Three dead in suspected fentanyl overdoses in rural Oregon

Three people died last week after the Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office thinks they were exposed to fentanyl.

Yamhill County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a 911 call about several overdoses in a rural area northwest of Newberg just before 4:30 on the afternoon of April 20, the agency said in a news release.

Emergency responders declared three people dead at the scene. They were:

• Timothy Dean Crisman, 28, of McMinnville
• Roberto Refugio Hernandez, 35, of Newberg
• Virginia Ann Rarick, 56, of Newberg

The individuals had been using drugs, which tested positive for fentanyl, Yamhill County Sheriff Sam Elliot said.

“Even a few grains can be fatal, often without the user realizing they are ingesting it,” the sheriff’s office wrote in a news release.

The agency is asking anyone with information related to the overdoses to email drugtip@yamhillcounty.gov.

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