2 Months After Hallie Ulrich's Death, Questions Linger

EAST HAMPTON, NY — Two months after 22-year-old Hallie Ulrich was found dead on an East Hampton road after a battle with heroin addiction, questions still linger — and her grandfather, longtime news anchor and journalist Drew Scott, has retired and vowed to dedicate his time to raising awareness about the deadly opioid epidemic that claimed the life of his beautiful granddaughter.

"We hope to help other families," Scott told Patch this week. "I want people not to make Hallie's mistake."

Despite the fact that Hallie died of an apparent overdose, there are unanswered questions her family says remain.

"We are still searching for Hallie’s cellphone, debit card, and $300 that disappeared from her bank account after she was found dead Sept. 7 in East Hampton," Scott said. "Suffolk County homicide and the East Hampton Police Department continue to insist this case is 'non-criminal' and seem to be unwilling so far to probe farther."

When contacted Wednesday, SCPD's public information office said that Hallie's death had been ruled "non-criminal."

East Hampton Town Police Capt. Chris Anderson said the case had been turned over to Suffolk County Police and it would be "inappropriate and irresponsible" to comment on any aspects of a case they were not handling and about which they do not have information, as it is not longer under their jurisdiction.

Scott, however, added that Hallie's family found a Southampton Town police report regarding a domestic violence incident, issued against one of her friends, a few days before she died.

Southampton Town Police did not immediately respond to requests for information about that domestic violence incident.

"We are convinced in the few days before she died she was trying to come home and get sober, but she didn’t know exactly how to tell us. Heartbreaking. We are still grieving," Scott said.

Opioid Addiction Forum Wednesday Night

Scott is also co-chairing a new Southampton Opioid Addiction Task Force with Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman.

The task force held a public forum in the Hampton Bays High School auditorium Wednesday night.

The task force is developing an action plan for the Southampton Town Board and is inviting members of the community to participate. Medical, mental health, education and law enforcement professionals will participate in the Town Hall event to help search for solutions to the opioid crisis. The forum, “It Hits Home," brought people in recovery to the table to help experts examine best practices and responses to reduce the opioid crisis, a release from the town said.

“This is a national crisis that has hit home,” said Schneiderman. “Our community is coming together in an effort to prevent further tragedies.”

"I lost my beautiful granddaughter to opioid addiction,” Scott added. “We have lost so many in the community to these deadly drugs. We need to bring the experts together to help us find concrete solutions to this crisis."

The goal of the Opioid Addiction Task Force is to come up with an action plan to present to the Southampton Town Board by June 1, 2018.

Scott left his former post after Hallie's death, promising to raise awareness in her name and memory.

Faced with tremendous grief, Hallie's family has shared the memories of her vibrant life, remembering her artistic gifts and creativity at a memorial on the beach in Sag Harbor.

Scott also shared memories of his granddaughter, who left behind a twin sister named Ellison.

"Hallie was the quiet twin who loved hooping, painting and art," Scott said. "The few months before her death, she worked at 'Behind The Fence' Gallery in Southampton, arranging displays and painting some of the figurines."

Rich memories offer comfort during this dark time, as Scott shared recollections of the girl who touched countless lives with her bright smile and caring spirit.

"Last winter, Hallie stayed with my daughter in Vermont and bonded with her three-year old; she was very gentle — and the baby loved her and kept asking for her after her death," he said.

Another story her family was told involved a parrot in a cage, Scott said."Hallie loved animals, was a vegetarian and complained that the parrot shouldn't be caged," he said. "The owner said no, and she told us that was 'unacceptable!' She began teaching the parrot to say the word, and to this day there is a parrot somewhere on the East End that keeps saying 'unacceptable.'"

Since the time she was a little girl, Scott said, his granddaughter was a bright spot of joy in the lives of the many she touched with her shining spirit.

"She would often message me or call me when she saw me anchoring on News 12, and she would always show respect and love for her grandmother and me," he said.

He added that Hallie helped her grandmother Vivian, a breast cancer survivor, to walk, and often stayed behind to tend to her.

Fighting addiction in Hallie's memory

Scott said he plans to dedicate his days to helping others struggling with addiction.

"I'll be carrying Hallie's picture and trying to put a personal 'face' on this growing epidemic," Scott said.

"There is a stigma to opiate deaths. Many families are embarrassed and hide the fact that their kid is addicted or, God forbid, died. I want to change that. This is a disease, and when youngsters are afflicted with cancer or other physical problems, people want to help, but seem to shy away many times when the problem turns out to be addiction."

Photos courtesy Drew Scott.