KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Federal data indicates drug overdose deaths in Kansas and Missouri are on the rise even as national drug-related fatalities are in decline.

Provisional data released this month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows drug-related deaths in the U.S. declined by nearly 5% in 2018 after reaching a historic high of 72,000 in 2017.

But the same data also projects that overdose deaths in Kansas rose from 326 in 2017 to 341 in 2018 and Missouri’s increased from 1,406 deaths in 2017 to 1,635 the following year. The data hasn’t been finalized yet.

Randall Williams, the director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services says that more than 1,100 of the state’s overdose deaths in 2018 involved opioids and about half of them occurred in the St. Louis area.

“What we are dealing with in Missouri is an increased presence of (highly concentrated opioids like) fentanyl and carfentanil, which presents an even greater risk for opioid overdose,” Williams said. “We will continue to concentrate on upstream approaches toward prevention of opioid misuse while simultaneously instituting new measures that will prevent fentanyl overdoses.”

In 2017, Kansas and Missouri officials signed orders allowing people to purchase naloxone it at pharmacies without a prescription. Naloxone, known by the brand Narcan, is a drug that can counteract opioid overdoses.

This month, Williams said he signed orders that would provide the medication free to high schools, colleges, YMCAs and libraries through a grant program.

In Kansas, officials created a drug abuse task force, which found that more than 80% of overdoses in the state from 2012 to 2016 involved a prescription medication. One-third of overdose deaths involved methamphetamines.

Margaux Guignon, director of prevention services for First Call KC, noted that data shows Missouri doctors are writing fewer opioid prescriptions, and that this could drive people who are already addicted to try more dangerous street drugs. Guignon’s group provides addiction prevention, education and treatment services.

“They’re using fentanyl and I think that’s because we’re trying to cut back on drug prescriptions, and then what are they going to do?” Guignon said. “We have (addiction treatment) resources in our area but not enough. I believe that we need more treatment.”

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.@GovLauraKelly in accordance with the Presidential Proclamation, has ordered flags throughout Kansas to be flown at half-staff now to sunset on Thursday, August 8, in honor of the victims of the shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. pic.twitter.com/DpfV3v1QS2

— Kansas.gov (@ksgovernment) August 5, 2019

SHAWNEE COUNTY —After a four-day trial, a Kansas man was convicted Thursday for a sex crime against a child, according to Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay.

Gabriel Escobar, 39, Topeka, was charged with Aggravated Indecent Liberties of a child under the age of 14, for groping the child’s breasts and pulling her pants down.  The incident took place in the child’s home in March of 2018, according to Kagy.

The child had just turned 13-years-old and the defendant was a month shy of 38 years old at the time.

On Thursday a jury found Escobar guilty as charged.  He is scheduled for sentencing  September 26, 2019. Escobar is facing a presumptive sentence of life in prison, with no possibility for parole until serving a minimum of 25 years, according to Kagy.

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – Two men were sentenced to federal prison Thursday for shipping heroin and methamphetamine from Arizona to Kansas via FedEx, according to U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister.

David Thomas, 34, Kansas City,  was sentenced to 100 months. James Reich, 36, Kansas City, Kan., was sentenced to 51 months.

Both men pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute heroin. The investigation began when a drug dog alerted on a cardboard box at a FedEx facility. Investigators found more than half a pound of heroin in the box.

The investigation led to an address in the 1800 block of South 31st in Kansas City, Kan., where a review of FedEx records showed six similar packages had been delivered. Further investigation tied Thomas and Reich to the address and to one another.

KANSAS CITY (AP) — An 18-year-old Kansas City man has been charged in the shooting death of a 25-year-old woman police describe as an innocent bystander hit by a stray bullet Friday night during a fight at a popular monthly arts festival on the edge of downtown.

Deon’te Copkney was arrested Saturday and charged with second-degree murder. Officers said they saw Copkney drop a handgun as he was running from the scene and that it was later determined to be the gun used in the shooting that killed Erin Langhofer, of Overland Park, Kansas, as the First Friday event was underway.

Police were called just after 10 p.m. about a fight and say officers arriving on the scene saw people gathered, then heard gunshots. As the crowd cleared, a woman later identified as Langhofer was found with a gunshot wound. She was near a food truck when she was hit, police said. She died at a hospital.

Police spokesman Capt. Tim Hernandez told the Kansas City Star that officers heard numerous shots.

“At this point, they began to take cover, and they tried to identify where the shots were coming from,” Hernandez said. “Of course, when you have thousands of people and you have shots being fired like this, people just started scattering in every direction.”

Police said three people seen running from the area were detained for questioning. Copkney was arrested Saturday and is also charged with unlawful use of a weapon and armed criminal action. He remained jailed Saturday. Online court records did not indicate whether Copkney has an attorney to speak for him.

Friends and family gathered at Langhofer’s family home on Saturday. Langhofer was the daughter of a pastor at the United Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, the largest Methodist congregation in the U.S. She had been attending the First Friday event with her boyfriend when she was killed, said senior pastor Adam Hamilton.

Langhofer graduated in 2016 from the University of Kansas with a degree in social work, and had worked at a domestic violence center, her friends said.

“She was a gift,” said Scott Kormann, a neighbor who knew Langhofer since her birth. “She wanted you to be a better person.”

Kormann’s daughter, 26-year-old Liz Kormann, was preparing to ask Langhofer to be her maid of honor at her upcoming wedding.

“The world lost a good one,” Liz Kormann’s fiancé, Danny Dolan, said. “We’re lucky to have had her as long as we did.”

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GEARY COUNTY — Just before 1p.m. Sunday, authorities learned of a boat with two occupants who appeared to be in distress on Milford Lake at the mouth of Madison Creek, according to a media release.

The Sheriff’s Department had a marine unit already on the water and responded to the location. They reported that upon arrival Deputies located Armando Matute Jr., Fort RIley, and his 14-year old son floating in the water. Deputies pulled both out of the water and transported them to Milford State Park where they met with Kansas Wildlife and Parks officials

Armando Matute Jr. said they were going along in their boat when they heard a loud pop and their boat started taking on water. He believed they struck something in the water.

The Sheriff’s Department said they were grateful both the father and son were using safe boating practices and were wearing their life jackets or the incident could have had a tragic ending.

No injuries were reported.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The South Dakota chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union says it’s concerned about a report that the U.S. military is using high-altitude balloons to conduct surveillance tests in six Midwestern states.

Up to 25 balloons are being launched from South Dakota, and will drift through parts of Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Missouri and Illinois. The Guardian examined filings with the Federal Communications Commission, which say the balloons are meant to provide persistent surveillance to locate drug trafficking and homeland security threats.

According to KELO, the ACLU says this kind of constant surveillance violates the privacy of citizens, creating what’s a pervasive checkpoint over cities. The ACLU says the military needs to be clear about information it’s collecting.

A spokesman with the U.S. military didn’t immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press.