Officials release 911 dispatch call in Ole Miss student death
A treasurer from Ole Miss, Symphany Grier, spoke on ‘Fox & Friends First’ about the heartbreaking deaths of two students, Aidan Hamilton and Robert Strang. Grier mentioned that these incidents have drawn attention to kratom, a controversial herbal extract available for purchase online and in local smoke shops.
In Oxford, Mississippi, police attended to a 22-year-old who was suspected to have overdosed early Thursday morning. Authorities found synthetic kratom nearby, but they clarified that this case is “not student-related” and unrelated to the two student fatalities.
The Oxford Police Department reported that emergency services responded around 5 a.m. to a residence where an individual was found “unresponsive.” Fortunately, EMS personnel were able to revive the person, who is expected to recover. Police noted that synthetic kratom was found with them.
These developments follow the deaths of Ole Miss students Aidan Hamilton, 18, and Robert Strang, 20, who were discovered dead on September 21, with synthetic kratom found nearby. Authorities have yet to provide details on the cause of their deaths.
Oxford police have indicated that the synthetic kratom involved in the incident on Thursday was not believed to have been acquired in the local area.
In a statement, the Lafayette County Metro Narcotics, part of the sheriff’s office, withheld from claiming that actual kratom was found at the scenes of the two deceased students. They did state that during their investigations, they found packaging linked to kratom products at both locations. According to a report, toxicology results from the medical examiner are still pending.
Mac Haddow, a Senior Fellow on Public Policy at the American Kratom Association, mentioned in a press conference that the specific drug discovered near the students is illegal. He also noted that selling and possessing kratom has been prohibited at the federal level since August, and it has been illegal in Oxford since 2019 and in Lafayette County since 2021.
Robert Strang and Aidan Hamilton in a split image provided by their families.
