Roughly 2,000 fatal overdose cases in Hamilton County that went unsolved are getting a second look from a new panel that pairs investigators with addiction recovery experts and grieving families. The effort has already led to four prosecutions.

The Hamilton County Heroin Task Force launched its Overdose Fatality Cold Case Review Panel, which Task Force Commander Mike Davenport said is believed to be the first in the country focused specifically on fatal overdose cold cases, according to a WKRC report published July 23.

Davenport said the panel grew out of a simple question: what happens to families when cases go cold?

"When we don't solve them, what happens to them?" Davenport said. "The loved ones just kind of go by the wayside. They wonder what happened to their family member. So, we thought there would be something better in place for us to maybe take a second look at those."

The task force, established in 2015 at the height of the opioid crisis, investigates between 200 and 400 overdose cases each year. The panel meets twice a month, reviewing one or two cases per session.

How the panel works

James Drake, the task force's cold case investigator, is often among the first people called to an overdose death scene. He works alongside the Hamilton County Coroner's Office to process evidence, including digital devices and drugs found at the scene.

The panel's makeup is what sets it apart. Alongside law enforcement, it includes people with firsthand experience navigating addiction.

Erica Parks, a panel member who has been in recovery since 2010, said her lived experience lets her ask questions investigators might miss. She described the panel's approach as looking beyond a checked box for "accidental death" to examine who the person was with, whether they had returned to use, and what challenges they faced.

Mike Dusold joined the panel as a father. His son Brian struggled with heroin addiction for years before turning his life around. He built a career in logistics, earned a six-figure salary, and became a father of two. Brian died of an overdose on October 6, 2021. His case has since been solved, and the woman responsible was prosecuted and is serving time in prison.

Davenport said the civilian perspectives have fundamentally changed how law enforcement approaches these investigations. "We would have never listened to Mike Dusold or Erica Parks in years past," he said. "That's just a fact."

Declining overdose deaths

The panel's work comes as Hamilton County records its lowest number of overdose deaths since 2012, according to Hamilton County Public Health. Statewide, preliminary Ohio Department of Health data shows overdose deaths dropped 35 percent in 2024 compared to the prior year, following a 9 percent decline from 2022 to 2023, according to the Ohio Narcotics Intelligence Center's 2025 annual report.

The cold case initiative also received the ONIC's Protecting All Communities Together Award for its multidisciplinary approach to pursuing accountability in overdose-related deaths.

No public tip line specific to the panel has been announced. Families with questions about unresolved overdose deaths in Hamilton County can reach the Hamilton County Heroin Coalition or the Hamilton County Coroner's Office as a starting point.