Austin Majors, a child star who appeared in "NYPD Blue" and the Disney cult classic "Treasure Planet," was found dead over the weekend of a suspected fentanyl overdose, reported The Daily Beast on Monday.
"His death was first reported Monday by TMZ, which said the actor died in 'a homeless housing facility' in Los Angeles," reported A.J. McDougall. "A source close to the matter told the outlet that Majors is believed to have ingested a lethal amount of fentanyl, though an official cause of death has not been determined."
Per the report, an autopsy is scheduled "to be completed later on Monday."
“Austin was the kind of son, brother, grandson, and nephew that made us proud and we will miss him deeply forever,” said Majors' family in a statement, adding that he was “a loving, artistic, brilliant, and kind human being.”
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Fentanyl and other synthetic opioids have seen an explosion throughout the country. They are much stronger than conventional opioids and easy to mix into other substances, making it particularly dangerous and likely to trigger overdoses.
President Joe Biden has made the fentanyl epidemic a priority, laying out plans at the State of the Union Address including enhanced drug scanning at ports of entry to stop the substance from being smuggled into the country.
