Michael Brown, a former DEA senior special agent, said that money, parties and youth are fertile ground for drug-pushers looking to capitalize on curiosity, trust and the illusion of safety. Sometimes, it can have deadly consequences. Dealers have been lacing drugs with fentanyl, causing an explosion in overdose deaths, he said.

“Young adults are going to do drugs,” Brown said. “That’s just a given… But you don’t know what’s in what you’re taking. And if I’m wrong, I’m gonna die in 30 seconds.”

Well over 100,000 people around the nation die from drug overdoses every year, although total drug-related fatalities dropped from around 111,000 in 2022 to approximately 107,500, marking the first fall in five years, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Men toss a baseball across the sand as tents and umbrellas dot the Montauk shoreline on Friday.  (Michael Dorgan/Fox News Digital)

“Local dealers spike cocaine with small amounts of fentanyl — not necessarily enough to kill, but to intensify the high and hook new users,” said Brown, the global director of counter-narcotics technology at Rigaku Analytical Devices.

“We’re talking about individuals who are very well-off, especially young individuals — they have the money to spend. Drug traffickers know this is fertile ground for distribution. Dealers are taking advantage of individuals who don’t know they’re buying fentanyl.”

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“Fentanyl has jumped all racial, ethnic, religious, and income lines,” he added. “It’s in every community — high-income, middle-income, and low-income.”

One lifelong Montauk resident and business owner in his 70s lamented the dramatic transformation in the town’s character over the past few decades. 

Once a tight-knit fishing village where “everybody knew everybody,” Montauk has, in his view, become an enclave for wealthy outsiders and partygoers who have little connection to the community. 

He reminisced about the summers when Irish youth would come over to work seasonal jobs in bars, restaurants, and marinas — often forming lasting bonds with locals and leaving with fond memories. 

“The most you’d see wrong with them was a few drinks,” he said, calling them “completely innocent compared to this other class that’s coming out here.” 

Montauk is known for its fishing industry. A towering fiberglass shark dangles from a dockside pole. (Michael Dorgan/Fox News Digital)

Now, he said, Montauk draws “spoiled kids using their parents’ credit cards” and has become a hub for influencers and drug use. He said that over-priced hotel rooms and bottle-service clubs have fed into a culture of overspend and synthetic highs — where image matters above all else.

“Montauk was known as a small fishing village with a drinking problem. That is very true,” he said. “Now it’s… craziness.” 

Still, for most of Montauk, life carried on this week.

Wednesday night at the Montauk Yacht Club, the restaurant was bustling with well‑to‑do patrons in evening attire. In one corner, about two dozen people participated in a wine‑tasting session — a reminder of Montauk’s upscale side.

People walking in Montauk this week following the death of Martha Nolan (Michael Dorgan/Fox News Digital)

During the day, families strolled barefoot across golden sand. Kids slurped ice cream outside weathered beachfront shacks and the town’s beloved cafés buzzed with brunch crowds ordering iced lattes and açaí bowls. The sun spilled across the docks and dunes. Young people played beach volleyball, and for a moment, it was easy to forget anything dark had ever touched this place.

But a tragedy had, and on Wednesday evening, a woman walked quietly to the marina — to the boat where Nolan had been found. 

She remembered Nolan as kind, warm, and driven — someone who was just beginning to make a name for herself, a view shared by many other boaters. 

“She was very sweet, very genuine,” the woman said through tears. “She was just getting started. It’s heartbreaking.”