MCKINNEY, Texas — Lindsay Pultz was finally ready to share her story because her son Mitchel's life mattered and because not enough is known about fentanyl.
Her son will forever be 17 years old and his passing is a very hard topic for her to talk about. 'Mitch' died last September of a fentanyl overdose.
"He wasn't just another drug addict. He was amazing and drugs took over," said Lindsay.
Mitch was described as an all-around athlete who loved baseball, soccer, football -- any sport, you name it. Lindsay said her son was funny and silly, but also had been struggling with addiction to opioids.
"They were a distraught family that really had done everything right," said Shannon White, who is with Grace to Change, an outpatient substance abuse treatment center in McKinney.
The Pultz family sought help where they could when they first found out that Mitch had overdosed. The hospitals they took him to never tested him for the drug that ultimately killed him. The Drug Enforcement Agency describes fentanyl as a controlled substance that is similar to morphine but about 100 times more potent.
"Nobody ever tested for fentanyl. None of the doctors or hospitals ever mentioned that fentanyl could be part of it," she said.
White tells WFAA it is not fully clear why most hospitals are not capable of testing for it despite the exponential rise in cases. The Pultzes had installed cameras, set boundaries, and even purchased fentanyl test strips online. The family tells WFAA that one early morning, Mitch used Instagram and coded wording to find and meet up with a dealer.
"He ubered to her apartment, got the drugs, and then walked home," said Lindsay.
The drug Mitch took that day had fatal doses of fentanyl. Lindsay can still recall the frantic moments when her husband Kevin found Mitch in his bedroom. At first, they thought he had been sleeping. She recalls Kevin trying CPR and the couple pacing back and forth in the home as investigators and a coroner worked in the home.
That September 18, 2023, will be a day they will forever remember. The next date they will forever remember is the day, they say, McKinney Police arrested the woman allegedly responsible in their son's death.
"It was 218 days until they got her. I counted...I was counting," she said.
With the help of McKinney detectives and some personal sleuthing, the dealer was arrested. Lindsey identified her as Ciana Armour, a woman in her 20s who is now facing elevated charges of manufactured delivery and murder. As of Friday evening, Armour does not show up on the Collin County inmate rolls. It appears she has bonded out. WFAA made a number of requests for information and confirmation with McKinney police and have not heard back.
"She lost a child and this mother lost a child. Addiction permeates everything," said White.
Late last year Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill that allows prosecutors to pursue murder charges if the accused played a role in a fentanyl overdose death.
"As a mom, someone's child is going away for murder. But at the same time...she killed our child," Lindsay said.
Lindsay will not get her loving Mother's Day text from Mitch this year. She says her middle child was usually the first to text her.
"He was talking about how he was sorry. And he was really trying to get better," Lindsay cried, recalling one of his last texts to her.
Mitch's story does not close here. The family won't allow that. They say people need to know about fentanyl. Lindsay says schools, churches, and cities need to educate the public about the dangers of fentanyl.
"I just want other parents to know they are not alone," she said.
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