The Pendleton Police Department suspect an overdose led to the death of a Kennewick man found near Red Lion on Dec. 19, Police Chief Stuart Roberts said.

According to Roberts, police responded to a call of a possible death near the “old Bi-Mart building” at the intersection of Southeast Third Street and Nye Avenue.

Officers eventually found an SUV in the Red Lion parking lot with a man slumped over in the driver’s seat.

Police requested assistance from paramedics, but the man never showed signs of life despite emergency personnel performing life-saving measures, and he was pronounced dead.

Police found methamphetamine, Oxycodone, drug paraphernalia, and trace amounts of heroin in the vehicle. They also identified him as Rodney Price, 31, of Kennewick.

Roberts said police do not yet have a toxicology report, but they suspect he died of an overdose.

The chief estimated that Pendleton police respond to overdose scenarios about six times per year.