15-year-old’s fatal fentanyl overdose rocks Hays County family
Janel Rodriguez carries an urn holding the remains of her late son, Noah, into her home. Noah died of a fentanyl overdose Aug. 21.Janel Rodriguez wanted her son’s upcoming 16th birthday to be special.
Janel Rodriguez and Brandon Dunn are overcome with emotion as they view a memorial of their late son, Noah, with their other three children, Jolene, Alnora and Mordecai.Local and federal authorities addressed the rise in fentanyl-related deaths in Hays County at a news conference Sept. 8. “If you can’t tell the difference ... there’s a reason for that,” Hodges said. You’re not supposed to.
Noah’s family attended the news conference wearing screen-printed shirts depicting him on his 15th and final birthday. Mordecai Dunn, born two weeks before Noah’s death, wore a onesie bearing the same picture. Even Mordecai’s infant carrier bore a pin with a picture of his late brother.