How an Oregon tween’s frantic text led to man being accused of drugging girls at sleepover
According to court documents, the girl was so concerned she stayed awake in fear that Mr. Meyden was going to do something to her friend.
Julia Gomez
USA TODAY
A text helped a girl’s parents intervene when a dad allegedly drugged her and her friends at his daughter’s sleepover party, according to court documents.
Police were called to the Randall Children’s Hospital early on a Saturday morning in August 2023, where three girls tested positive for benzodiazepines after spending the night at a friend’s house, according to a search warrant acquired by USA TODAY from the Clackamas County Court.
Michael Meyden, from Lake Oswego, Oregon, which is 11 miles south of Portland, is accused of drugging three of his daughter’s 12-year-old friends with mango smoothies spiked with the drugs. Investigators said he served it to them at a sleepover his daughter hosted.
According to a press release, Meyden was indicted on the following charges:
- 3 counts of Causing Another to Ingest a Controlled Substance
- 3 counts of Application of a Schedule-4 Controlled Substance to Another
- 3 counts of Delivery of a Controlled Substance to a Minor
Police say Meyden turned himself into the Clackamas County Jail on Tuesday, Feb. 28. His bail was set at $50,000.
A representative from the jail told USA TODAY that he has since been released.
The warrant states police confiscated more than five bottles of Temazepam, a prescription pill used to treat insomnia per the Mayo Clinic, scales, razor blades and tools used to grind a pill into powder.
Representatives from investigating and prosecuting agencies refused to comment on the case, including any explanation for the 6-month lag time between the reported incident and the suspect’s arrest.
What was he was accused of: A Lake Oswego dad is accused of drugging girls at a sleepover by lacing smoothies: Reports
How do the girls know each other?
The parents of the sleepover attendees told police they weren’t close to the Meyden family and had never been to their house. Their daughters became friends because they all go to the same school.
According to the court documents, Meyden arranges most of the playdates for his daughter because his wife’s primary language is Japanese.
The smoothies
According to the documents, the girls stated that Meyden was “very” involved in the sleepover.
Between 9 and 11 p.m., Meyden brought the girls two smoothies each. They were described as orange with “tiny white chunks throughout.” Each had diferent colored straws.
Court records detail the experiences of three girls who had smoothies that night: The first drank two glasses, the second drank only one and the third girl said she “barely drank any at all” and she only sipped the beverage “to be nice” because she didn’t like how it tasted.
It was the third girl who remained conscious and sent the text message police credit for unlocking the case.
The text message
The girls watched movies and talked til about midnight after Meyden continuously prompted them to go to bed, according to court records.
The girl who remained conscious told investigators that she saw Meyden try to pull one of the other girls toward the side of the bed, and she pretended she was sleeping and put her arm around the girl. Meyden came back downstairs a second time and tried to do the same thing, the girl said. When he left again, the girl texted her mom.
“Mom please pick me up and say had family emergency. don’t feel safe. might not respond but please come get me (crying emoji), Please. Please pick up. Please. PLEASE!” -Text sent from the sleepover attendees to her mother.
She also texted several friends asking for a ride.
When she was able to get in touch with a family friend, she told the friend she felt “unsafe because of her friend’s dad” and the friend agreed to pick her up.
When Meyden came back a third time, the girl said he stood over her and she could “feel him” watching her for 15 minutes.
When she was taken home, the girl woke up her parents and explained what happened. Her parents tried contacting the parents of the girls still at the sleepover and could not get a hold of them.
At 3 a.m., the girl’s parents went back to Meyden’s home and picked up the other two girls. Meyden was “evasive” and told them to come back in the morning.
The girl’s parents persisted and were able to pick up the girls and take them to their homes.
Interview with police
The document states that police interviewed one of the other girls about 12 hours after she drank the smoothie.
Officers said she “walked slowly and used the assistance of her mother for balance, her eyelids were heavy, and she spoke slowly.”
She told police she felt “woozy, hot, and clumsy” after drinking the smoothie and couldn’t recall what happened after she “blacked out.”
Her parents said she was scared and dizzy when she returned home. She kept asking them, “What happened?” And that’s when her parents decided to take her to the hospital, where she tested positive for the benzodiazepines.
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