Two Ole Miss Students Die Days Apart, Kratom Found at Both Scenes but Not Confirmed as Cause

What's confirmed

The University of Mississippi confirmed in a campus-wide email Tuesday, Sept. 22, that two students died in incidents authorities believe occurred sometime between Friday, Sept. 18, and Monday, Sept. 21, according to The Daily Mississippian, the campus newspaper. Lafayette County Coroner Glenn Coleman identified the students as 18 and 20 years old, and said the deaths happened Monday, according to reporting cited by Ground News.

One of the incidents happened on campus. Public safety officials were dispatched to Stewart Hall just after 1:30 p.m. Monday for a report of a "possible overdose," with a dispatch recording indicating the person was unresponsive and CPR was in progress, according to Action News 5. The university has not released the students' names.

The kratom question

Packaged kratom purchased from a retail store was recovered during both death investigations, according to a statement from Lafayette County Metro Narcotics Unit shared with Fox News Digital, the New York Post, and other outlets.

But the narcotics unit was explicit about what it does not know. "We do not have confirmed information indicating that kratom or any other substance was a contributing factor in either death," the agency said. It also said there is no confirmed evidence the two deaths are connected, and law enforcement is running them as separate investigations.

Kratom is an herbal extract that acts as a stimulant in small doses and a sedative in larger ones, according to the Mayo Clinic, cited by The Daily Mississippian. It's sold legally at gas stations and retail shops in Mississippi and much of the country, though several states have moved to restrict or ban it, with critics labeling it "gas station heroin." Fox News noted that at least one other state has banned kratom-derived products amid a broader nationwide crackdown.

That regulatory push reflects a real concern. Kratom's active compounds aren't standardized or tested the way prescription drugs are, and poison-control centers have logged rising kratom-related complaints in recent years. Supporters of tighter rules argue an unregulated stimulant-sedative sold next to energy drinks deserves scrutiny. Whether kratom caused these two specific deaths is a separate question, which investigators say they cannot confirm.

A second, unconfirmed rumor

Separately, several Ole Miss fraternities and sororities sent members warnings about a synthetic opioid called cychlorphine, which they said doesn't show up on standard fentanyl test strips and may require multiple doses of naloxone to reverse, according to The Daily Mississippian. Law enforcement has not confirmed cychlorphine's presence in either student death. Several Greek organizations canceled social events this week out of respect for the deaths, the paper reported.

University and state response

Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Shawnboda Mead addressed the swirl of online claims directly in her Tuesday email. "We are aware that considerable unverified information is circulating on social media and in the community regarding these recent student deaths," Mead wrote, according to The Daily Mississippian. "The Coroner's Office has confirmed two student deaths, and University Police are not aware of any additional student deaths."

Lafayette County Metro Narcotics echoed that caution, asking the public "to avoid speculation regarding the circumstances or cause of either death while these investigations remain ongoing," and said it is working with local, state and federal partners.

Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch's office, which trained Ole Miss students on administering Narcan just last week according to a post cited by Action News 5, issued a statement Tuesday: "One Pill Can Kill is not just a slogan. It's a fact." Fitch's office said it has reached out to partners including the Magee Center and HarborPath to expand access to resources.

Where coverage gets ahead of the facts

Several outlets, including the New York Post, led their headlines with kratom's presence at both scenes without giving equal weight in the headline to the narcotics unit's explicit statement that no substance has been confirmed as a cause. The body text of most reports, including Fox News Digital's, carried that caveat accurately. Headlines alone, however, could give the impression investigators have tied kratom to the deaths, which is not what Lafayette County Metro Narcotics has said.

Toxicology results, which typically take weeks, have not been released. Until they are, the cause of both deaths remains officially undetermined, and law enforcement has given no timeline for when results will be made public.