The victims

These people died from suspected heroin overdoses this year, according to the Huntington Police Department and the Cabell County Sheriff's Department. Investigations are ongoing into each death, and in most cases toxicology reports have not been completed yet to determine exact contributors to death.

Scott "Scooter" Dillon

Age: 32

Address: Huntington

Date of death: April 24, 2007, in the kitchen of his residence in the 4700 block of Logan Street.

Personal notes: He was a father of three.

Teddy Lee Mays

Age: 46

Address: Branchland

Date of death: May 3, 2007, in the laundry room of his residence along Bowen Creek Road in Branchland.

Personal notes: He was the father of three. He helped operate a used tire store along Hal Greer Boulevard. He also owned the store for a period of time. His wife, Cindy Mays, remembered him as a good guy who loved his children. She said his drug addiction caused him to lose interest in life. She believed prescription pill abuse gave way to his heroin addiction.

Patrick L. Byars

Age: 42

Address: Huntington

Date of death: Sept. 23, 2007, at his residence in Huntington.

Personal notes: Family members simply called him Pat. He was the father of one. He graduated from Huntington East High School. He was pizza delivery driver. Albert Byars remembered his son as a good guy who became a loner. The family was not aware of him abusing heroin, and they question if he died from such an overdose.

Adam Tyler Johnson

Age: 22

Address: Huntington

Date of death: Sept. 22, 2007, at his residence in the 700 block of 7th Street.

Personal notes: He was a first-year Marshall University student. He worked for his father, Teddy Johnson, at T.R. Johnson & Son. He hosted a radio show, "The Oscillating Zoo," at WMUL at Marshall University. Family remembered Johnson's creativity. They knew Johnson smoked marijuana, but his father was shocked to hear about possible heroin use. He said his son wasn't into that crowd and was at work almost every day.

George Shore

Age: 54

Address: Huntington

Date of death: Sept. 24, 2007, at his residence in Huntington.

Personal notes: Family members remember him as a father of three who died after an extended illness. They said he made his living through his passion for antiques. He was also an artist, musician and storyteller.

William Payton Jones

Age: 31

Address: Hamlin, W.Va.

Date of death: Oct. 5, 2007, at an apartment in the 1000 block of 8th Street.

Personal notes: His mother, Deloris Jones, remembered her son as a wonderful person who brought joy to everyone's life. He held two jobs at one time in his life, but he was not employed at the time of his death. She said he was sick with diabetes and had a history of drug use.

Sheila Jeanine Sanders Brumfield

Age: 45

Address: Huntington

Date of death: Oct. 27, 2007, at her residence in the 1000 block of 9th Avenue.

Personal notes: Sheila was the mother of two children. Family remembered her as a good person who frequently helped others because she knew how it felt to go without. She also was a cleaning fanatic and loved to prepare family meals prior to her drug addiction. They say the drug use started with back pain and a doctor's prescription for OxyContin. That gave way to heroin use. They estimate she abused drugs off-and-on for about 10 years. They said she tried not to use, but the drugs' grasp was too strong and dealers took steps to discourage her desire to quit.

Daniel Matthew Wagoner

Age: 34

Address: Proctorville, Ohio

Date of death: Nov. 5, 2007, at St. Mary's Medical Center.

Personal notes: Family members say he was a loving father of three and a contractor who wore a happy-go-lucky smile. Family members said "Danny" had struggled with drugs for about eight years. They had begged him to stop using, but they said the addiction overcame him. His mother, Deborah Robinson, said she worried about losing her son since summer. Wagoner had watched his son's youth football game and taken the children trick-or-treating just days before his death. He also would take the children to church and attend school activities.

Christopher Michael Dishman

Age: 25

Address: Huntington

Date of death: Nov. 10, 2007, in his upstairs bedroom located in the 1300 block of Charleston Avenue.

Personal notes: Family members described him as a generous person who took the nickname "Spud." He graduated from Spring Valley High School in 2001 and worked at Code Services as an X-ray technician. They say Dishman was a recovering heroin addict who went to Iowa seeking treatment. His stepfather, Mark Young, said it seemed like the treatment was successful. He had recently received a new job and already leased a residence in Louisville, Ky. He was scheduled to move Saturday, Nov. 17. He died a week earlier. Young said Dishman had abused drugs for many years. He did not know the full extent of Dishman's drug history, but he knew it included OxyContin and heroin abuse.