Foster teen died of accidental overdose, report says

A Native American foster child died of an accidental overdose of prescription methadone, the Stevens County Coroner said on Wednesday.

Robley “Bobby” Carr Jr., 15, died in December at his home near Valley, Wash. His foster father has a prescription for methadone for a back injury, but it could not be determined where Carr obtained the painkiller.

Toxicology reports showed that Carr had elevated levels of methadone in his bloodstream, but not enough to indicate that the overdose was intentional, according to Coroner Patti Hancock.

Hancock said Carr, like other teens, probably experimented with the drug, which is used to treat chronic pain and narcotic addiction.

“They think it’s a prescription and that’s it safe,” Hancock said. “It isn’t.”

A descendant of the Nooksack Tribe in Western Washington, as well as the Hoonah Community in Alaska, Carr and his siblings won a $5 million settlement from the state and federal government after they were repeatedly and severely beaten in a previous foster care placement.

Carr eventually was taken in by Steve Horton, a 65-year-old divorced foster father who lives on Social Security disability income after an on-the-job accident. Horton said his painkillers, which include the narcotic methadone, were kept in a locked case, as is required of foster parents.

The toxicology report was sent to Stevens County Sheriff Craig Thayer for review, Hancock said. Thayer did not return phone calls seeking comment on Wednesday.

Carr was buried in Alaska.