Coroner’s report shows a drop in overdose deaths in 2025, but suicide is ‘epidemic’

Aug 7, 2026 By Brad Hundt 2 min read

There were fewer overdose deaths in Washington County in 2025 compared to the year before, but suicide “remains epidemic.”

According to the annual report released Wednesday by the office of Washington County Coroner Timothy Warco, there were 47 overdose deaths in the county last year, down from 57 in 2024, and far fewer than the 109 overdose deaths in 2016, the year such deaths hit their peak in this region as a result of the opioid epidemic.

The report stated, however, that “overdose deaths continue to become more complicated to investigate, due to the number of different substances found. In years previous, it was common to see only one or two compounds responsible for a death, such as heroin and cocaine.”

Warco’s report said two “novel compounds” turned up in the county last year and contributed to a handful of overdose deaths – medetomidine, a potent veterinary tranquilizer, and mitragynine, an unregulated drug sold as an herbal remedy or supplement. Mitragynine also goes by the name kratom and can be found in some gas stations and convenience stores. Long-term use can cause a stroke, and Warco believes that occurred in one case last year.

Fentanyl remained the most frequently used drug in fatal overdoses, accounting for 48% of cases Warco’s office investigated last year, followed by cocaine at 17% and xylazine, another veterinary sedative, at 11%. The greatest number of overdose deaths occurred to people in their 40s.

The report also stated there were 35 deaths as a result of suicide in the county in 2025, three more than in 2024. The overwhelming number were men and 55% of all the cases involved people over the age of 60.

Also, there were 17 automobile or transportation-related deaths in Washington County in 2025, a decrease from the 30 that happened the year before. Of the 10 that occurred on a road, only one person who died was wearing a seat belt. According to the report, seven of the operators died under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and four of those were under the influence of marijuana.

The report states that “the vast majority of motor vehicle fatalities could certainly have been prevented.”