BAILEYVILLE – The autopsy of a local man who may have died as a result of a drug overdose was completed Friday, but the state Medical Examiner’s Office said the cause of death could not be determined until the results of toxicology tests were received.

James D. Dean, 30, died sometime early Thursday at his mother’s home at 351 Main St.

A second man, Tony McLaughlin, 25, remained hospitalized Friday at Calais Regional Hospital. Police are investigating if a drug overdose may be connected to his hospitalization. Hospital officials declined Friday to comment on his condition.

McLaughlin was staying at a home on Route 9 owned by his parents, William and Vicky McLaughlin. His mother called 911 early Thursday morning after she apparently heard reports about Dean. She phoned her daughter, Jodi McLaughlin, who found her brother. When McLaughlin was taken to the hospital, he was described as “unresponsive.”

The two men were in homes about five miles apart Thursday morning when authorities were alerted. The police reports came within 30 minutes of each other, starting about 6:45 a.m.

On Thursday, shortly after the investigation began, police reported the men were together Wednesday night at a “gathering” at the Dean residence. The event was a small family birthday get-together for Dean, who had turned 30 that day.

Upon further investigation, Baileyville police Chief Philip Harriman said Friday, “We know from the course of the investigation that Tony [McLaughlin] and James Dean were together at some point earlier in the day. However, on the issue of a birthday gathering at the Dean residence, Tony was not there at that gathering.”

Harriman stressed again that although police were calling the death a possible drug overdose, it would be up to the medical examiner to decide.

“The information that we got from the initial calls and, of course, our investigation leads us to suggest the possibility of that,” he said again Friday.

Although prescription drugs were seized from both homes, Harriman said earlier he did not know what kind of drugs they were or whether they were illegal. They were seized because the situation indicated a drug overdose.

Last year was deemed the state’s deadliest year on record for fatal drug overdoses. As of last month, there were two confirmed drug overdoses in the state, but several more are suspected.

In the Bangor area, Maine Drug Enforcement Agency officials believe the problem drugs continue to be heroin and, in increasing amounts, cocaine.

In Washington County, the drugs of choice are OxyContin and Dilaudid, prescription medications.