Two University of Mississippi students have died, and investigators found packaged kratom during the death investigations. Law enforcement is treating the cases as two separate death investigations, and officials say they still have no confirmed evidence linking the deaths or showing that kratom, or any other substance, played a role.
The reason people are searching for the case now is simple: the university has not said how either student died, and the investigation has not produced a clear answer. The Lafayette County coroner confirmed the deaths to Action News 5, while the university said University Police are not aware of any additional student deaths and the causes remain under investigation.
That uncertainty has left the campus community looking for facts in a case where the most concrete detail so far is what investigators found. Packaged kratom purchased from a retail store was discovered during the investigations, but officials have not confirmed that it contributed to either death. The university also said it is aware of unverified information circulating on social media and in the community, and asked people not to speculate about the circumstances.
The response has also sharpened attention on overdose awareness efforts already in place around the university. Just after 1:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 21, public safety officials were dispatched to Stewart Hall on the Ole Miss campus for a report of a possible overdose, and first responders were told the person was unresponsive and CPR was actively in progress. Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch said her office had trained students at The University of Mississippi on how to administer Narcan and had provided tools to help save a life in the event of an overdose.
Fitch said, “One Pill Can Kill is not just a slogan. It’s a fact,” and said her office had worked with universities to raise awareness about fake pills and spread Narcan as far and wide as possible. She also said her office reached out to partners including the Magee Center and HarborPath to surge resources and information. In July, the City of Oxford installed a Narcan vending machine to expand access to life-saving supplies.
For now, the two deaths remain separate investigations, and the central question is still unresolved: what caused them. Officials have ruled out any confirmed link between the cases, and they have not confirmed that kratom or any other substance contributed to either death. That leaves the campus with two losses, a pile of unverified rumors, and an investigation that has yet to give families the answer they need.
