What a Key West officer did when searching for a missing woman who left troubling note
Key West police recognized one of its officers for saving a woman who took a near-fatal drug overdose in January.
On Jan. 28, police received a call from the woman’s family saying that she left a note detailing her intentions to die by suicide and that she had taken several prescription medications from her home.
Officers searched several places for the woman, but weren’t able to find her, said police spokeswoman Alyson Crean.
When they looked for her in the last location where she had last been reportedly seen, Officer Matt Hansell doubled back through a packed parking lot and found a woman inside her car. She was unresponsive and her breathing was shallow, Crean said.
Hansell realized she was suffering from an overdose and administered two doses of NARCAN, the medication used to reverse opioid overdoses. She is alive because of Hansell’s actions, Key West Police Chief Sean Brandenburg said.
“Had Officer Hansell not checked the vehicles and immediately rendered first aid life saving techniques, the woman likely would not have survived,” Brandenburg said in a statement.
If you or someone you know is thinking about self harm, call the toll-free National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255). It’s available 24/7.
