A 21-year-old Troy woman died Feb. 1 in a Miami County Jail cell as a result of a heroin overdose, the Miami County Coroner Dr. Steve Huffman said last week.

Kathnie Moore had been in jail 33 hour when she was found unresponsive around 11 a.m. Feb. 1 in a cell shared with other female inmates. Jail staff administered CPR and she was taken to the local hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Huffman said the death was ruled an accident following an autopsy at the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office and review of toxicology tests.

Troy police had taken Moore into custody the previous day. She was accused of violating a protection order.

Although investigators have tried to backtrack events to find when Moore ingested the heroin that has not been determined, Huffman and Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Dave Duchak said.

An administrative review conducted after the death showed all jail policies and procedures were followed, Duchak said.

"Ms. Moore completed all the jail intake screening questions to include medical and did not indicate she was under the influence of anything and that she had no medical problems nor was anything out of the ordinary observed by staff," Duchak said.

"It is a tragedy any time a young person dies and our sympathies go out to family and friends," he said.

Measures were put in place in the jail before Moore’s death in response to the increased opiate and heroin problems, and the ease in which the drugs can be concealed, Duchak said. The heroin epidemic is not something new, he added.

“We have dramatically increased canine searches due to the heroin and opiate problem … and the ease with which those types of drugs can be concealed,” Duchak said. “Additionally, “shakedowns” or jail searches occur weekly which has been the case for some time.”

Without probable cause to believe someone is trying to sneak narcotics into the jail, the law prohibits strip searches of inmates by jail staff.

 “If someone is secreting narcotics in a body cavity when they come into the jail, it is going to get in ,which is why some time ago we dramatically increased searches within the jail,” Duchak said.