A teenager saved the day after heroin was discovered at a New Hampshire pond on the first day of summer camp.
A 15-year-old camp counselor spotted a bag of what appeared to be drugs on a picnic table around 10 a.m. Monday morning.
Police say kids were playing in the water and on the beach, and the drugs were close to younger children.
The 15-year-old then notified a 17-year-old counselor, who took action.
"They used the proper protective equipment, you know, gloves and such, and were able to safely retrieve it out of the mess of all the children," Chester Police Sergeant Timothy Loveless said.
Families were left feeling unsettled when they picked up their children on the first day of the camp.
"It's very disturbing," Al Arsenault said. "This is a very troubling day."
Police responded and determined the drug was heroin, which could've had deadly consequences if a young camper had found it.
"To the untrained eye or a small child, it could’ve looked like anything," Loveless said."From candy to powder to you name it, and had that been ingested by a small child not knowing, today’s outlook could’ve been very different."
Families were also grateful for the teen's actions.
"It's pretty impressive that they knew how to deal with it," Arsenault said.
The incident proved that no town or age group was immune to exposure to the opioid crisis.
"Even in a small community such as ours, we still have to deal with the opioid epidemic, clearly," Loveless said.
Police say the situation could've been even more dangerous because heroin is often mixed with fentanyl, a stronger opioid. Skin contact with that could have lethal consequences.
Officers urge everyone to contact police to remove and investigate any drugs that are found.