroin, in Dirkin's blood.

Fentanyl, a prescription pain reliever, is a potent form of morphine.
The autopsy listed as a contributing factor in Dirkin's death a 75 to
90 percent blockage of his right coronary artery. Police have said
Dirkin had a history of medical problems and substance abuse.

Police found Dirkin dead in his house in the 6200 block of Marlow
Street on June 22. His mother had reported that Dirkin locked himself
in a bathroom and had been unresponsive. It was the third time
officers were called to the house that day, investigators have said.

Police first responded after a local hospital reported that Dirkin
had been treated and left with an intravenous tube still stuck in his
arm. Officers found Dirkin bleeding from where the tube had been
removed and treated him.

Police were back at the house a second time when a friend of Dirkin's
requested treatment for an apparent overdose. Dirkin's friend, a man
in his mid-30s, was taken to a hospital.

Mills said police are attempting to track down where Dirkin got the
fentanyl, but as of Tuesday they had no leads. Last week, he said,
police identified two males who have allegedly been in possession of
fentanyl, including one who is alleged to have been in possession of
fentanyl-laced heroin. Mills said the two are being investigated but
have not been arrested.

"All I can do is encourage anybody who is involved in this kind of
activity to seek help immediately," Mills said. "It's the same old
story, you don't know what you're getting. You don't know what you're
purchasing if you're doing this in an illicit manner."

Anyone with information about drug activity can call Portage police
at (269) 329-4566.