The Truth About the ‘Reckless’ Rumor in Sullivan County

The Sullivan County Sheriff's Office is addressing what they call an "erroneous and reckless" rumor about a recent incident that reportedly happened at Monticello High School in Monticello, NY.

While most of the work done by the Sheriff's Office is done "IRL", increased scams and misinformation has led to several recent warnings regarding potential pitfalls online. That includes the fact-checking of the incident reported on school grounds.

False Report of Drug Overdose at Monticello High School

"ATTENTION FACEBOOK READERS", the post began, "[there have been] recent reports about a medical call at the Monticello High School where someone overdosed, required 4 shots of Narcan and eventually died". The story, they continued, had been completely fabricated.

Sullivan County Sheriff's Office Works to Locate Source of Overdose Rumor

The Sheriff's Office shared that they have been working with the Monticello Police Department as well as Monticello High School officials to try to identify the person or persons responsible for beginning the rumor and subsequent social media posts. The false story did not sit well with many residents.

Read More: The Truth About NY Sheriff's Office's 'Carefully Worded Post' 

Monticello, NY Residents React to False Claims of Drug Overdose

"Spreading false news about an [overdose] is absolutely not okay", commented a Monticello resident. "With the current events happening in this town it’s a very believable situation to occur and no joking matter. I really hope we get to the bottom of this."

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While the recent report was false, opioid drug use has caused an increased availability of Narcan, the "anti-overdose drug", in many public areas including the Rail Trail and businesses across the Hudson Valley.