Pubdate: Wed, 26 Jul 2006 Source: Kalamazoo Gazette (MI) Copyright: 2006 Kalamazoo Gazette Contact: http://www.mlive.com/kzgazette/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/588 Author: Rex Hall Jr. Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin) 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. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman