Methuen baby exposed to drugs fights for life

METHUEN, Mass. — A 10-month-old baby girl who Methuen police say was exposed to drugs was rushed to the hospital struggling to breathe Saturday.

Paramedics treated the baby at her home on Tree Top Way, before being transported to Lawrence General Hospital. There, she stopped breathing twice, requiring doctors to resuscitate her.

She was then flown to Tufts Medical Center in Boston, where she was recovering, in stable condition on Sunday.

But doctors told police her test results showed she had the powerful opioid fentanyl in her system. That drug, up to 100 times stronger than morphine, has become popular for cutting other opioids like heroin and is responsible for a sharp increase in overdose deaths.

“The focus of our investigation is how that fentanyl was ingested by the baby,” said Methuen Police Lt. Michael Pappalardo.

Detectives searched the baby’s nursery, checking her crib, linens and stuffed animals, before finding drug paraphernalia in her mother’s car, police said.

The baby lives with her mother and grandparents, but is now in state custody at the hospital. The Department of Children and Families is working with local police and the Essex County District Attorney’s Office to investigate.

Police had not yet filed charges against the mother Sunday night.

Family declined to comment to FOX25 about the incident.

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