Alex Nieland-Herrera
Alex Nieland-Herrera was the father of two young boys, and his grandmother, Peggy Nieland, said he was a good father who loved his children. He was 28 and was held at the Thurston County Jail in Olympia, Washington, where he was found in his cell during a medical emergency and taken to Providence St. Peter Hospital, where he died in March 2023. The Thurston County Sheriff's Office said he died of a fentanyl overdose. His family says drugs likely caused his death and other overdoses at the jail, and they want to know how the drugs got in. Investigators said the drug was brought into the jail and that six people overdosed within 10 days, four of them revived with Narcan.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of an overdose. The Thurston County Sheriff's Office says he died of a fentanyl overdose, and his family says drugs likely caused his death and wants to know how they got into the jail.
Reported by: Thurston County Sheriff's Office (the agency that held him); his family; Mason and Grays Harbor county detectives (outside investigators).