Prince sought California addiction doctor shortly before death, says MD's rep

MINNEAPOLIS — Prince’s representatives arranged for the musician to meet a Califoia doctor to help him kick an addiction to painkillers shortly before his death, according to a newspaper report published Wednesday.

Prince’s representatives called Dr. Howard Kofeld on April 20, the day before the musician died, to seek emergency help, attoey William Mauzy told the Mieapolis Star Tribune.

Mauzy, who is representing the Kofeld family, said Kofeld couldn’t immediately meet Prince, so he sent his son Andrew on a flight from San Francisco that night to discuss treatment in a meeting plaed for the next day. Mauzy said it was Andrew Kofeld — who works in his father’s practice — who called 911 when Prince’s unresponsive body was found in an elevator at Paisley Park, Prince’s suburban Mieapolis compound.

Mauzy, Howard Kofeld and Andrew Kofeld didn’t immediately respond to Wednesday messages from The Associated Press seeking comment.

A law enforcement official briefed on the investigation has told AP that investigators are looking into whether Prince died from an overdose. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to talk about the investigation. The same official also said investigators are looking at whether Prince had suffered an overdose when his plane made an emergency landing in Moline, Illinois, less than a week before he died.

Howard Kofeld runs Recovery Without Walls in Mill Valley, Califoia. His website describes the practice as “specializing in iovative, evidence-based medical treatment for chronic pain and drug and alcohol addiction.” His son Andrew is listed on the website as a practice consultant.

Mauzy told the newspaper that Prince representatives called Kofeld the night of April 20 because Prince “was dealing with a grave medical emergency.”

Howard Kofeld sent his son to explain how the confidential treatment would work, Mauzy said.

“The plan was to quickly evaluate his health and devise a treatment plan,” Mauzy said. “The doctor was plaing on a lifesaving mission.”

Mauzy said Andrew Kofeld arrived at Paisley Park at 9:30 a.m. on April 21 and was one of three people who found Prince’s body. Mauzy said it was Kofeld who called 911. A record of the 911 call shows the caller didn’t know the address of the compound and mistakenly said it was in Mieapolis, rather than in the suburb of Chanhassen.

The elder Kofeld is an advocate for using buprenorphine, which he says on his website is a treatment option for patients with addiction issues that offers pain relief with less possibility of overdose and addiction.

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Mauzy told the Star Tribune that Andrew Kofeld had a small amount of buprenorphine to give to Prince, but it was never administered. Mauzy said Kofeld gave the medication to investigators.

Authorities haven’t released a cause of death. An autopsy was done the day after Prince’s death, but its findings, including the toxicology results, weren’t expected for as many as four weeks.

Mauzy said Andrew Kofeld had been interviewed by Carver County investigators. Deputy Sheriff Jason Kamerud told the AP that he had no comment about the investigation. He also declined to confirm that Andrew Kofeld had called authorities, saying information 911 callers is private data under Miesota law.