A Columbia County Inmate Dies in the Lake City, Florida, Jail
In news out of Florida dated November 2, 2025, Authorities say a woman being held at the Columbia County Jail died Sunday after she was discovered unresponsive in her bunk. Her death comes just two days after another incarcerated person at the same facility was found unresponsive and later died, according to the sheriff’s office.
A woman died Sunday evening after she was found unresponsive inside the Columbia County Jail, marking the second in-custody death at the facility in less than a week, according to the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies were alerted to the situation around 5:07 p.m. after other inmates notified staff that the woman was unresponsive in her bed in the general population housing area. Officers immediately began CPR and other lifesaving efforts, which continued until paramedics arrived. She was pronounced deceased roughly 20 minutes later on November 2, 2024.
Early information does not indicate foul play, a sheriff’s office spokesperson said.
Because the death occurred in a detention setting, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) is leading the investigation, with assistance from the medical examiner to determine the cause and manner of death. The woman’s name is being withheld pending notification of her family.
Earlier Death in the Same Facility
The incident comes just two days after another inmate died at the same jail.
On Friday, October 31, 64-year-old Michael Millard was found unresponsive during a morning headcount and was later pronounced deceased. Like in Sunday’s case, authorities said no signs of foul play were present, and the FDLE is investigating.
Fire Alarm Incident Unrelated
The sheriff’s office clarified that neither inmate had been housed in the area affected by a fire alarm last week. That alarm was triggered when smoke was emitted from a jail-issued tablet that officials say was being tampered with. Inmates from that section were temporarily relocated as the area was aired out.
Columbia County Detention Facility is also known as the Columbia County Jail. The jail has a 340-bed capacity and is located at 389 NW Quinten St., Lake City, Florida 32055.
Pima County Jail in Tucson, Arizona was in an All-Out Crisis
In a February 2023 story, Arizona’s Pima County Jail in Tucson is under scrutiny because the rate of inmate deaths there is four times the national average.
Cruz Patiño Jr. is one of 10 inmates who died in 2021 in the custody of Pima County Jail. Mr. Patiño was arrested on August 3 and died four days later. He had been placed on a detox protocol, but the autopsy results show that a severe complication of bacterial pneumonia was the cause of his death. His mother stood near a memorial outside the Pima County Jail in protest of her son’s death
Fentanyl has been a worsening problem that has contributed to the inmate death rate, along with a lack of supervision due to understaffing. In December 2022, when the inmate population was 1,850, overcrowding was said to be at a life-threatening level. Although the capacity was at 92%, the sheriff’s office said that almost 100 detainees had to sleep on the floor.
The overall conditions at the Pima County Jail have caused guards to flee their jobs, according to the Pima County Sheriff’s Office.
Jails may have problems, but inmates never lose their civil rights, including the right to humane treatment and timely mental, medical, and dental care.
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