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Fatal Overdoses in Boulder — 2025

About this report

This report documents nine (9) suspected fatal overdose incidents in Boulder, Colorado during 2025 using publicly available information. All of the incidents documented here occurred in public or semi-public spaces, including sidewalks, parks, encampments, parking areas, businesses, and residential locations throughout Boulder. In many cases, emergency responders administered naloxone (Narcan), CPR, or other lifesaving measures before a death was ultimately confirmed.

All nine of these victims were named at the 12/16/25 homeless memorial by the bandshell.

The purpose of this project is not sensationalism. Rather, it is to preserve a structured public-interest archive of overdose deaths that might otherwise disappear into fragmented records systems, brief media mentions, or temporary public datasets. It is intended to function both as a historical archive and as a resource for understanding larger patterns affecting Boulder’s public-safety landscape.

Important notes regarding sources and methodology

This report is based primarily on police reports, autopsy reports, and other public records. Summaries here were reconstructed with resources available at the time.

Some of this content was located in part by reviewing police scanner traffic. The Boulder Police Department encrypted routine dispatch traffic on October 28, 2025, ending public access to most real-time law-enforcement communications. As a result, incidents beginning in November 2025 are substantially more difficult and expensive for members of the public to independently document using public records alone.

I am not sharing the victims’ names; however in two cases the individual was publicly identified by the Boulder County Coroner.

1/1
11:08 AM

Code Black (fatality) behind Barnes and Noble, 2999 Pearl. Around 9 AM, employees noticed a pile of clothing, which they initially ignored, noting it was not unusual for belongings to be left in the area. Later they realized there was someone under it. When found, the woman was discolored and had rigor mortis. Officers found drug paraphernalia including two pipes (one used, one unused), foil, and evidence of intravenous drug use (needle caps and saline bullets which are used to flush a syringe after use). Officers could not find an ID. She was identified on 1/4 by the coroner.

The autopsy findings are mostly redacted from the police report. However, this much is included:
“Based on the postmortem examination findings and history available to me at this time, it is my opinion that […], a 31-year-old female, died as a result of the combined toxic effects of fentanyl and methamphetamine. The manner of death, in my opinion, is accident”
…
“Based upon the above findings, along with the nearly triple toxic findings of Fentanyl, no further information will be obtained at this time.”

1/1
12:31 PM

Code black (fatality) at 1855 Goss. Residents noticed a body in the dumpster. Paramedics upturned the dumpster to get him out. The coroner found a pipe and plastic bag containing meth in his possession

An autopsy was conducted on 1/3:
“Dr. Frank opined that […] died as a result of the combined toxic effects of fentanyl and methamphetamine, and that [other health issues] contributed to his death. The manner of death, in her opinion, was an accident.”

1855 Goss is the same location where 19 year old Zaria Hardee was found dead on 7/14/24. She had been murdered at an encampment a block away and her body left at this location. A 53 year old man who was living at the camp would later be convicted of 2nd degree murder.

1/2
3:40 PM

Code black (fatality) near 30th and Mapleton. A 63 year old man was found along the creek, about 25’ from the creek path, under thick brush. An officer noted this area was visible from the west side of Bluebird (about 50 yards away); however the vegetation blocked visibility. The body was found in an advanced state of decomposition. (This is vividly described in the report. The detective noted this was more likely due to animal predation than the passage of time.) The man’s ID listed the homeless shelter as his address. Per shelter staff, he had not been there since 11/28/24.

From the report:
“The autopsy was performed by pathologist Doctor Meredith Frank on 1/3/2025. Doctor Frank stated in her opinion, the decedent, […], died as the result of exposure to cold environment (hypothermia) in combination with the toxic effects of methamphetamine, and that [other health issues] served as significant contributing conditions. Dr. Frank further stated that at this time, her opinion is that the manner of death is best classified as “accident.”

The Boulder County Coroner named this person in a press release. He was also identified in the Daily Camera.

4/1
8:42 AM

Code Black (fatality) at 1425 Folsom Street. This was along Boulder Creek Path near Folsom. The report from BPD is minimal and references a CUPD report which I have not obtained. It does say the man was 40 years old and homeless.

The Boulder County Coroner named this person too.

This man was contacted 1/1/24 in the alley behind 3310 Arapahoe Ave for a suspected overdose. Officers found him not conscious/not breathing. They gave him Narcan and CPR before paramedics took over. He eventually recovered. Here is an excerpt from that report describing how they were unable to convince him to go to the hospital:
“[…] was transported to the back of AMR 13 where they continued to medically evaluate and treat him. While in the back of the ambulance, […] stated he had “taken a hit” of heroin 10 minutes prior to him collapsing. They explained to […] that they were going to transport him to Boulder Community Health to continue care and monitor him. […] refused. For approximately 15-20 minutes Paramedic [X] continued to explain to […] that he had experienced a major medical event and highly recommended that he be transported to the hospital for further evaluation. […] still refused. Paramedic [X] also contacted a doctor at Boulder Community Health to speak with […] via telephone. The doctor also explained to […] he would be taking a great risk by not going to the hospital for further treatment. Against all medical advice, […] refused to go to the hospital. […] signed a high-risk refusal form provided by AMR 13 and was released from the ambulance at approximately 1731 hours.

