WAOW - Newsline 9, Wausau News, Weather, SportsLatest: Likely overdose hits community hard

Latest: Likely overdose hits community hard

by Meg Bonacorsi

LAC DU FLAMBEAU (WAOW) -- One Lac Du Flambeau woman is dead and two others are hospitalized.. in what police are calling a likely drug overdose.

This tragedy is hitting the tight-knit community hard.

Not only because a life was lost, but because it's another blow to the tribe's long-time battle with drug abuse.

Susanne Williams, who says she knew the victim well says, "She was a beautiful girl, very sweet, very gentle. And it just hurts my heart that she's gone now."

Gone, probably because of drugs.

Lac Du Flambeau Police Chief Elliot Rising Son says, "We're ruling it as a suspicious death and believe that it's involved with prescription medications."

The woman who owns this home says she found the 22-year-old dead at her kitchen table. Although police haven't confirmed it, the homeowner says the victim and the two hospitalized women were taking methadone - a strong painkiller - the night before.

Rising Son says, "We're trying to like I said fill in the questions whether those two are overdose cases or possibly related to this overdose case."

The homeowner says the victim came over to eat and sleep because she had been kicked out of her house. Apparently the young woman was nodding off while she ate and ended up falling asleep at the table. The homeowner says she couldn't move her and went to bed when the girl started snoring. She says she woke up to find her dead.

The victim's name has yet to be released, but her family was notified, which Vilas County Coroner Paul Tirpe says is one of the most difficult things to do, "All deaths are hard. There is no easy way of doing it. "

As for the Lac Du Flambeau Police Chief, he says one word sums up the 22-year-old's death, "Devastating.  For the community, the family members, I mean it's such a small community."

A community that unfortunately, is no stranger to drug overdoses.

Williams says, "Everybody's bickering about each other, they're not looking at the kids, what the kids need."

The coroner hopes to have a preliminary autopsy completed by tomorrow.

Police say when they find out who gave the victim the drug, they will recommend that the Vilas County District Attorney press charges.

Online Reporter: Meg Bonacorsi