Nine fatal drug overdoses during holiday weekend in Florida Panhandle county

QUINCY, Fla - 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 believe 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. 

READ: Florida's 15-week abortion ban reinstated after state quickly appeals judge's ruling

"Here in Gadsden, I have not heard of any opioid poisoning here in the county as it relates to fentanyl," said Sheriff Morris A. Young in a Facebook video. "But on Friday, it was very apparent that it was here in the county, and we had about 15 calls related to it."

No arrests were immediately announced.