Ole Miss deaths, druggings have ‘people scared to leave’ dorms as bars, Greek life clamp down: students
OXFORD, Miss. – An Ole Miss student says she was drugged at a bar over the weekend, days before two students were found dead, as bars around Oxford tighten security with fears running rampant through the college town.
Lafayette County Metro Narcotics said in a news release that investigators are looking into the deaths of two college-aged individuals whose bodies were discovered at separate locations. Authorities have not established a connection between the deaths, though packaged kratom purchased from a retail store was recovered in each investigation.
"We do not have confirmed information indicating that kratom or any other substance was a contributing factor in either death," the agency said.
WHAT IS KRATOM? RISKS OF POPULAR SUBSTANCE REVEALED AFTER COLLEGE STUDENTS' DEATHS
Ole Miss student Mary Harvey told Fox News Digital that she went out to the bars on Saturday night to watch the Rebels' football game against Louisiana State University, where she says she was drugged and couldn't recall much of what happened that night.
"Later into that night, around the time when the game ended, I do not remember a single thing. And I was told by a boy that was there that I fell down," Harvey said.
TWO OLE MISS STUDENTS FOUND DEAD AS PACKAGED KRATOM IS RECOVERED AT TWO SITES: OFFICIALS
Harvey said police put her in an Uber where she was taken to her dorm, where other students needed to help her get to her room.
"Later after that, my roommate got in the shower, and she said while she was in the shower, I went missing. And she left the dorm to find me and was searching everywhere, searched every floor. But on her way back from searching, she found me passed out in the hall of my dorm," Harvey said.
STUDENTS AT TOP PARTY COLLEGE ON EDGE AFTER RAPE, STRANGULATION REPORTED IN CAMPUS HOUSING
Harvey says she no longer feels "safe in my dorm building." She said on Facebook that "people are scared to leave their dorm rooms."
"I feel like everything is just kind of getting swept under the rug and covered up when it should be addressed like immediately," she said.
Ole Miss student Kenneth Tonos, who works security for several fraternities and sororities on campus, told Fox News Digital that at least three Greek life events have been canceled following the two students' deaths. Tonos said bars are also taking more precautions, with some tightening their screening to track exactly what people bring in.
POLICE AT UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY INVESTIGATE 2 DEAD MEN FOUND ON CAMPUS
A spokesman for the University of Mississippi told Fox News Digital that both of the deceased were students there.
FOLLOW THE FOX TRUE CRIME TEAM ON X
Law enforcement is treating the deaths as two separate investigations, and officials have not confirmed whether any substance contributed to either death. Both of the students were males, the county's coroner's office told Fox News on Wednesday. The younger victim died in a dorm room and was 18, while the other died in an off-campus home and was 20.
The coroner's office said their names aren't being released yet and noted that toxicology reports are pending and could take weeks.
SIGN UP TO GET THE LATEST TRUE CRIME NEWS
Officials asked the public "to avoid speculation regarding the circumstances or cause of either death while these investigations remain ongoing."
LIKE WHAT YOU'RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE
"Local, state and federal partners are working collaboratively to gather the facts and provide answers as quickly and responsibly as possible. We are also working closely with the families involved and ask that their privacy be respected during an incredibly difficult time," Lafayette County Metro Narcotics said.
A University of Mississippi spokesman told Fox News Digital on Wednesday that several viral claims about drugs on campus are false, including that additional students were unaccounted for.
POLICE ANNOUNCE ARREST AFTER 5 WOUNDED IN VIRGINIA STATE UNIVERSITY SHOOTING: REPORT
WATCH: Ole Miss student newspaper editor voices frustration after student deaths
Daily Mississippian Editor-in-Chief Raegan Settle told Fox News Digital that she wants more transparency from campus officials after the deaths of two students and subsequent drug investigation, urging leadership to issue safety warnings as national media attention mounts.
LISTEN TO THE NEW 'CRIME & JUSTICE WITH DONNA ROTUNNO' PODCAST
"The one main thing that I've heard repeatedly today is students being frustrated with the university that they haven't said more," Settle told Fox News Digital. "I think people are just waiting for more warnings and communication from the university and not just local law enforcement."
Settle urged her peers to carry life-saving harm reduction tools like naloxone (Narcan).
"Getting a high or getting a nicotine feel is really not worth your life and risking your safety," Settle warned. "And also... be the one who keeps Narcan in your purse. I know that I keep it in mine just in case."
Fox News Digital reached out to the Oxford Police Department and Ole Miss for comment.