Nine days after actress Hayden Panettiere was found unresponsive in South Carolina, federal agents entered her Los Angeles home with a search warrant.

The August 25 search, conducted by agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration, has become one of the most significant developments yet in the investigation into the 36-year-old actress’s sudden death.

According to PEOPLE, federal investigators obtained a warrant authorizing them to search Panettiere’s Los Angeles residence for evidence connected to illicit narcotics. The search came as authorities continued trying to determine what happened before the Nashville and Heroes star died on August 16, just days before what would have been her 37th birthday.

While officials have not publicly announced that any person has been charged with a crime, the involvement of the DEA suggests investigators are looking beyond the immediate circumstances of Panettiere’s death and examining where any controlled substances involved may have originated.

A Death Initially Described as Having No Suspicious Circumstances

Panettiere was found unresponsive at approximately 1:50 p.m. on Sunday, August 16, at a residence in Greenville, South Carolina.

Emergency personnel provided medical assistance, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.

In the immediate aftermath, authorities emphasized that there was no obvious evidence of violence. A police spokesperson said the preliminary investigation had revealed no signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances. An autopsy conducted the following day similarly found no physical trauma that would have contributed to her death.

However, other details from the emergency response quickly raised questions about whether drugs may have played a role.

Dispatch audio referenced both a possible “overdose” and “cardiac arrest.” Panettiere’s on-and-off boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, and his brother Zach were at the residence during the emergency, according to authorities. A police report said Hickerson allegedly showed investigators a bag containing medications Panettiere had been taking.

Narcan was also reportedly discovered at the residence. The medication, also known as naloxone, is commonly used to rapidly reverse potentially life-threatening opioid overdoses.

The presence of Narcan did not itself establish what caused Panettiere’s death, but it became one of several details investigators were examining.

The official cause of death has remained pending while authorities await additional testing, including toxicology results.

Federal Agents Turn Their Attention to Los Angeles

The case soon expanded far beyond South Carolina.

PEOPLE reported that DEA agents searched Panettiere’s Los Angeles home on August 25 after securing a warrant for evidence involving illegal narcotics. TMZ first reported the federal search.

The Los Angeles Times has separately reported that investigators are focusing on whether Panettiere obtained nonprescription pills from a supplier in the Los Angeles area. Federal agents and local authorities have reportedly questioned people as they work to determine where drugs or medications potentially connected to her death came from.

That distinction is important.

Investigators are not simply attempting to determine what substances may have been in Panettiere’s system. They are also reportedly examining the possible supply chain — who provided the substances, whether they were legally prescribed, and whether any pills obtained outside legitimate medical channels may have contained something other than what Panettiere believed she was taking.

Several media reports have cited sources suggesting investigators are examining the possibility that oxycodone obtained outside a pharmacy may have been contaminated with fentanyl. Those claims, however, have not yet been established through an official toxicology finding released publicly.

Entertainment Weekly reported that the official cause of death remains undetermined as investigators wait for toxicology results.

Why the DEA’s Search Matters

The search warrant represents a notable escalation in the investigation.

DEA involvement typically becomes relevant when authorities are examining controlled substances, illegal distribution networks or the source of narcotics. In Panettiere’s case, investigators appear increasingly focused on whether drugs obtained outside the legitimate pharmaceutical system played a role in her death.

Authorities have not publicly identified a suspect or announced charges connected with the case.

The inquiry has drawn comparisons to other high-profile celebrity deaths in which prosecutors eventually pursued people accused of supplying controlled substances. The Los Angeles Times noted similarities to investigations following the deaths of actors and musicians such as Matthew Perry and Mac Miller, where authorities focused not only on the deaths themselves but also on the individuals who allegedly supplied the drugs involved.

For now, however, Panettiere’s case remains an investigation rather than a criminal prosecution.

What federal agents recovered during the August 25 search has not been publicly disclosed.

Panettiere Had Spoken Openly About Addiction

The investigation is unfolding against the backdrop of Panettiere’s own public discussions about addiction.

Over the years, the actress spoke candidly about struggles involving alcohol and opioids and about seeking treatment. Those disclosures made her one of several Hollywood figures who openly discussed the difficulties of addiction while attempting to maintain a highly visible career.

But her previous history alone does not establish what happened on August 16.

That determination depends on toxicology results, medical findings and the evidence collected by investigators.

Panettiere had been working in entertainment since childhood. She began acting in 1994 with a role on the soap opera One Life to Live before becoming widely known as Claire Bennet on NBC’s Heroes.

She later earned critical attention as country singer Juliette Barnes on ABC’s Nashville and appeared in the Scream franchise, including Scream 4 in 2011 and Scream VI in 2023.

She is survived by her 11-year-old daughter, Kaya.

Questions That Remain Unanswered

A month after Panettiere’s death, several of the central questions remain unresolved.

Authorities have not announced her official cause or manner of death. They have not publicly confirmed that fentanyl or any other specific drug caused her death. Nor have they said exactly what evidence was removed from her Los Angeles home during the DEA search.

What is clear is that the inquiry has expanded substantially since the first emergency call in Greenville.

What initially appeared to be an investigation centered on the sudden death of a well-known actress now stretches across two states and involves federal drug agents attempting to determine whether illegal narcotics were involved — and, if they were, where they came from.

Until toxicology results and additional investigative findings are released, the final circumstances surrounding Hayden Panettiere’s death remain unanswered.

But the August 25 DEA search indicates that authorities are still actively pursuing those answers — including the possibility that the most important evidence may have been located thousands of miles away from the South Carolina residence where she died.