keri sanders has more. >> reporter: a facebook memorial post to the 10-year-old, the medical examiner now waiting for toxicology tests to confirm he died after inadvertent contact with a powerful opioid. >> i believe this may be the youngest victim of this scourge in our community. what a nightmare. >> reporter: investigators tracking his final hours of life believe he had been with friends at a city pool. somewhere between the day camp here and the two block walk to his house, he came into contact with something unintentionally, a drug that may have killed him. but he didn't die immediately. neighbors say hours later, they saw paramedics frantically trying to save his life. >> they were pumping him, trying to revive him back. >> reporter: the opioid epidemic showing death rates up 72%. while deaths from the less potent drug, heroin, increased 20%. >> the most dangerous opioid we're finding out there, the amount roughly the same size of a grain of rice could be potentially deadly. >> reporter: drug paraphernalia litters the streets near his home. a speck of fentanyl so powerful it cou

keri sanders, nbc news, miami. >>> a jewel thief is under arrest yet again. this time for allegedly stealing from a walmart. the 86-year-old was arrested in georgia monday after security guard accused her of putting $86 of items in her purse. . she says she simply forgot to pay because of medication she had taken. it all happened while wearing an ankle bracelet as part of probation for shoplifting a $2,000 necklace last yore. the judge in that case ordered her to stay away from all shopping malls. >>> over 1,000 firefighters are battling a massive blaze threatening 1500 structures. california's governor declared a state of emergency for the area, which is under mandatory evacuation. bill karins is watching a heat wave that's scorching the midwest. the weekend? >> maybe the end of the weekend. this heat wave continues to expand. the number of people under the warnings and watches continues to grow. it will probably grow from here too. the excessive heat, 104 in st. louis. these temperatures are in the shade. so it only gets warmer. thursday and friday are goin