Overview
- University and local officials confirmed the two students were found on Monday, Sept. 21, with one located on campus and the other at an off‑campus residence and the coroner verifying both deaths.
- Lafayette County Metro Narcotics is leading the inquiries with University of Mississippi Police and local, state and federal partners and says the two investigations are separate with no confirmed link between them.
- Packaged retail kratom was recovered at both scenes, but investigators emphasize they have not established that kratom or any other substance caused either death and autopsies and toxicology tests are pending.
- Authorities and university leaders warned the public against speculation, offered privacy to the families, and deployed public‑health measures including free Narcan in campus vending machines and at a downtown parking garage.
- Kratom is not federally regulated and national reports show rising kratom exposures and deaths in recent years, a background that officials say complicates the probes and may prompt further public‑health review.