SALISBURY — Vermont State Police said they suspected that a Salisbury man who died at his home in an untimely manner this past Thursday had been using heroin, but they did not know if that played a role in his death.
Troopers along with local emergency medical services were dispatched on Jan. 9 at about 1:46 p.m. to a report of an unresponsive male discovered in a single-room rental off Route 7 near Plains Road in Salisbury. The man, later identified as 59-year-old Andrew R. Henderson, was unresponsive when discovered by a neighbor. Henderson was pronounced dead shortly after the arrival of emergency personnel.
An investigation into Henderson’s death is under way, including an autopsy by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
Sgt. Robert Patten reported that the initial investigation found indicators of suspected heroin use by Henderson. “It’s unknown at this time if Henderson’s death is directly related to drug usage,” Patten said.
Patten pointed out that VSP and EMS personnel responded to another person in medical distress at a different home along Route 7 in Salisbury just 42 minutes before responding to Henderson’s death. There were indicators that the person in medical distress in this case had been using heroin, Patten said. The patient was transported by ambulance to Porter Hospital in Middlebury. No death resulted this case, Patten said.