LA PINE, OR -- A Deschutes County Sheriff’s deputy is credited with saving a woman’s life, this week. The deputy was at a La Pine-area home addressing county ordinance violations, Wednesday afternoon, when a woman came out of a bedroom saying another woman was not breathing. She suspected an opioid overdose and had administered a dose of Narcan, but the victim hadn’t responded.

The deputy called for medics but they were about 10 minutes away. After the deputy administered a second dose of Narcan from her patrol car, the 57-year-old immediately started breathing again.

Sheriff Nelson said in a statement, "Addiction affects the lives of everyone and, more so, families who suffer a tragic loss from an overdose death. Our office [first] deployed Narcan as a life-saving tool nearly five years ago and we have used it 27 times this year alone. In this national opioid crisis, my hope is that those who are saved after an overdose will take this second chance to change their life."

Each DCSO patrol vehicle carries Narcan. Deputies have administered the overdose reversing drug 40 times since 2015, both in the field and in the Deschutes County Jail.