TURNING TRAGEDY TO A GOOD PURPOSE

HAMPTON -- Eighteen months after their son, Bob, died from an overdose of
illegal drugs, Philip and Pauline Strand believe his death could have been
prevented by Grinnell police.

The Strands say their son would be alive today if police in Grinnell, a
city of about 9,200 in central Iowa's Poweshiek County, had removed items
from a vehicle they had impounded -- including a drug-laced water bottle.
The Strands claim the water bottle was left in the vehicle by two people
involved in a Grinnell drug arrest.

While Grinnell police decline to comment on their policy for inventorying
such items, the case has gotten the attention of State Rep. Linda Upmeyer,
R-Garner, who wants items left in impounded vehicles bagged before owners
pick up the vehicles.

Robert "Bob" Strand, 19, Hampton, died May 23, 2007, after allegedly
drinking water from a meth-laced water bottle he found in a car involved in
a drug arrest. Friends and family say he thought the water bottle belonged
to his girlfriend, Jordan Kruszka of Thornton.

Police say that his death resulted from an accidental overdose of
methamphetamine and D amphetamine, but his parents say there's more to the
story.

"I tell people he died because he was thirsty, and sometimes I say he was
poisoned," Pauline said.

Bob's older half brother, Keith Johnson, bought the car in March 2007 for
someone under 18 under the condition that the title be transferred out of
his name within 30 days. However, before the title was transferred the teen
he sold it to and another person were arrested for possession of
methamphetamine. The car was involved in the arrest and impounded by the
Grinnell Police Department.

Because the title still was in Johnson's name, he had the choice of having
it auctioned off or picking it up and selling it to someone else. He
decided to sell the car to Kruszka.

On May 23, Kruszka's mother drove her, Strand and Johnson to Grinnell to
pick up the car. Included in the car were all of its contents, including
two PlayStations and CDs that belonged to the two people who were arrested.

"They asked the police if it was safe," Pauline Strand said. "They didn't
want to get caught with drugs on the way home."

It was on the way home, according to his parents, that Strand took a drink
from the water bottle. After the first two gulps he stopped and asked what
was in it.

Johnson, who is a recovered meth addict, took a sip of it and immediately
knew it was meth. What they didn't know was that an autopsy later would
show that Strand had swallowed almost six times the lethal amount of meth.

The Stands said their son died about an hour after returning to Hampton. He
became sick and stopped breathing at Johnson's apartment and was taken by
ambulance to Franklin General Hospital where he died.

Because he hadn't sought medical attention and the complexity of the case,
lawyers have told the family it can't sue anyone for damages.

"It was like dominoes," Pauline Strand said. "You look back on the whole
thing, and it's like, man, click, click, click."

The Hampton Police Department recovered several bottles from the vehicle
and Jim Wobschall, police chief, said at least one tested positive for
methamphetamine.

Friends and family claim the water bottle was in the car when they picked
it up. The Grinnell Police Department declined to comment on whether the
water bottle was in the vehicle.

The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation looked into the incident, and
Jessica Lown, spokesperson for the Iowa Department of Public Safety said,
"We don't have any information that can lead us to conclude one way or
another."

Procedures for documenting and removing items from impounded vehicles
varies between law enforcement agencies and case by case.

Upmeyer hopes to see that change. She's been discussing the incident with
the Iowa Department of Public Safety and other people.

"I don't want to be heavy handed and make a whole lot of extra work for
individuals, but on the other hand this was a loss of life," she said.

She'd like to see a policy, rule or law that would require all the items in
a car be placed in a bag before being handed off to its owner or someone
else. Upmeyer is considering other ideas, too.

"This was an unnecessary loss of life," she said. "If that water bottle
hadn't been there, this wouldn't have happened. I just don't want to see
that again."

Pauline and Philip Strand don't want to see it happen again either, which
is why they're sharing their story.

"I think anyone is in danger," Philip said. "The police don't have to take
anything out of a car unless they deem it of worth. There could have been a
gun in that car."

"If it happened to us, as bizarre as it is, it could happen again," Pauline
said.