Fentanyl has killed more than 850 in KC area. Here are the stories of 26 lives cut short

They were sons and daughters. Parents. Sisters and brothers. High school students. A toddler. A man nearing 50. A rapper who wrote his own music.

And yet another had just gotten engaged the night before he was found dead.

All were gone too soon because of a lethal dose of fentanyl their families say they didn’t know they were taking. The illicit drug — the most deadly authorities have ever encountered — has overwhelmed local police and sheriff’s departments on both sides of the state line in the nine-county Kansas City area since 2018.

“One pill can kill — one time, one pill. And that (mantra) is so true,” said Crystal Tucker, who son, Lantz, died in 2020 at 22. “This is a war on our kids. And our only weapon is awareness. There’s nothing else that’s going to protect your kids other than awareness and talking to them and sharing stories … to put a real face to this evil that’s out there.”

These are some of the faces from our area. Some were just beginning their lives. Others were hoping for a fresh start.

Until fentanyl took it away.

“It’s poison — I don’t even consider it a drug,” said Amber Saale-Burger, whose stepdaughter, Kaylee, 22, died in August. “It’s poisoning their minds. It’s poisoning their bodies, and it’s taken out a whole generation of kids.”

Illustrations by Neil Nakahodo and page development by Susan Merriam and David Newcomb.

This story was originally published November 2, 2023 at 6:10 AM.