The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office has confirmed a 4-year-old boy has died from a methadone overdose.
Tyranne Beckless is the seventh child in Milwaukee County under the age of 5 to die of an opioid overdose in the last 19 months. Authorities have not said how the boy ingested the drug because the April 15 death is still under investigation.
Toddlers are some of the youngest victims of the nation’s opioid epidemic. The number of children’s deaths is relatively small compared to the overall toll from opioids, but toddler fatalities have climbed steadily over the last 10 years across the country.
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In 2000, 14 children in the United States under age 5 died after ingesting opioids. By 2015, that number climbed to 51, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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