4/4
2:36 PM

Code Black (fatality) at a bus stop at Walnut and Broadway. A passerby called for a welfare check on a man who wasn’t moving. Another witness reported his lips were blue. Responding officers found him not conscious/not breathing. They gave him Narcan and CPR. He was taken to BCH. He was pronounced dead about 3:14 PM.

The man was wearing a jail bracelet. He had a blue lighter in his hand and a piece of foil in his pocket.

From the autopsy report:
“…it is my opinion that […], a 57-year-old male, died as a result of the combined toxic effects of fentanyl and gabapentin, and that [other health issues] contributed to his death. The manner of death, in my opinion, is accident.”

4/10
7:14 PM

Code black (fatality) by Boulder Creek, just east of the 9th Street bridge. A 31 year old man was found cold to the touch. The RP believed he was dead. AMR started CPR. He was pronounced dead at 7:23 PM. Paraphernalia was found, including a lighter, a glass pipe, pieces of tinfoil (which were not opened due to possibly containing powdered fentanyl), and a pen tube (commonly used to inhale drug fumes) which had some residue on it.

Officers spoke with the man’s parents, separately. Both parents had helped him financially. His dad says his son had worked in Boulder and had moved out of his apartment recently. His mom says he had used heroin since age 16 or 17; however he had done some missionary work around 2022 and was very clean afterwards.

Per the autopsy report, “Cause of death: fentanyl intoxication.”

5/9
11:08 AM

Code Black (fatality) in a 3rd floor stairwell at the 14th and Walnut parking garage. This was a 56 year old man. Two witnesses said they saw him and assumed he was just resting, only becoming suspicious after noticing he wasn’t moving. Officers found tin foil, a torch lighter, and a crumpled up straw (commonly used to inhale drugs). They put up blankets to prevent onlookers from viewing the scene. They contacted his parents, who knew he was using fentanyl. They attempted to access his phone to learn who he might have bought drugs from but were unable.

Per the autopsy report:
“Dr. Meredith Frank in her opinion ruled the manner of death an accident. Dr. Meredith Frank described that […] died due to a result of the “combined toxic effects of fentanyl and methamphetamine, and that [other health issues] served as significant contributing conditions. The manner of death, in my opinion, is accident.”

7/30
5:31 PM

Code Black (fatality) at 28th and Taft. Police and paramedics found a 48 year old man with a torch lighter in his hand by a retaining wall next to the bike path. They estimated he had died about 10 hours prior. Upon examination, they could not find his ID, just a hospital ID that said “John Doe”. They found a glass bulb pipe which later tested positive for meth and MDMA (ecstacy). They also found baggies containing substances which tested positive for meth and fentanyl. An officer with the HOT (homeless outreach) team was able to provide a possible name for the decedent.

The coroner conducted an autopsy and was able to corroborate his identity via fingerprints. The autopsy report was referenced in the police report, but its findings were fully redacted.

9/22
11:29 AM

Code black (fatality) at Central Park, along Boulder Creek just east of Broadway near the flood marker. A man looking for a place to fish alerted urban park rangers to a downed party. One ranger gave the victim Narcan but could not find a pulse. First responders worked on him for about 30 minutes before calling time of death at 12:04 PM. They identified him by his ID as a 50 year old man. Officers found several small balled up pieces of tin foil and a meth pipe. They noted the area is popular for people consuming drugs and sleeping. They also noted feces in the area and a strong smell of urine.

The autopsy report was discussed in the police report:
“On October 15, 2025, I, Detective Sasse was given the autopsy report. The report showed that […] had several different illegal drugs in his system. This includes fentanyl, Nor fentanyl, acetyl fentanyl, and methamphetamine. The cause of death was intoxication due to the drugs listed above. The manner of death was ruled an accident.

Officers on this call had just responded to another overdose at 11:04 AM behind the Muni building at 1777 Broadway. That victim was given Narcan and CPR and recovered.

Police were able to reach the decedent’s mother in Trinidad, CO. Per the report, “she did not want anything to do with the situation.”

Related reports

The following report on drug overdoses in Boulder 2023 documents an assortment of both fatal and non-fatal incidents:

https://boulderpublicsafety.org/drug-overdoses-boulder-2023/

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