Officials: Nine fatal drug overdoses in rural Florida county

QUINCY, Fla. (AP) — Nine people died over the holiday weekend from likely drug overdoses in a rural Florida Panhandle county, officials said.

After two women were found dead of an apparent overdose Friday, the Gadsden County Sheriff’s Office put out an alert seeking the public’s help to warn others of the possibly polluted drug supply, the Tallahassee Democrat reported. Gadsden County is located northwest of Tallahassee.

Sheriff Morris A. Young said investigators believes the deaths are related to fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid used as a pain medication.

County officials said they’ve confirmed seven of the deaths, while two others remain under investigation.

No arrests were immediately announced.