Teen Dies After Ingesting Synthetic Psychedelic Drug, Police Say
The Michigan teen was found while he was having a seizure, police said.
— -- A Minnesota teen has died after ingesting a synthetic psychedelic drug, police said today.
Alexander Snyder was found face up in a marsh on Sunday by police officers after he was reported missing, police said, noting the 17-year-old was found with his shoes off having a seizure in the water. Police officers were sent to the scene by the teen's father, who tracked his location through his cell phone GPS, police said.
The officers took him to a hospital, where he later died on Tuesday, police said.
Jason Kamerud, Chief Deputy at the Carver County Sheriff's Office, said investigators believe that Snyder died from an accidental overdose of a synthetic psychedelic drug that he snorted with a friend. Police did not name the drug. The medical examiner is looking into the cause of death, police said.
Another teen was found with Snyder and was taken to the hospital where he was treated and released for symptoms associated with the synthetic drug, police said.
Officials believe the teens got the drug from a Chinese manufacturer over the Internet, Kamerud said, noting the drug was likely not illegal because synthetic drugs can be altered so that they are chemically slightly different from banned substances.
Snyder's father, Jeremy Snyder, told ABC News today that his son was on track to graduate six months early and had wanted to be an astrophysicist. He said he was frustrated that his son was able to get synthetic drugs online and said his son had recently been experimenting with different drugs, though trying just a single drug at a time. He said he believed this synthetic psychedelic drug was the second synthetic drug he tried. He said parents should be aware of how easy it can be to get certain synthetic drugs online and that they should do everything they can to intervene if their child starts to experiment with drugs.
"These things are really, really not safe," Jeremy Snyder told ABC News. "If the parents are suspecting [teens are using synthetics] they should probably cut them off all financially."