North Kansas City student dies of fentanyl overdose; Clay County drug squad investigates
A sophomore enrolled at Oak Park High School has died after he unknowingly took a pill containing a lethal dose of the drug fentanyl, North Kansas City School District leaders said Wednesday.
Principal Chris McCann sent a letter to families announcing the sudden death of the student, Ethan Everly, on Tuesday afternoon. He said resources were being made available to help others process grief.
Meanwhile, the Everly family has created a fundraiser seeking donations for funeral expenses on GoFundMe.
“We as a family would greatly appreciate any donations for Ethan and his funeral services,” the webpage says. “This was very unexpected and we want to support our mom and dad in any way possible. Ethan was a very young courageous man and deserves a beautiful goodbye.”
The death of the student comes amid a national rise in overdoses associated with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is potentially 100 times stronger than morphine and 50 times as potent as heroin. The federal Drug Enforcement Agency has warned that the drug is frequently sold on the street and is often being pressed into pills and marketed as prescription painkillers or laced with other drugs.
In Clay County, the sheriff’s office has opened several investigations related to overdoses that have occurred within the past year. There were nine fatalities investigated by the agency last year compared with two in 2020, said Sarah Boyd, a spokeswoman for the office.
“They’ve definitely been on the rise,” Boyd said of the recent wave of overdoses, adding that fentanyl has become a primary focus of the agency’s drug squad. “The challenge is getting to the source.”
Boyd said the sheriff’s office is handling the investigation of Everly’s death at the request of Gladstone police. Detectives will be searching for clues to lead them to whoever sold the fatal pill as they seek to track the supply chain to the highest level they are able, she said.
In response to the rise in overdoses, the sheriff’s office has also launched an awareness campaign to bring attention to the dangers associated with fentanyl. The next summit is scheduled for April 25 at Vineyard Church, 12300 NW Arrowhead Trafficway, in Kansas City.
Susan Hiland, a North Kansas City district spokeswoman, said in a statement Wednesday that the Clay County Sheriff’s Department and Tri-County Mental Health will provide students and families with education on fentanyl and other drugs in the near future.
Correction: An earlier version of this story understated the potency of fentanyl relative to heroin. Fentanyl is estimated to be 50 times more potent than heroin, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency.
This story was originally published March 30, 2022 at 6:25 PM.
