Apache Junction police investigating where toddler got fentanyl after overdose death

APACHE JUNCTION, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) -- Apache Junction police are investigating after a 3-year-old boy died from fentanyl. Officers said the boy’s family took him to the hospital, and they’re cooperating with detectives. However, police said they do not know where the child got the fentanyl and how it got into his system.

“It is a very tragic situation anytime you have a child, a three-year-old child, that would happen to,” said Apache Junction Police Lt. Daniel Saldana, who grew up in the city. “I think fentanyl from Apache Junction to Phoenix is something a lot of people struggle with.”

Sarah Grado is the Chief Programs Officer for an organization called ‘notMYkid.’ She said the deadly drug has its grip on Arizona’s youth, sometimes on accident. “At ‘notMYkid,’ we’ve heard a dramatic increase of families sharing that they’ve lost a teen to opioids and fentanyl. The teens thought they were taking something else, and it turned out to be a counterfeit pill containing fentanyl, and in a lot of these cases, it was the teen’s first time,” said Grado.

Police in Apache Junction said the boy was traveling between Apache Junction, Mesa and Maricopa County islands before his family took him to the hospital. Officers are still investigating where the child found the fentanyl.

At this time, no charges have been filed. “Typically, when you have your investigations we need to investigate it fully. We want to make sure we have all the facts of everything that happened, so we don’t just make an arrest on situations right away. We have to work with Pinal County Attorney’s Office, wait for medical examiners office. They have to do an autopsy and find out all the facts before we can make that decision,” said Lt. Saldana.

If you need any resources to educate the youth on fentanyl, click here. https://notmykid.org/.

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