Media Release: Butte County Jail Staff Respond to Multiple Suspected Opioid Overdoses
On Saturday, August 15, 2026, at approximately 9:40 p.m., a Butte County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) correctional deputy in an observation tower radioed that an incarcerated person was unresponsive in H-Pod, a medium-security male housing unit. Correctional deputies and jail medical personnel immediately responded to H-Pod and called for an ambulance.
Upon arrival, correctional deputies and medical staff identified several additional incarcerated persons within H-Pod who were displaying signs and symptoms consistent with an opioid overdose. Additional staff responded, and emergency medical services were advised that multiple ambulances would be needed.
Correctional deputies and jail medical staff immediately began lifesaving measures on the unresponsive incarcerated person, including the administration of naloxone (Narcan). A total of five incarcerated persons received Narcan during the incident, with each of the five individuals receiving two doses.
All five individuals were subsequently transported by ambulance to local hospitals for further evaluation and treatment. Each was conscious at the time of transport. All five have since been treated, medically cleared, and returned to the Butte County Jail.
The suspected source of the substance is believed to be associated with an individual who was recently booked into the jail. That individual has been identified and separated from the general jail population while the investigation continues. The circumstances surrounding how the substance entered the facility remain under investigation.
Individuals entering the Butte County Jail are physically searched by staff and screened using a low-dose X-ray body scanner as part of the facility’s efforts to prevent contraband, including drugs, from entering the jail. Despite these measures, very small amounts of synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl, can be extremely difficult to detect, and due to their high potency can easily result in overdoses.
