WARREN, Mich. – Police believe a man who was found in a Warren field Thursday morning died of an overdose.
The body was found in a field near Ryan and 14 Mile roads, near where Tuxedo Drive dead-ends into Ryan Road.
The young man's body looked like it had been in the field all night.
James Vliet rushed to the empty lot. He said he's been looking for a friend who uses heroin for days.
But it turns out the body found wasn't his friend -- that's how prevalent these cases have become. Families of heroin users have been calling police all day, asking if it was their son who was found.
The body is that of a 23-year-old Sterling Heights man, who was last seen at 10 p.m. Wednesday at a McDonald's. Police said they were called to the McDonald's because the man was stumbling around, but he had left before they arrived.
His body was found Thursday morning, wearing only sweats, after being out all night in cold temperatures. The medical examiner will have to decide what killed the man -- the elements or drugs.
Warren officials report there have been 15 heroin overdoses so far this year, which is a record. There were seven last year and nine the year before.
Deaths from opioid overdoses have overtaken car accidents as the leading cause of death in Warren.
#Breaking: Entire lot at Ryan/Tuxedo in Warren is an investigative scene after a man's body is found.#Local4 pic.twitter.com/hKGqTKwRWr
— Shawn Ley (@ShawnLeyLive) October 27, 2016
Sign up for ClickOnDetroit Email Newsletters (click here) for more stories like this.