WINNEBAGO COUNTY, WI (WTAQ) – While plenty of attention has been given to this week’s drug arrest of State Representative John Nygren’s daughter Cassandra Nygren, it’s far from an isolated incident.
Winnebago County already has 14 confirmed drug-related deaths this year, with another 14 pending.
This year’s confirmed cases are a fairly even split between heroin and prescription drugs.
County Coroner Barry Busby describes the trend he’s seen since taking the position.
“For five years when I first became coroner, we were averaging about five overdoses per year. The next eight years it went to 15, and that was with a spike in prescription drug abuse. The highest we’ve been is about 30.”
Busby notes that of the 14 confirmed cases this year, the youngest person was 31 and the oldest was 68.
He says that’s unusual since many victims are often in the 18-30 age range.
Department of Health Services says similar patterns have shown up in the statewide numbers, with the number of opioid-related deaths jumping from 333 in 2006 to 614 in 2015.
Busby says his office is looking to find trends in an effort to prevent future cases.
