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Thurston County Jail dealing with rash of fentanyl overdoses

OLYMPIA, Wash. — The Thurston County Jail is currently seeing a spike in fentanyl overdoses.

Since March 5, the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office says six inmates have overdosed. One inmate died from an overdose Monday, and another was rushed to the hospital in critical condition Tuesday.

Four inmates were able to be revived with naloxone over the past week and a half — but on March 9, an inmate in his late 20s was found unresponsive in his cell. He was rushed to Providence St. Peter Hospital where he died Monday.

Around 12 a.m. Tuesday, corrections staff found a man in his mid 30s unresponsive. He’s still in critical condition at the hospital.

Independent investigators from Grays Harbor and Mason counties are looking into those two cases.

The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office said it takes narcotics getting into the jail very seriously, and it is continuing measures like full-body scans when inmates are booked.