STROUDSBURG – Two Pocono Mountain School District students who died March 3, had taken methadone, and that caused their death, according to the Monroe County Coroner’s Office, which released its official findings Thursday.

Lauren Emilie, 16, of Mount Pocono, a junior at Pocono Mountain High School East, and Zachary Hadlock, 16, of Canadensis, a junior at Pocono Mountain Academy, both died in their sleep, from the effects of taking methadone.  The deaths, on the same day,  were a tragic coincidence.

Methadone, a synthetic narcotic, can be prescribed for therapeutic purposes, ut taken without supervision, even in small doses, can have serious consequences.